I brought home the little MiniMax amplifier last week to burn in and get a grip on it's sound.... I should have grabbed one of the preamps too to see what the combo is like in comparison to my Audible Illusions Mod3A...but the boss was leaving for vacation and I already have a bunch of cables, the Art Audio Carissa amplifier, and the new Jolida tube tuner to audition and critique....having a set of Lother drivers lets me hear things in the gear that "normal" speakers just don't portray, so I get to take home all the low powered stuff and play!
So, saying all that, the MiniMax an amazing little amplifier!
I had been running the Art Audio Carissa amplifier in place of my Paramours for a week before getting the brand new MiniMax. The first thing I noticed when I hooked up the Mini was that for the first time in the year and a half that I have had my Third Rethms I heard bass from 'em!!!
It's still not the deep bass that a multiway speaker system can deliver, but the cleanliness, the tightness, and the amount of bass this amp provides on these speakers really surprised me! I still prefer running the subs to fill in that last liitle bit of bass, though.
The amp sounds very clean and has higher gain than the Carissa or the C4S'd Paramours, but, in my system, there is a bit of low level hum....on speakers not as sensitive as the Thirds this may not present a problem....but it is probably my setup as I had to use a grounding adapter on the AC cord to the amp to kill a ground loop buzz, so don't take this as gospel! There are just too many things hooked up in my system to start chasing the whys and the wherfores! It's especially noticeable on the video, but I have chased so many gremlins there that if I were to have the amp as a perminent resident in the system, then I'd go thru and redo all the connetions, play with power, etc.....
The difference that I hear between this amp and the SET amps is that of the huge holographic soundstage....the Carissa has this enveloping sound that almost makes you dizzy with it's depth and scale...my Paramours are a bit less holographic with more of a "dry" sound to them than the Carissa, and the MiniMax is a slight bit below the Paramours in scope. But I usually find this effect in PP vs SET amps with my setup.
But, the sound from the MiniMax is impeccable! Clean, clear, extended on both ends and totally enjoyable, great focus, great soundstaging....all the things a really great amplifier does this amp does in spades....
So, seeing that this amp uses the same family of design as the S-5 amp kit, i dragged mine out of the bedroom TV setup and hooked it up to the Rethms to see what it sounded like...well, let me tell you, there is a world of difference between the MiniMax and the S-5...but at around 10 times the price there should be!!! The execution of this simple circuit in the Mini just really lets me know how good a design Eastern Electric has on their hands.
So, after watching movies over the weekend with it, listening to many different kids of music, and just in general living with the amp in the system since last Wednesday, I could see myself keeping this little gem and not feeling any SET envy! It's just that I have been on a woodworking tool buying binge and the finances are...well, you know!
I have tried the MiniMax preamp before and found it to be a very, very good performer. Where it falls short in my system is in it's lack of inputs and tape monitor circuit, I do need at least 5 inputs, and have a R2R, cassete deck and CDR connected to a DBX switchbox in the tape circuit of the Mod3A....but, next week I'll probably bring it home, hook up just the Phillips SACD1000 to it, and hook it up to the MiniMax amp and see what the total EE system sound like...should be fun!
Rick
