KeithL
Administrator 
Posts: 10,261
|
Post by KeithL on Feb 2, 2018 11:23:25 GMT -5
Yes, impressive, isn't it.....  The A-100 is actually a very quiet amp, so I suspect that both the sound bleed-through and the slight hiss are from your AVR (although no amp is perfectly quiet). The reason that you get a lot of volume by just barely moving the volume control is that you have a lot of overall system gain. If you find this annoying, you can reduce the gain by putting a pair of fixed attenuators between the output of your source and the input of the A-100. Passive attenuators just reduce the gain by a specific amount; so they cut the source signal level down, along with any noise that's coming from the source, enabling you to turn the volume control further up. They shouldn't change anything else, or introduce any significant noise or distortion of their own, and they cost about $25 a pair. You would be looking at these: www.parts-express.com/harrison-labs-12-db-rca-line-level-audio-attenuator-pair--266-244AN IMPORTANT NOTE FOR OTHER A-100 OWNERS:The effect of putting in the jumpers will depend on the impedance of your headphones... It's perfectly safe with higher impedance headphones (say 150 ohms and up)... but you have to be careful with low impedance ones. You most certainly can use the jumpers with low impedance headphones, but DO read and obey the cautions. After some massive annoyance with UPS, I’m happily listening to my HD6xx through the A-100. The PT-100 is in delivery limbo hopefully to arrive tomorrow. Anyway... wow. In anticipation of getting the A-100, I read some more reviews and watched some videos. It seemed that jumpering the amp wouldn’t cause problems for my headphones so that’s what I did. It’s remarkable. Maybe too much power since I just need to nudge the volume a hair to get plenty of volume and detail. The headphones sound miraculous with this amp. Bass hits like a freight train and the highs are so crisp. The HD6xx (and HD660S) sounded very restrained even with the Lyr on high volume. With the A100, they really shine. I’ve got no vocabulary for any of this audio stuff so pardon the nonspecific impressions. A couple issues - even at zero volume, I can still hear the music. It’s like how you can hear the music from a turntable even with no volume. Is that normal? The other is that there is a slight hiss (graininess?) at all times. It’s connected to my AVR right now so we’ll see if these issue persist when I get my PT-100. Edit: chills. Listening to Kendrick Lamar’s Loyalty right now. That part where Rihanna is soloing. Wow. The deeeep bass sounds like it’s coming out of a good subwoofer.
|
|
|
|
Post by creimes on Feb 2, 2018 13:07:54 GMT -5
I think he is replacing the avr with a PT-100 so I'm sure the RCA out on it will help with the gain issue. Chad Yes, impressive, isn't it..... The A-100 is actually a very quiet amp, so I suspect that both the sound bleed-through and the slight hiss are from your AVR (although no amp is perfectly quiet). The reason that you get a lot of volume by just barely moving the volume control is that you have a lot of overall system gain. If you find this annoying, you can reduce the gain by putting a pair of fixed attenuators between the output of your source and the input of the A-100. Passive attenuators just reduce the gain by a specific amount; so they cut the source signal level down, along with any noise that's coming from the source, enabling you to turn the volume control further up. They shouldn't change anything else, or introduce any significant noise or distortion of their own, and they cost about $25 a pair. You would be looking at these: www.parts-express.com/harrison-labs-12-db-rca-line-level-audio-attenuator-pair--266-244AN IMPORTANT NOTE FOR OTHER A-100 OWNERS:The effect of putting in the jumpers will depend on the impedance of your headphones... It's perfectly safe with higher impedance headphones (say 150 ohms and up)... but you have to be careful with low impedance ones. You most certainly can use the jumpers with low impedance headphones, but DO read and obey the cautions. After some massive annoyance with UPS, I’m happily listening to my HD6xx through the A-100. The PT-100 is in delivery limbo hopefully to arrive tomorrow. Anyway... wow. In anticipation of getting the A-100, I read some more reviews and watched some videos. It seemed that jumpering the amp wouldn’t cause problems for my headphones so that’s what I did. It’s remarkable. Maybe too much power since I just need to nudge the volume a hair to get plenty of volume and detail. The