A great Solid State amp? - Page 4

Kees, I was talking about an older single-ended and Maxxed (Black Gate and other audiohpile jewels) Headroom Desktop. The sources we had were - my DIY DAC + transport, Densen Beat D-400, Benchmark DAC1 USB, Docet Lector 0.6T. Let's leave aside what was the best source here. Cables available - VdH The First, VdN The Name, some different DIY and more. When you listen to a lot of op-amps, and you have to do with equipment free of them, you'll start to realize what most (not all) op-amps take away from the sound and distort. You can include here the OPA627AP and BP present in the UDA, IIRC. You can say it's awesome as this word just tells you like it, but this thread is about the top so I tell you guys this one is not the top at least sound-wise. No person at the meeting rated it the best and we hadn't got the best what is available then and there. I have nothing to say about the BUDA which I haven't heard besides expecting it to be doubled functional blocks of the single-ended Headroom amp.

Isn't the highly-regarded Meier Concerto opamp based as well?  Any other top-rated amps out there that are opamp based?

I just got myself a used RSA Apache for a pretty good price. Need to get a balanced dac now and sell my Meiers. Can't wait to listen to it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by USAudio 

Any other top-rated amps out there that are opamp based?

 

You forgot to mention Burson amps. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by charli3 

You forgot to mention Burson amps. 

But I believe the Bursons are discrete, not ICs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by USAudio 

 

But I believe the Bursons are discrete, not ICs.

 

My bad, i misread your post. I though you mentioned not opamp based...but overall, they have nice amps. 

Dynalo, Dynahi - discrete op-amp architecture, Beta22 - discrete op-amp architecture, Rudistor RP-010B MkII, RP-030 - both discrete with no feedback. Accuphase C2800, C2810, C3800 - all discrete and among the best headphone amps I have heard (if regarded for this purpose alone), local feedback loop in the headphone stage, no idea about the preamp section. Others - I don't know. Burson HA-160 sure it's discrete but it's the middle class.

Quote:

Originally Posted by majkel 

Dynalo, Dynahi - discrete op-amp architecture, Beta22 - discrete op-amp architecture, Rudistor RP-010B MkII, RP-030 - both discrete with no feedback. Accuphase C2800, C2810, C3800 - all discrete and among the best headphone amps I have heard (if regarded for this purpose alone), local feedback loop in the headphone stage, no idea about the preamp section. Others - I don't know. Burson HA-160 sure it's discrete but it's the middle class.

What makes the Burson is not top class?

Sound, probably as a consequence of the schematic because all parts look optimal starting from the rectifier diodes and ending at the stepped attenuator, to aggressively stepped at the beginning, BTW. Properly modified Black Cube Linear circuit sounds better to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by majkel 

Sound, probably as a consequence of the schematic because all parts look optimal starting from the rectifier diodes and ending at the stepped attenuator, to aggressively stepped at the beginning, BTW. Properly modified Black Cube Linear circuit sounds better to me.

Thanks. I get the impression (not only from your comments) that this amp sounds a bit like the Rudistor amps (single ended, balanced they are great).

That would mean rather thick and slow, slightly warm and with some lack of detail in the lower end. But it also depends on the combination: the Rudistor amps are excellent with Ultrasone headphones for example. 

I avoid stepped attenuators for exactly that reason. I hate it that they always seem to make them that way.
 

Roughly, you are right about the sound. It's a bit on the sweet and rounded side of things, especially the low impedance output, sacrificing a little bit of detail and making slight microdetail distortion - a specific effect that IMHE appears when long NFB loops are applied.
 

Good description compared to the GHP I would say. Kind of between the GHP and Head One in signature.