See these Reviews Early, Get in on Monthly Yard Sales, Hear Sound Demos? Click! ⚔️www.SubscribeStar.com/Zeos -- Subscribe Star 🥇www.Patreon.com/Zeos -- Check out the Patreon 👕www.Zboombox.com -- New MERCH
P.S. I built an adapter cable to run Balanced headphones off the Back Speaker terminals and its EVEN BETTER... So look for that build video on the 👽2nd Channel : ru-vid.com/show-UCOtI5JChjkQVYRWAbqRhNeQvideos
Hi Zeos. Just letting you know I received a notification to contact you for a prize. 🤷🏻♂️ Thought you should know brother. I watched the Kef 300 review for the fifth time and saw Chewie! ❤️ I think it was Kef 300. Keep rockin brother!
For many years my A-100 has been rocking my Elacs UB5, which are notoriously hard to drive, as graciously as my HD600, my Fostex T50s and my Beyerdynamic Dt990 600 ohms. Such a versatile, clean sounding amp. I honestly don't see the need to upgrade.
I agree with you Lucas I have the same amp which I bought before I ever heard of z reviews I use to listen to him intently until he was bought by the products he "reviews" have you noticed that he does not give any negative reviews to any product he is gifted by these manufacturers I use to love the way he looked out for us budget audiophiles but now this guy gets 1000 dollar headphones and other expensive products free because he has such a large following.
One solution to the volume knob issue is to set the switch on the back to fixed and use a Schiit Sys as a passive preamp. Then you get an analog volume knob with an indicator and you won't have to worry about accidently hitting the switch to fixed and blowing your ears off. You also get the extra set of RCA inputs back that's missing on this model or you can use the SYS in reverse and have 2 inputs into the amp. What do you think of this as a solution and are there any other passive preamp switches that you'd recommend?
a proper volume control is paramount, analog ones just works but need something visual to show the level, but suffer from either to much gain at either start or end of range. now that more gear goes digital volume, they really need to put effort into programming the thing right. i had a few now and my favourite so far is minidsp shd studio, its programmed so that you can flick it fast and you cant blow things up when it gets loud, but you can flick it down and it will get silent fast. it had a bit much range for my taste, i do not want 0.5 db increments. but afer i put some rubber O-rings on the knob i can spin it around with a finger, and did i mention it has steps feel to it as well.
I don't think I'm going to switch from my A100 to the A2m - the volume knob is a deal breaker for me. I painted my A100 to have a little indicator on it so I KNOW how loud it's going to be so I don't destroy my headphones or my hearing permanently. What happens if someone bumps the A2m by accident, or your kid decides to give it a spin? You have NO way of knowing if it's maxed out or not. Plain dangerous, imo.
Thank you Zeos for confirming my purchase. I love the A2M, but the I do agree with you about all the issues it has. The volume knob gets really annoying, but I am getting use to having to turning CCW at least 3 times before switching headphones. Not able to turn it off has been annoying, but I have a plan to fix that. This may seem minor, but I don't like the fan noise; I only really notice it when the A2M wakes up or if it is push a lot of power and it is hot in my room. I was hoping to be able to replace it with a noctua fan, but unfortunately Emotiva decided to use a 2 pin fan, so it really restricts replacements. But that all being said, using it on a variety of headphones has been so much fun and so powerful. I can see why people recommend a lot of power for t50/t60. Plus they sound amazing on the HD 6xx; I think I prefer it more than my tube amp, xduoo mt-604.
You can plug 3 pin fans onto 2 pin fan headers. The third pin is just for reporting rpm to software. With 3 pin noctua fans, line up the pins with the red and black wires on the fan. For 4 pin noctua fans, line up the yellow and black wires.
@@beemo808 I am well aware on how fans are wired. I was hoping to use some that I have lying around, but none are made for industrial 2 pin fan headers, which are a bit bigger pins and a bit further apart, plus they provide 12 VDC. This would kill any pc fan since most, if not all are 5VDC, unless I got a server fan
@@drinkbleachjpeg2113 PC fans are 12v not 5v. Only the 4pin fans use 5v for pwm control. Take a multimeter to every fan header on your motherboard if you don't believe me. Noctua has 12v versions of all of their fans. If the connector doesn't fit just cut the old one off the stock fan and put it on the noctua.