headphones sound miraculous with this amp. Bass hits like a freight train and the highs are so crisp. The HD6xx (and HD660S) sounded very restrained even with the Lyr on high volume. With the A100, they really shine. I’ve got no vocabulary for any of this audio stuff so pardon the nonspecific impressions. A couple issues - even at zero volume, I can still hear the music. It’s like how you can hear the music from a turntable even with no volume. Is that normal? The other is that there is a slight hiss (graininess?) at all times. It’s connected to my AVR right now so we’ll see if these issue persist when I get my PT-100. Edit: chills. Listening to Kendrick Lamar’s Loyalty right now. That part where Rihanna is soloing. Wow. The deeeep bass sounds like it’s coming out of a good subwoofer. |
|
|
|
Post by creimes on Feb 2, 2018 13:14:44 GMT -5
I checked out that song on Tidal and wow it has some serious lows, gotta try it on my main system and work my two 18's a bit  After some massive annoyance with UPS, I’m happily listening to my HD6xx through the A-100. The PT-100 is in delivery limbo hopefully to arrive tomorrow. Anyway... wow. In anticipation of getting the A-100, I read some more reviews and watched some videos. It seemed that jumpering the amp wouldn’t cause problems for my headphones so that’s what I did. It’s remarkable. Maybe too much power since I just need to nudge the volume a hair to get plenty of volume and detail. The headphones sound miraculous with this amp. Bass hits like a freight train and the highs are so crisp. The HD6xx (and HD660S) sounded very restrained even with the Lyr on high volume. With the A100, they really shine. I’ve got no vocabulary for any of this audio stuff so pardon the nonspecific impressions. A couple issues - even at zero volume, I can still hear the music. It’s like how you can hear the music from a turntable even with no volume. Is that normal? The other is that there is a slight hiss (graininess?) at all times. It’s connected to my AVR right now so we’ll see if these issue persist when I get my PT-100. Edit: chills. Listening to Kendrick Lamar’s Loyalty right now. That part where Rihanna is soloing. Wow. The deeeep bass sounds like it’s coming out of a good subwoofer. |
|
|
|
Post by torifile on Feb 2, 2018 13:33:23 GMT -5
I checked out that song on Tidal and wow it has some serious lows, gotta try it on my main system and work my two 18's a bit After some massive annoyance with UPS, I’m happily listening to my HD6xx through the A-100. The PT-100 is in delivery limbo hopefully to arrive tomorrow. Anyway... wow. In anticipation of getting the A-100, I read some more reviews and watched some videos. It seemed that jumpering the amp wouldn’t cause problems for my headphones so that’s what I did. It’s remarkable. Maybe too much power since I just need to nudge the volume a hair to get plenty of volume and detail. The headphones sound miraculous with this amp. Bass hits like a freight train and the highs are so crisp. The HD6xx (and HD660S) sounded very restrained even with the Lyr on high volume. With the A100, they really shine. I’ve got no vocabulary for any of this audio stuff so pardon the nonspecific impressions. A couple issues - even at zero volume, I can still hear the music. It’s like how you can hear the music from a turntable even with no volume. Is that normal? The other is that there is a slight hiss (graininess?) at all times. It’s connected to my AVR right now so we’ll see if these issue persist when I get my PT-100. Edit: chills. Listening to Kendrick Lamar’s Loyalty right now. That part where Rihanna is soloing. Wow. The deeeep bass sounds like it’s coming out of a good subwoofer. That whole album has the spectrum of highs and lows. It really challenges the responsiveness of your speakers/headphones, too. Not to mention, it’s just plain brilliant if you’re into hip hop at all. My PT-100 is finally at the ups store so it should all be hooked up tonight. I think I’ve landed on the correct gear for my phase of audiophilia. Thanks for all the help, everyone! |
|
|
|
Post by creimes on Feb 2, 2018 13:39:05 GMT -5
