I have now used LT1057 in the dac and LT1469, LT1361, LT1364, LME49720, LT1358 in the amp. With my headphones (dt880 05 250ohm, ms2i, dt990 05 32ohm), I find LT1469 to be the winner in the amp.
dac + amp:
LT1057 + LT1469 sounds very musical and euforic with a very beautiful midrange, but still with ok air and everything else. I find that it's the combo with the most bass out of all those also. It is rather coloured, but in a nice musical way, the timber is ok but nothing special. The sound is on the warm side.
LT1057 + LT1361 was very airy and quite pleasent sounding, it was the brightest of the bunch. It had some sharp edges which made the sound very clear.
LT1057 + LT1364 I didn't think that the difference between LT1361 and LT1364 would be as large as it was. The sound was still airy, but not as much as with LT1361. The midrange was not as clear and sharp as with LT1361, a little dry but still pleasant. I did not find it harsh at all. The timber was probably the best of the bunch.
LT1057 + LME49720 This combo is similar to LT1469, but takes the euforic sound a bit too far, which makes it a bit too colored. From what I've read, LME49720 is very similar to LM4562, and thus should not be very colored so I guess that it's LT1057 which shines through. The sound is airy but still thick at the same time. The midrange is about the same as with LT1469. I will not use this combo as LT1057 + LT1469 was very similar but better.
LT1057 + LT1358 This was a really strange combo. The sound was reeeally relaxed. I could easily fall asleep listening to this. It sounded like the music was playing in slow motion, had to check all of my settings in foobar to be sure that there wasn't something wrong. Not a harsh note found. The midrange was rather dry and soothing. It was hard to pinpoint what made the sound so slow, but it sounded like the music was "floating" on water. Every edge was softened.
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The focus of LT1057 in the dac is not air, details, and timber. This will be found elsewhere. It does have a nice clear midrange which works very well with ms2i and dt880. It was okey for dt990 also, but I think that I will find a better one with just a tad more bass control. I found every combination to be more or less to the warm side, with LT1361 the most neutral and LT1469/LT1358 the warmest.
LT1057 did not show a large amount of bass and it was not super tight. Only LT1469 did carry some bass weight.
The treble was not overpowering in any way. I can not say for sure if it's the LT1057 which have rather laid back hights, or if it was the op-amps used in the amps which held it back. Only LT1361 and LT1364 to some extent let the airy sparkly treble of the dt880 shine. DT990 did have the sparkle to some extent with every pair.
I would say that the LT1057 worked best with MS2i + bowls, it was not airy and clear enough for me to use flats.
I'm not sure if I've found the best combination for the beyers yet, not to say that it didn't sound good, but for the MS2i the LT1057 + LT1469 could very well come out high in the end.
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LT1057 + LT1469 will be in the zero for now, until I get the chance to try another one in the dac and make all comparisons again. The warmness of the combination might get me in the end and I might try to find a more neutral combination, but for now it will do.
LT1057 + LT1364 was the next best combination I think.
EDIT: The only combination I might use instead of the stock combination is LT1057+LT1469 due to it's euphoric and "fun" colored sound with good prat, in mostly all other aspecs, it is worse than stock. Stock is more airy and has better timber, better bass, more hights, larger headroom, better detail and more natural and neutral.
dac + amp:
LT1057 + LT1469 sounds very musical and euforic with a very beautiful midrange, but still with ok air and everything else. I find that it's the combo with the most bass out of all those also. It is rather coloured, but in a nice musical way, the timber is ok but nothing special. The sound is on the warm side.
LT1057 + LT1361 was very airy and quite pleasent sounding, it was the brightest of the bunch. It had some sharp edges which made the sound very clear.
LT1057 + LT1364 I didn't think that the difference between LT1361 and LT1364 would be as large as it was. The sound was still airy, but not as much as with LT1361. The midrange was not as clear and sharp as with LT1361, a little dry but still pleasant. I did not find it harsh at all. The timber was probably the best of the bunch.
LT1057 + LME49720 This combo is similar to LT1469, but takes the euforic sound a bit too far, which makes it a bit too colored. From what I've read, LME49720 is very similar to LM4562, and thus should not be very colored so I guess that it's LT1057 which shines through. The sound is airy but still thick at the same time. The midrange is about the same as with LT1469. I will not use this combo as LT1057 + LT1469 was very similar but better.
LT1057 + LT1358 This was a really strange combo. The sound was reeeally relaxed. I could easily fall asleep listening to this. It sounded like the music was playing in slow motion, had to check all of my settings in foobar to be sure that there wasn't something wrong. Not a harsh note found. The midrange was rather dry and soothing. It was hard to pinpoint what made the sound so slow, but it sounded like the music was "floating" on water. Every edge was softened.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The focus of LT1057 in the dac is not air, details, and timber. This will be found elsewhere. It does have a nice clear midrange which works very well with ms2i and dt880. It was okey for dt990 also, but I think that I will find a better one with just a tad more bass control. I found every combination to be more or less to the warm side, with LT1361 the most neutral and LT1469/LT1358 the warmest.
LT1057 did not show a large amount of bass and it was not super tight. Only LT1469 did carry some bass weight.
The treble was not overpowering in any way. I can not say for sure if it's the LT1057 which have rather laid back hights, or if it was the op-amps used in the amps which held it back. Only LT1361 and LT1364 to some extent let the airy sparkly treble of the dt880 shine. DT990 did have the sparkle to some extent with every pair.
I would say that the LT1057 worked best with MS2i + bowls, it was not airy and clear enough for me to use flats.
I'm not sure if I've found the best combination for the beyers yet, not to say that it didn't sound good, but for the MS2i the LT1057 + LT1469 could very well come out high in the end.
----------------------------------------------------
LT1057 + LT1469 will be in the zero for now, until I get the chance to try another one in the dac and make all comparisons again. The warmness of the combination might get me in the end and I might try to find a more neutral combination, but for now it will do.
LT1057 + LT1364 was the next best combination I think.
EDIT: The only combination I might use instead of the stock combination is LT1057+LT1469 due to it's euphoric and "fun" colored sound with good prat, in mostly all other aspecs, it is worse than stock. Stock is more airy and has better timber, better bass, more hights, larger headroom, better detail and more natural and neutral.
) than something like LT1364 + LT1469? That would be a little strange.
I'm not sure if it would get bothersome for me in the long run, was thinking of hooking it up to the game console so won't be able to back down the source then..