@@beemo808 I did double check the specs from noctua. They do have 12VDC, but use a max of .08 A for a total power of .96 watts. I only have 4 pin ones on hand, so i would need 5v to run, otherwise i could blow them up. I do need to check the specs on the fan that is installed, cause it most likely uses .5 - 1 amp. Plus Emotiva designed it so you have to take out the heatsink to remove the fan, since they made a small cut out to route the cable to the fan header. I hope I don't seem like a dick in my replies; I really want to replace the fan with a quieter one, but need to do more research on a possible replacement industrial 80 mm fan
i think Emotiva call it "Class H," where it's basically class A/B on the output stage but it has a very high frequency switching power supply, like most of their equipment now
@@howmit6361 Yes! Soundcraftsman were first company with Class H decades ago, at the same time that Hitachi first released the competing Class G circuit. Same advantages claimed, different topologies. Reminiscing about audio from years ago! Thanks for awakening my memories! 👍
@@Stan_the_Belgian Yes! The pro audio industry favors Class G or Class H circuitry. Lower quiescent power dissipation, with a greater max. power headroom, than straight Class AB could offer.
I think maybe the point with the switch is because they went to a lower quality volume setup. So makes more sense to use a preamp volume control and hence that switch.
Great review! I have the A-100 as my daily driver and it has been great as a speaker amp. Only issue is I agree there is an audible noise floor when using sensitive headphones. I was curious about the new improvements in sound quality, but damn, I agree these feature changes are showstoppers. Some questionable design decisions there. Note that Emotiva's site doesn't mention class D, it is probably class H with the A/B output stage.
This amp is perfect for what I need. I was concerned that he was so concerned at the start about the changes but once he went through them they were literally a non-issue for me. I was able to snag this amp on eBay for less than $200.
I never really liked the TR60P, I tried the them on the RebelAmp, THX888, and the XDuoo XD05 Plus. Honestly, the mod A100 is the only amp the TR60P sounds good on. EDIT: After the A100 Jumper mod EVERY headphone has the buzz except for the TR60P. If your headphone is even a little bit efficient (sensitive) you will hear the buzz, but then you shouldn't need a F'ing 50 watt amp to power them.
I'm listening now via headphones on an A-100 (with page 11 jumpers in). I'm pretty sure it was priced at $199. Buying it earned some sort of Emotiva bucks, which I applied toward a second A-100, bringing its price to roughly $170. I appreciate an improvement in sound quality, but nothing else that I hear about it justifies the 33% price hike.
I bought one for $229 back in 2017. Very solid for a new bare bones product, headphone out was pretty shit though imo. Despite sounding great, mine did end up breaking and they did not honor my warranty, which isn't the first time I've run into support problems with them. But the final nail in the coffin for their lower end stuff was the PT-100 because not only was it like, just okay, it had too many glaring flaws and then ended up shitting the bed anyway after a couple of weeks or so. From then on I just want to steer clear of the lower end and older emotiva products. I'm sure their flagship stuff is great, but my experience makes me not want to find out.
Like so many other stacks, could you add a DAC with pre-amp features to control volume levels? The power off issue is still a pain though. Looking forward to the M5A review!
I've wanted this amp since I watched your initial review of the old model .... but I fucked around as I tend to do and didn't get around to ordering one until last Wednesday (day before the July 4th holiday) .... Then, I found this video and was actually afraid to watch it ... I thought for sure I had royally fucked myself in the ass dry ... But, alas, all is not lost ... so happy to learn the new one sounds a LOT better. My use case will incorporate the DANGEROUS switch remaining in FIXED and the other switch in AUTO and will be adjusting the input via a REAL volume knob on my Schiit preamp/headphone amp ... (which is also where I will plug in headphones) ... So I think that plan will reduce the chances of any explosions on my desk. Cheers and thanks for the great video!
It's funny when Emotiva comments on these videos sometimes for positive reviews but where are they now? Maybe they know this shit is inexcusable. If they kept the passthrough, changed the fixed output implementation(which is honestly a neat feature) and fixed the previous ones issues instead of carrying them over I think this would have been a fantastic addition to their lineup.
pass. most switch mode supplies have definitive lifespans that are significantly shorter than traditional supplies just due to how SMPS are designed and implemented. it's literally unavoidable.
I'm considering getting this amp for a 9.4 receiver to push 2 50watt ceiling speakers to make a 7.1.4 setup. the receiver will process 11 channels, but only powers 9. Would this not be a good amp for that? Also, I was under the impression if I set the amp to "fixed" I could control the volume with my receiver instead of having to control the volume separately for 2 speakers. Is that not the case? Thanks for a good an entertaining review.