I checked out that song on Tidal and wow it has some serious lows, gotta try it on my main system and work my two 18's a bit That whole album has the spectrum of highs and lows. It really challenges the responsiveness of your speakers/headphones, too. Not to mention, it’s just plain brilliant if you’re into hip hop at all. My PT-100 is finally at the ups store so it should all be hooked up tonight. I think I’ve landed on the correct gear for my phase of audiophilia. Thanks for all the help, everyone! Congrats on the new gear, I had the TA-100 for a few weeks, I bought it on a whim for $300 in mint condition but really ahd nowhere for it so my buddy bought it, but really sweet piece given the cost, just downright awesome really. I'm not all that into hip hop but will check it out, I do love a good beat  Also my HIFIMAN HE-400i's are here so I get to play with them tonight, I might leave them at my buddies for a week playing music as he's a truck driver and is gone all week and has either the Asgard 2 or Valhalla 2 I can run them on for a solid 5 days straight to get some time on them. Chad |
|
|
|
Post by emofrmcgy on Feb 2, 2018 14:29:52 GMT -5
I checked out that song on Tidal and wow it has some serious lows, gotta try it on my main system and work my two 18's a bit That whole album has the spectrum of highs and lows. It really challenges the responsiveness of your speakers/headphones, too. Not to mention, it’s just plain brilliant if you’re into hip hop at all. My PT-100 is finally at the ups store so it should all be hooked up tonight. I think I’ve landed on the correct gear for my phase of audiophilia. Thanks for all the help, everyone! Will definitely give it a listen later when I’m home. |
|
|
|
Post by torifile on Feb 2, 2018 17:57:54 GMT -5
Update: the PT-100 is all setup. My system is complete. For a bit I couldn’t figure out how to get the optical out from my TV. I thought I had set it up properly but no sound was coming out. I checked all the settings yada yada and turns out I stupidly forgot to connect my RCA cables from the PT-100 to the A-100. Doh!
So after that little hiccup, I got it all working. All video sources into the TV with an optical out to the PT-100. Right now, the Mac mini is serving audio via HDMI and then from the TV thru optical to the PT. I will be changing that to go USB directly from the Mac mini to the PT so I don’t have to have the tv on while listening to music.
I also figured out why the music was still audible when the A-100 was turned all the way down. On my AVR, I had set the volume control to “fixed” for zone 2, which is how I had the A-100 connected. Fixed volume control put the output at the AVR’s max. So, the gain theory was correct.
I’m now able to control the volume of my headphones via the PT’s remote and leaving the volume knob on the A-100 fixed.
Question: is there any disadvantage to controlling my headphone output through turning up or down the volume on the PT rather than using the A-100 to control their volume? (This applies to the speakers, too, but I don’t care about the sound quality of those as much.)
|
|
|
|
Post by leonski on Feb 2, 2018 20:14:19 GMT -5
If hiss were eliminated you WOULD probably notice a difference. You might not even be able to tell WHAT, but the blacker 'between note' background would, IMO be helpful.
|
|
|
|
Post by torifile on Feb 3, 2018 0:15:53 GMT -5
If hiss were eliminated you WOULD probably notice a difference. You might not even be able to tell WHAT, but the blacker 'between note' background would, IMO be helpful. So there is a hiss. It’s different than it was with the AVR and more noticeable. It’s there even with the PT-100 or A-100 volume all the way down. To rule out a wonky RCA connection between the PT and A-100, I even disconnected the cables. Still hissing. Any thoughts? |
|
|
|
Post by torifile on Feb 3, 2018 0:20:41 GMT -5
I wrote this up elsewhere but it seems relevant here, too. i.imgur.com/gwzOYtD.jpgPictured: Emotiva PT-100, Mac mini (late 2012), Emotiva A-100, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Pro-ject Debut Carbon, KEF Q100. Not pictured: Sennheiser 6XX. The Mac mini is connected to the PT-100 via USB, the other digital devices are connected via HDMI to the TV which connects to the PT-100 through its optical out. Some choices I made in the setup: - should I go with the PT-100 + A-100 or TA-100? I decided on the PT-100 + A-100 because I wanted it’s headphone amp. I’m sure the headphone jack in the TA-100 is fine but I wanted one built for driving headphones. - why the Emotiva setup rather than an AVR? Did you notice what forum we’re on?!? In all seriousness, because I wasn’t happy with the phono stage on the AVR, I didn’t need nearly any of the video functions, so why pay for them? And it needed a headphone amp anyway. - which Mac mini should I buy? I opted for the late 2012 2.3 ghz i7 because it’s far more powerful than the 2011 and has upgradeable RAM, unlike the 2014. The i7 because why not? ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯ Seriously though, it was because it might be a plex server in the future and I want to make sure I have the headroom to transcode on the fly. - why connect the Mac mini via USB rather than just running it into the TV and then optical? I wanted to be able to listen to audio with the TV off and the optical connection needs the TV on. It also allows Audirvana to play 96khz. Optical was limited to 44.1 (maybe a limitation of my TV?) - speaking of Audirvana, what music player on the Mac? I am trialing Audirvana just to see what MQA and FLAC are like through this setup. I don’t really like the interface and makes me wonder if it’s worth the sticker price. - speaking of audio formats, what music service? I have been an Apple Music subscriber since the beginning. I’ve dabbled with Spotify and Tidal. I’ve settled on Apple Music for its tight integration with my iOS devices and Tidal (trial right now) for its lossless and masters. - why on earth did I type this all out on my iPhone? Because my computer is far away and these headphones are not wireless. The sound is glorious. Crisp highs and deep bass. The headphones are fast and responsive. Issues: - there’s a slight hissing from the amp when nothing is playing. Any ideas? - are my speakers being impeded by their positioning? Did I take the “bookshelf” name too literally? - so, let’s talk, Emotiva. What’s with the blinding blue LEDs around the dials? This is not some 1337 g4m3r’s gaming rig. |
|
|
|
Post by leonski on Feb 3, 2018 2:16:26 GMT -5
If you just put the speakers where they fit, the chances of bettering your setup with physical adjustment is 100%. Bookshelf speakers sometimes sound better maybe 15 to 30 inches from the 'front' wall and with the tweeter at Ear Height. Most users will purchase or DIY (easy) some speaker stands. Toe-In to taste. www.cardas.com/room_setup_main.phpRead thru the link and see how it applies to YOU. Amp Hiss? Try reversing the jumpers if you messed with them. |
|
|
|
Post by torifile on Feb 3, 2018 7:20:22 GMT -5
If you just put the speakers where they fit, the chances of bettering your setup with physical adjustment is 100%. Bookshelf speakers sometimes sound better maybe 15 to 30 inches from the 'front' wall and with the tweeter at Ear Height. Most users will purchase or DIY (easy) some speaker stands. Toe-In to taste. www.cardas.com/room_setup_main.phpRead thru the link and see how it applies to YOU. Amp Hiss? Try reversing the jumpers if you messed with them. I did install the jumpers. What do you mean by reversing them? |
|
|
|
Post by torifile on Feb 3, 2018 10:05:48 GMT -5
If you just put the speakers where they fit, the chances of bettering your setup with physical adjustment is 100%. Bookshelf speakers sometimes sound better maybe 15 to 30 inches from the 'front' wall and with the tweeter at Ear Height. Most users will purchase or DIY (easy) some speaker stands. Toe-In to taste. www.cardas.com/room_setup_main.phpRead thru the link and see how it applies to YOU. Amp Hiss? Try reversing the jumpers if you messed with them. I did install the jumpers. What do you mean by reversing them? Update: jumpers removed, switched, reversed. All still the same hissing even with nothing but the power plugged in. On both my HD6XX and HD660S. It seems like the A-100 itself is noisy. Is this normal? |
|
|
|
Post by garbulky on Feb 3, 2018 13:10:35 GMT -5
I did install the jumpers. What do you mean by reversing them? Update: jumpers removed, switched, reversed. All still the same hissing even with nothing but the power plugged in. On both my HD6XX and HD660S. It seems like the A-100 itself is noisy. Is this normal? Torifile With the jumpers engaged you will probably hear a hiss during "silence" in music passages. That's the noise floor of the amp. On the HD6xx you likely won't hear it, during anything wher ethere is music. Also at low volumes on the knob you will hear a channel imbalance. A potentiometer knob will track worse at very low volumes, that's why. You won't hear the hiss if you TAKE THE JUMPERS OFF. But if you do, you won't have as much power. The reccomended way I would do it (with jumpers engaged) is to set the PT-100 to say -10 or -20 volume. Then turn the A-100 volume knob past where the channel imbalance happens and up to the MAXIMUM LOUDNESS you would listen to. Then after that leave the A-100 volume alone. Then control the volume with the PT-100. This way you get past the channel imbalance. And you have a remote for your volume. |
|
|
|
Post by leonski on Feb 3, 2018 14:04:22 GMT -5
Only ONE possible help, and it's a longshot.
