17
Front Panel Controls
On-Off Button
Whenever the HINT 6 is turned on, the soft blue glow behind its On-Off button will change to red
for a few seconds while its circuits stabilize. Then the red glow will be replaced by a brighter blue
glow to indicate normal operation. If the glow remains red after turn on or while the amp is in use,
it indicates that the protection circuits have been activated and no sound will be heard from the
speakers. The most common cause for the On-Off button to remain red is a shorted speaker
connection or overheating. See page 21 for more details on the protection circuit.
Headphone Output
The HINT 6 is equipped with a dedicated high quality current-feedback headphone amplifier based
on the top-grade Texas Instruments TPA6120A. This superior design allows for an extremely high
slew rate preventing odd order distortions which are responsible for listening fatigue. The virtually
instantaneous response to musical dynamics doesn’t raise the noise floor or degrade the s/n ratio
like typical headphone amps. The headphone amp circuit was also designed with a low 10 ohms
output impedance and high gain to drive headphones rated up to 600 ohms.
The headphone jack accepts a 1/8” (3.5
mm) stereo mini plug. The Left and Right Speaker
Outputs and the Preamp output jacks (RCA and XLR) are muted whenever a headphone plug is
inserted into this jack. The L and R Record out jacks are not muted.
CAUTION:
Please note where the volume knob is set before unplugging your headphones to
avoid a sudden unexpected high level of sound that could damage your speakers.
Aux Input Jack
For your convenience the HINT 6 includes an Aux Input jack on its front panel to accommodate a
portable MP3 player, tablet or mobile phone. Connect a cable with 3.5
mm stereo plugs between
the phone or portable player’s headphone jack and the Aux input. The Aux input has an additional
gain stage that boosts the input signal by 12
dB so the volume level is consistent as you select
other source components. For best results set your portable player’s volume to at least 75% of its
maximum.
