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Audio-gd discrete op-amps reviewed: OPA-Earth, OPA-Moon, OPA-Sun v.2 - Page 8

post #106 of 392
3/17/09 at 2:45pm
I just got the LME49860NA's, they are much better than the LME498710's on browndogs (maybe because incompetent me soldered it heh heh). How long do you guys think I should burn it in before comparing it with the hdams?
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post #107 of 392
3/17/09 at 3:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by haloxt View Post
I just got the LME49860NA's, they are much better than the LME498710's on browndogs (maybe because incompetent me soldered it heh heh). How long do you guys think I should burn it in before comparing it with the hdams?
You believe there is burn in on an IC?

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post #108 of 392
3/17/09 at 4:02pm
I don't know, I got two LME49860's so I'll compare a new one to one at 50 hours. I just want people's opinion on if burn-in is required since I've heard some experts suggest it. If burn-in is not required then my initial impression is that the LME49860's are much better than the LM4562 and LME49710's. I'll become familiar with the LME49860's before I compare it with the earth and moon hdam's.
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post #109 of 392
3/17/09 at 4:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by haloxt View Post
I don't know, I got two LME49860's so I'll compare a new one to one at 50 hours. I just want people's opinion on if burn-in is required since I've heard some experts suggest it. If burn-in is not required then my initial impression is that the LME49860's are much better than the LM4562 and LME49710's. I'll become familiar with the LME49860's before I compare it with the earth and moon hdam's.
Interested to hear what you think about the LME49860. I have some of those also, haven't put them in yet.

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post #110 of 392
3/17/09 at 11:28pm
I did the same upgrade, from LM4562 to LME49860.

I found the sound to be a bit more detailed and more enjoyable at the same time. Bass impact seemed a bit better too. the LME49860 seems more refined compared to the LM4562.
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post #111 of 392
3/17/09 at 11:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bleemv1 View Post
I did the same upgrade, from LM4562 to LME49860.

I found the sound to be a bit more detailed and more enjoyable at the same time. Bass impact seemed a bit better too. the LME49860 seems more refined compared to the LM4562.
Note to self:
Change out those OPAs tomorrow!

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post #112 of 392
3/18/09 at 5:16am
If it's possible for you, let someone else roll the opamps and then try to tell which is which. Have it done a number of times and see if you get it right more than half of the times. Placebo is a strong medicine. LM4562 = LME49720 = LME49860. There's no reason to believe any of them should be better than the others, but maybe different batches sound different.
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post #113 of 392
3/18/09 at 7:12am
Thread Starter 
So let's assume one batch is named LME49720, another is LME49860 and the third one say LM4562. I recommend the LME49860 batch. You can also say there is no difference between Siemens and Tesla because it's always E88CC just from another factory.

After some more experiments with upgrading my headphone amp and its PSU I find again the AD797BRZ to be the best, in terms of overall transparency.

I sold the Earth so I cannot say how it helps but my Sun v2 improved when I removed the capacitor upgrade. The ones I use in my DAC are better and those from Evox just were making the sound worse. So, I strongly recommend to anybody removing the cap upgrade or placing there some decent electrolytics, i.e. Black Gate STD.
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post #114 of 392
3/18/09 at 9:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by NelsonVandal View Post
If it's possible for you, let someone else roll the opamps and then try to tell which is which. Have it done a number of times and see if you get it right more than half of the times. Placebo is a strong medicine. LM4562 = LME49720 = LME49860. There's no reason to believe any of them should be better than the others, but maybe different batches sound different.
They are different Opas, ehhh? Also what you are discussing will get you censored here, ehhh?

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post #115 of 392
3/18/09 at 9:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by NelsonVandal View Post
If it's possible for you, let someone else roll the opamps and then try to tell which is which. Have it done a number of times and see if you get it right more than half of the times. Placebo is a strong medicine. LM4562 = LME49720 = LME49860. There's no reason to believe any of them should be better than the others, but maybe different batches sound different.
Sorry it won't be possible because I have no friends in real life. My method of testing is just extended listening to see if anything changes and switching back and forth to verify. Placebo is a strong medicine, and it can become far more effective than actual medicine once firmly believed in so in a sense I value my placebo-prone tests to DBT. But if I had friends yeah I'd do DBT .

I'm very much impressed by the LME49860's, it gives a very complete and neutral sound but it sounds flat and 2-D compared to the earth hdam. That's my feeling after 15 hours of burn-in. I'll see again how it compares after 50 and 100 hours just to be sure.

I'll take out my sound card and do A/B of lm4562's and lme49860's later, right now I've only compared with my lme49710's, but my memory tells me lm4562's and lme49860's sound similar.
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post #116 of 392
3/18/09 at 10:00am
Thread Starter 
Even if they have the same schematic, this means nothing. The LME49860 accepts higher voltages so it's another technology or different silicone compound used. In my DAC it is not 2-D. The holography is very good. And yes, the LME49860 is somewhere in between the LM4562 and the LME49720. The former is smooth, rich and slightly colored, the latter a bit dry.

I forgot to add: there is no burn-in regarding chip op amps. Verified many times.
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post #117 of 392
3/18/09 at 10:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by haloxt View Post
Sorry it won't be possible because I have no friends in real life. My method of testing is just extended listening to see if anything changes and switching back and forth to verify. Placebo is a strong medicine, and it can become far more effective than actual medicine once firmly believed in so in a sense I value my placebo-prone tests to DBT. But if I had friends yeah I'd do DBT .

I'm very much impressed by the LME49860's, it gives a very complete and neutral sound but it sounds flat and 2-D compared to the earth hdam. That's my feeling after 15 hours of burn-in. I'll see again how it compares after 50 and 100 hours just to be sure.

I'll take out my sound card and do A/B of lm4562's and lme49860's later, right now I've only compared with my lme49710's, but my memory tells me lm4562's and lme49860's sound similar.
When you change these do you change all 4 or just the Headamp OPAs?

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post #118 of 392
3/18/09 at 10:31am
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Originally Posted by les_garten View Post
When you change these do you change all 4 or just the Headamp OPAs?

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I won't use the sound card to test lme49860 because I don't have 4 of them, and I need 4 because they all affect sound quality.

Quote:
The each polarity signal produced by AK4396 goes to 2 dual opamps (U8 for left, U10 for right) In those dual opamps, each opamp handles only one polarity, either positive signal or negative. Then both exclusively amplified positive and negative signals are re-assembled and goes to another opamps (U9 for left, U11 for right) for second amplification. In the second dual opamp, U9, The one opamp is for left headphone and the other is for left RCA output. In U11, one opamp is for right headphone and the other is for right RCA output.
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post #119 of 392
3/18/09 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by haloxt View Post
I won't use the sound card to test lme49860 because I don't have 4 of them, and I need 4 because they all affect sound quality.

Hi,
I understand all 4 effect SQ. But to throw out another variable here, it's possible/probable someone would like one set of OPAs in the Front end and another set of OPAs in the Headamp.

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post #120 of 392
3/19/09 at 9:37am
is there a place to buy AD797BRZ mounted on DIP8 socket ?

I haven't been that positively surprised by the LME49860. Of course it all depends on the player (in my case a shanling scd-t200c).
Currently I run with LT1028 SOIC on DIP8 socket, more open, more natural, more bass power than the LME. And it seems to be the standard version of 1028.
I'd like to give a try to the AD797BRZ...
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