Do you have access to a power conditioner or can borrow one?
Some hiss might be getting into the system with bad power, like from lamp dimmers or other nearby or sami-circuit sources.
If power don't fix it, you either put up with the hiss or try another amp.
And I would NEVER run a preamp out to a preamp IN such that you have 2 level controls in series.
|
|
|
|
Post by torifile on Feb 3, 2018 14:17:12 GMT -5
Update: jumpers removed, switched, reversed. All still the same hissing even with nothing but the power plugged in. On both my HD6XX and HD660S. It seems like the A-100 itself is noisy. Is this normal? Torifile With the jumpers engaged you will probably hear a hiss during "silence" in music passages. That's the noise floor of the amp. On the HD6xx you likely won't hear it, during anything wher ethere is music. Also at low volumes on the knob you will hear a channel imbalance. A potentiometer knob will track worse at very low volumes, that's why. You won't hear the hiss if you TAKE THE JUMPERS OFF. But if you do, you won't have as much power. The reccomended way I would do it (with jumpers engaged) is to set the PT-100 to say -10 or -20 volume. Then turn the A-100 volume knob past where the channel imbalance happens and up to the MAXIMUM LOUDNESS you would listen to. Then after that leave the A-100 volume alone. Then control the volume with the PT-100. This way you get past the channel imbalance. And you have a remote for your volume. I did take the jumpers off and I still hear it. |
|
|
|
Post by garbulky on Feb 3, 2018 15:06:08 GMT -5
Torifile With the jumpers engaged you will probably hear a hiss during "silence" in music passages. That's the noise floor of the amp. On the HD6xx you likely won't hear it, during anything wher ethere is music. Also at low volumes on the knob you will hear a channel imbalance. A potentiometer knob will track worse at very low volumes, that's why. You won't hear the hiss if you TAKE THE JUMPERS OFF. But if you do, you won't have as much power. The reccomended way I would do it (with jumpers engaged) is to set the PT-100 to say -10 or -20 volume. Then turn the A-100 volume knob past where the channel imbalance happens and up to the MAXIMUM LOUDNESS you would listen to. Then after that leave the A-100 volume alone. Then control the volume with the PT-100. This way you get past the channel imbalance. And you have a remote for your volume. I did take the jumpers off and I still hear it. Disconnect the RCA wires from the amp . Do you still hear it? If you do then it's the amps fault. If you don't then it's coming from something upstream |
|
|
|
Post by torifile on Feb 3, 2018 15:54:43 GMT -5
I did take the jumpers off and I still hear it. Disconnect the RCA wires from the amp . Do you still hear it? If you do then it's the amps fault. If you don't then it's coming from something upstream Everything but the power cable disconnected, there’s still the hiss. This is both with the jumpers and without. Using my 6XX or my 660s. Volume all the way up or all the way down and everywhere in between. It doesn’t get any louder with increased volume. It’s a steady volume. It’s just there all the time if it’s on. In standby mode I don’t hear it. |
|
|
|
Post by garbulky on Feb 3, 2018 15:59:25 GMT -5
Ok then it's the amp. If i's a small amount of fain hiss, that's normal. if it's petty loud - especially without the jumpers something is happening. Try plugging it in to a power outlet that goes directly in to the wall all by itself - no power conditioner. And see what happens. If it's loud then it's abnormal. But a mild amount of hiss is fine.
|
|
|
|
Post by novisnick on Feb 3, 2018 16:00:36 GMT -5
Disconnect the RCA wires from the amp . Do you still hear it? If you do then it's the amps fault. If you don't then it's coming from something upstream Everything but the power cable disconnected, there’s still the hiss. This is both with the jumpers and without. Using my 6XX or my 660s. Volume all the way up or all the way down and everywhere in between. It doesn’t get any louder with increased volume. It’s a steady volume. It’s just there all the time if it’s on. In standby mode I don’t hear it. I believe garbulky called it, it’s the noise floor. |
|
After some massive annoyance with UPS, I’m happily listening to my HD6xx through the A-100. The PT-100 is in delivery limbo hopefully to arrive tomorrow. 
