[dpump]

Just purchased a 1.2 here to use with my HiFiMan HE-500 phones. The sound is very good but I have noise on both channels from the amp or the power supply. Also there's not much usable range on the volume control. Does anyone have experience with the HiFiMan HE-Adapter?
 
The mfg says the HE-Adapter should not be used with the HE-500 as they are too efficient. It should only be used with the HE-6 and the HE-5LE. Since the HE-Adapter is designed to reduce the power of an amp to allow the use of HiFiMan headphones, it seems to me it should work on the HE-500 also. I don't want to buy one if it won't work.

I don't like the stepped volume control on the 1.2. Not enough steps to get a fine adjustment. The pot is rated at 20k. Can I use a different value of pot to get continuos control? I think an Alps blue pot is too large to fit, so the pot needs to be the same size as the original one. Maybe Panasonic or someone else makes a pot that will work?

[JohnR]

I'm not sure why you would want to use the Adapter given that HifiMan say don't use it. However, they give you the resistor values:

Resistors in parallel: 10 Ohm
Resistors in series: 25 Ohm

So you could try rigging up one that attenuates more, just lower the parallel resistor perhaps...

Make sure you don't connect the negative terminals together.

You could also try connecting a battery supply.

I'd be interested to hear how you go as it's something I've contemplated myself.

[JohnR]

So you could try rigging up one that attenuates more, just lower the parallel resistor perhaps...

That is assuming that the "parallel" resistor is after the "series" resistor, like a regular attenuator.

[Jason T]

Just purchased a 1.2 here to use with my HiFiMan HE-500 phones. The sound is very good but I have noise on both channels from the amp or the power supply. Also there's not much usable range on the volume control. Does anyone have experience with the HiFiMan HE-Adapter?
 
The mfg says the HE-Adapter should not be used with the HE-500 as they are too efficient. It should only be used with the HE-6 and the HE-5LE. Since the HE-Adapter is designed to reduce the power of an amp to allow the use of HiFiMan headphones, it seems to me it should work on the HE-500 also. I don't want to buy one if it won't work.

I don't like the stepped volume control on the 1.2. Not enough steps to get a fine adjustment. The pot is rated at 20k. Can I use a different value of pot to get continuos control? I think an Alps blue pot is too large to fit, so the pot needs to be the same size as the original one. Maybe Panasonic or someone else makes a pot that will work?

I'm not sure what adapter your using right now but please ready this thread before going any further.
I use my HE-4's with my Two.2 all of the time and it has a stepped pot, typically I can go to step 4-6 without any issues.
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=91161.0

[dpump]

Im not using any attenuator right now. I have the HE-500 hooked straight to the speaker terminals.

[HiFlight]

It sounds to me as if your wiring is hooked up incorrectly to the speaker terminals and you are hearing the L/R difference (R-L)   My One Classic and 2.2 both drove my HE-5LE and HE-6 effortlessly, with no noise at all.   Now I only have my Sensation M451 with tube buffer and it also drives my HE6, K1000 and balanced DT880 with authority and no noise.   

I would suggest carefully checking the wiring of your XLR sockets.  Also take note of the speaker terminals on your amp.  It is easy to misread the labels and connect to the wrong terminal.   Both of these will result in the sound as you describe. 

[danieljtb]

I have a 1.2 which I like alot but it does have some noise out of the speaker termin. when connected to my speakers. its sort of a szzchhh sound audible if I get my ear within about 2 feet from the speaker grill.   At he time of purchase I asked Seth about this and he confirmed thar the 1.2 has some noise

I have not tried it with headph yet..because of that noise issue.  I do hear folks say that the 1.2 is quieter running off a battery. 

.Ron hiflight will be making me some connecters, but I plan on trying my hd580 with balanced cables with an amp6 tripath 2024 a fellow headfier built fo me.

I think the output of any good qual 2024 or 2020 tripath would suit my phones or the he500 which I hope to get someday.  It seems that the he phones folks run off the virtue amps are the harder to drive 4.5,5le, and 6.

to the OP have you tried your 1.2 with speakers....and if the noise is still there...then your amp is like mine and you might want to consider asmaller tripath amp or avintage receiver runing out the HP jack

[virtue]

Hey Guys,

In terms of noise floor, batteries are the quietest, followed by the 30/130, followed by the 24/65 (stock, which vary in quality frankly).

Others have found that lowering the voltage below stock - for instance a 12v supply, actually works quite well.  Specifically, the NuForce Icon PSU was recommended. 

If you don't need all the power, try it!

Seth

[dpump]

Here's an update. Got the He-Adapter. Using it lowered the noise a little and I am able to get one more click on the volume control. The noise it not audible most of the time when music is playing unless the music is very quiet. I hear the noise between tracks.

I was bothered by a 'glare' in the sound with the Adapter. Inside the Adapter is a 10-ohm ceramic resistor wired in parallel on the + and - speaker connectors. There is a 25-ohm carbon film resistor in series with the + lead going to the XLR connector where the headphones plug in. The 10-ohm resister is either 5 or 10 watts, the 25-ohm resister is 1 watt. I replaced the 10-ohm resister with a Mills non-inductive 10-ohm 10 watt  resister. Most of the glare is gone and detail has been improved. I may try a carbon resister in place of the 25-ohm resister. Any suggestions here?

To answer some of the suggestions above. I do have everything wired correctly. No channels crossed or anything. The main noise I am hearing is a "whining' sound that is only on the left channel. Both channels have the normal 'sssh' noise, the whining sound is only on the left channel. If I could eliminate the whining sound the remaining sssh noise wouldn't bother me. I also have a Winsome Mouse Tripath amp. With the Mouse I get a sssh noise on both channels equally. No whining sound, but the sssh noise is more audible than the Virtue.

I tried a 24-volt power supply-still the same noise. I tried a 12-volt supply as Jason suggested, but the amp wouldn't turn on. The blue LED came on, but no sound from the amp. Back to the 30-volt supply and everything is back to normal.

So here's what I learned. Connecting the phones directly to the amp gets you audible noise and a somewhat "different' sound. Using the He-Adapter reduces the noise and also gives you what I consider a more accurate sound. With the phones connected directly to the amp the amp sees a resistance of about 40-ohms. With the adapter connected to the amp the amp sees a little more than 10-ohms. I think the amp is happier seeing 10-ohms. I have also used my Tec-On SE-34i single ended tube amp with and without the Adapter. The tube amp also sounds much better with the Adapter. And if you get an He-Adapter, please replace the 10-ohm resistors with Mills resistors-I think you will be happy with the improvement.

Now I just need to try the HE-6 phones. Since they are about 6 dB less efficient than the HE-500, I'm betting the noise would be low enough to cease to be an issue. Just need to find an extra $1300 somewhere...