Zeos, this is one of the best reviews you've done in a while, thanks a bunch! PS. any advice how to collectively bully Swan into sending you the M5A and the M3A MkII? (I figure the M300 MkIIs were better than the M500, maybe that's the case again :D )
I'm probably missing something here cause I'm new but what's with the extremely pervy, suspect, image of the schoolgirl with her underwear in a cats' gub? Where I'm from that would get you turned inside out.
Ignoring the headphone capability, can this even compete sonically with the Aiyima A07 for driving speakers? This is still Class A/B, not D. They changed to a switched mode power supply.
Aiyima is still a Class D implementation. A very good one, but still Class D. I am getting the A2M soon and I will answer this question for you as I also have a A07.
but if you only have one pair of headphones, like me and have it at a pretty constant volume, and just use the volumes on pc and barely touch the knob, does it not stay at the same level? like if i know it has not been touched it should stay at same volume level?
@@ZReviews right, i did speak to a representative at emotiva earlier, they said that the next revision going out next year will have a recessed switch at the back so you don't accidentally flip it, and maybe have some kind of volume indicator, they said something about the led arc above the knob currently having 3 leds but in future could have like 10 to indicate volume
The whole control scheme in this amp is such a bad idea it makes you wonder if the amp is so good that unless they intentionally made it impractical it might canibalize their other more expensive products.
This was a great review Zeos, insta-death switch is quite borked. Team slots ftw. I also have a question, are AKG 701 and 702 a good way to try out a open-back headphones on the cheap? They run under 100$ used where I live and they seem perfect to try out open-backs on the cheap without paying for chinesium.
@@jjpablo HE400SEs are closer to 150 bucks sadly. I could get them but I'm not sure if I will even like open-back headphones and AKG K701 and 702 were an interesting used option.
@Z Reviews Hey Z. Love your channel. Im building off my first 2.1 setup with Triangle Bro 2's after watching your review of them. Im struggling decidin between this bas x mini or the 2 bas x. How you think this amps matchup with the Bro2 in termes of sonics . Ill be doing both music and moviee watching with the systems so im leaning towards the basx 2 for the 160watta@8ohms headroom. Thanks for your input
OK! So what IS going on with that whimpy transformer in the new unit! How is THAT putting out the same amount of POWER as that rather large toroid? So is the lighter transformer lighter because it is a DIGITAL/switching power unit! Making this amp some kind of hybrid A/B.?
Not a class D Zeos. Neither are the new XPA's. ONLY the power supplies have changed. They're Switching mode power supply's now because theyre faster and they figured out a way to make them much less noisy by sending the noise in the 200 000hz range, thats far away from the hearing range. The whole industry is slowly moving away from Toroidals as they produce 60hz noise that as to be filtered out thus more noisy. The class H is simply a class A/B with a silent SMPS. Its the interim period before they all make the move to Class D with Gan Fet amps and SMPS, which is the real future for amps. Ganfets and Sicfet are the future because they are faster and less noisy than Jfets and mosfets. In a few years Ganfets wil be less pricy and a lot more of us will make the move...
I would love to say yes BUT.. Some cheap home theater in a box system use to run speaker power out and the speakers had wires built in with RCA connectors.. Talk about super dangerous.
BasX A2m Stereo Flex Amplifier, Wouldn't This Device Be Controlled By My DENON 8K X3700H AVR... If I Was Using A Trigger Cable??? SO Wouldn't That Amplifier Then Be Controled Using The Volume Knob On My DENON 8K X3700H AVR??? Because I'll Be Using It As A Pre Amp. For My Back Speakers To Give Me 11.1 But I Also Want To Be Able To Watch My 3D, & 4K, MOVIES At Night Without Waking Up My Nieghibors... And I Can I Still Use The Pre Amps. With A Jumper Add On It??? Where Do I Buy A Jumper For It??? 🤔 And Do I Even Need To Use Jumpers In The First Place 🤔 Just To Listen To MOVIES, Will The Jumpers Add Better DTX Or DOLBY ATMOS, 3D, Surround To The MOVIES??? 🎬 My Question Too You Is This Amplifier Putting Out Enough Juice To The Headphones,Without Having To Use Jumpers To Add More Power??? 🔋
The ending with the question mark and riddle me this made me laugh uncontrollably 😂😂😂 Honestly I'm planning on getting the t50rp's soon and just want an end game power amp for them so I'll definitely get the new model. My question is, I have a fiio m11 plus as source, can I connect the fiio to a passive pre amp with volume control, and output to the Emotiva running in it's full line out eleminating the flaws of the volume control and possible blowing up of speakers/headphones?