[philthy]

I'm planning on purchasing a Mini^3 amp soon and I was wondering what gain should I get (2 or 5)? I'm planning on getting one of the higher end Sennheiser headphones (580, 595, 600, or 650) and I was wondering if they need high gain or does the low gain drive them good enough?

I also have a pair of Sony MDR-EX90LP, KSC 35, and KSC 75s. Would getting a high gain on it be OK for these headphones as well? Thanks.

 

[TzeYang]

a gain of 5-6.

Of course, it depends on how loud you want it to be.

 

[TSuBaSa]

keep in mindnRockhopper stoped producing those for a while.

 

[PFKMan23]

I have a Mini cubed with a gain of 2 and there are no volume issues at all with it using Sennheiser 580s (the 595s are more sensitive (and lower impedance) than the 580s).

 

[MisterX]

I personally can't stand using my low gain Mini3 with my HD580s. It gets plently loud but it's like somebody sucked all of the dynamics out of the music and left me with a bunch of flat, emotionless, crap to listen to.
Maybe I should send it back and have the builder fix it.

 

[ruZZ.il]

Go with the middle(5x). It'll just mean you get more play with the vol.knob with higher imp. cans, and a more sensitive vol.knob with lower imp. cans
(ie, you may find yourself listening at 3 o'clock with your higher imp cans, and at 12 with the lower imp. cans). Other effects aside, I think this would be your most balanced option.

MisterX: Ever heard of DIY? There's this Marshall guy around here who could walk you through it.

 

[webbie64]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruZZ.il /img/forum/go_quote.gif Go with the middle(5x). It'll just mean you get more play with the vol.knob with higher imp. cans, and a more sensitive vol.knob with lower imp. cans (ie, you may find yourself listening at 3 o'clock with your higher imp cans, and at 12 with the lower imp. cans). Other effects aside, I think this would be your most balanced option.

Agreed. I have a Mini3 with Gain 5. For IEMs (Livewires) it's never past 9 o'clock but it'd have enough gain at the higher positions for the low and high impedence cans.

 

[wquiles]

I built mine with a gain of 2, since I mostly expected to use with my IEM's, but as it turns out, the mini^3 is such a great amp that I am using it at home with my Senn 580's and it drives them "plenty" strong as is. Then again, I should point out that the one I built was the high-performance version which has more drive capability

That being said, I have the parts to build a second mini^3, and I will try a gain of 4-5 since I think I will then have a little bit more "punch" for the 580's, while still being pretty decent for IEM's.

 

[Spiritboxer]

If a gain of 2 or 5 are all that's available I'd go with 5. I initially drove my HD580's with a Hornet M and while I thought they sounded great I felt there was something missing. Bought an RSA XP-7, hooked 'em up and there it was. If Rockhopper isn't building these any more perhaps you could persuade MisterX to build you one. While I haven't heard the latest/greatest out there, running those Senns off a portable is kinda selling these great cans short. Totally clueless on most audiophile issues but this I know for sure.....Best of luck in your search.

 

[wquiles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spiritboxer /img/forum/go_quote.gif If a gain of 2 or 5 are all that's available I'd go with 5. I initially drove my HD580's with a Hornet M and while I thought they sounded great I felt there was something missing. Bought an RSA XP-7, hooked 'em up and there it was. If Rockhopper isn't building these any more perhaps you could persuade MisterX to build you one. While I haven't heard the latest/greatest out there, running those Senns off a portable is kinda selling these great cans short. Totally clueless on most audiophile issues but this I know for sure.....Best of luck in your search.

If you look at the main AMB site for the mini^3, and look at the schematic, you will see the "standard" gain values of 2x, 3x, 5x (default), and 8x:

The Mini³ Portable Stereo Headphone Amplifier

However, it should be noted that any specific gain between 2x and 8x can be selected by calculating and using the correct value resistors

In our last meet here in Dallas, many who tried my mini^3 could not believe it as a portable - many said it sounded like a very good desktop amp, and that was only with a gain of 2x

EDIT: My mini^3 is the High Performance version ...

Will

 

[moriez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spiritboxer /img/forum/go_quote.gif If Rockhopper isn't building these any more perhaps you could persuade MisterX to build you one.

Or ask Haibin Xu (user applegd) to build one for you. Ive corresponded with Haibin and he´s a very nice guy.

 

[spookygonk]

I have an extended runtime edition (lower gain?) winging its way to me from head-fi-er in the US and I'm so looking forward to checking it out. Only bought it as the Chinese New Year has delayed the delivery my Little Dot Mk1. Head-fi is such a bad influence!

 

[gtp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spookygonk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have an extended runtime edition (lower gain?) winging its way to me from head-fi-er in the US and I'm so looking forward to checking it out. Only bought it as the Chinese New Year has delayed the delivery my Little Dot Mk1. Head-fi is such a bad influence!

It's not there yet? Should be soon! Enjoy it!!

 

[wquiles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spookygonk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have an extended runtime edition (lower gain?)

No, extended runtime version does not mean lower gain. The high performance has a higher current capacity than the extended runtime edition - this is separate from the actual voltage gain.

Will

 

[spookygonk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtp /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's not there yet? Should be soon! Enjoy it!!

I expect it will be with me on Monday, which as I have a couple of days off (working the whole weekend, dammit) will be great for me to get a feel of what it can do.

Also, cheers Will.

edit it arrived today (Tuesday)!!!!!