Leckerton Audio Slimline UHA-4 - Page 69

Sounds good. Thanks again.

I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on these, but I am undecided about whether I should get the ad8610 or the opa209. I'm leaning towards the opa since I thought the ad8620 on the c421 was just OK, maybe I'm looking for a bit more body (or "fun") in the sound rather than high transparency and resolution. So how similar is the 8610 to the 8620?

 

***Nevermind, I just found the answer. ClieOS mentions that "AD8610 is the mono channel version AD8620, so they should sound identical..."

 

I guess it's the opa209 then!

Edited by zeitfliesst - 10/7/12 at 11:06pm

I'm really enjoying mine with the OPA209. Tight execution, spacious soundstage, and detailed reproduction. It's not an overly analytical style amp, so it definitely has some body. I can finally notice the crossfeed now that I gave it some run time, which I was having trouble noticing before. Great amp/dac. I'll be keeping it.

Edited by Origin89 - 10/9/12 at 7:50pm

OP209 will be more about transparency to be honest. Also remember these are two different amps with different designs (including the boards) so they won't sound exactly the same. 8610 has a nice emphasis (clarity) to it's mid-range and a slight hint of warmth. It's more fun sounding than 209 IMO. 209 is a transparency-freak.

 

Hmm...that's an interesting comment. I don't know much about the opa209 to be honest, but looking at ClieOS's comparison, he does say that the opa209 is closer to opa2227 than it is to ad8620, is more upfront, and has better bass impact than the ad8620, and the resolving power (he must mean resolution here) is less than either c421's. That to me says that the opa209 is more focused on a "fun" (very subjective term I know) sound than a transparent/detailed sound. And I can't imagine that a different amp design would completely change the sound signature. I'd love to hear someone else's take on this.

Damned varying opinions, hah. Clie told me he found the AD8610 to be more transparent. I still find the OPA209 to be very transparent and detailed, but definitely not dry. A little more description is on this page. 

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/620775/the-sub-200-portable-amps-shootout-11-8-amps-compared/120#post_8765035

Edited by Origin89 - 10/9/12 at 8:00pm

To me, OPA2227 is pretty 2D in presentation. It has a good width, but hardly any depth (thus no layer). AD8620 doesn't go as wide from side to side, but depth is rendered properly and you can better judge the distance between one instrument to another. OPA209 is somewhat in between the two. As said, I find it closer to OPA2227 in presentation, which is more forward, but it has better depth and overall better resolution. Transparency to me means it must render both width and depth equally well, which is why I say AD8620 is more transparent to my ears as a whole. OPA209 is still very transparent though, definitely a step up over OPA2227.

These are impression done on cmoyBB with opamp rolled, so they might not be 100% identical on another amp with difference topology.

Hmm...just as I was about to purchase the UHA-4, it went out of stock, so I sent them an email several days ago inquiring about when it will become available, but I haven't heard anything from them since. Anyone know what's going on?

Check your spam mail. He may have very well responded to you and it may be in your spam.

 

Nope, no such luck.

lol then possibly it's in his spam mail. It's actually happened on both ends before :P. Did you contact him via his website or did you send him an email? Otherwise he may very well be busy but it's unlike Nick to not respond in a timely manner.
 

i have sent nick an email yesterday and received a reply from him within a day. anyway, according to nick, stocks for uh4 should be available within the next few weeks. you may want to check his website for availablity a couple of weeks from now :)

Yeah I did use the form on the website. Anyways, good to hear that it's coming back soon. I'll keep an eye on that.

 

 

I wouldn't expect a response. I sent him two emails in the span of a freakin' month and no response. It's ticking me off actually, I spent $200 on his product and he can't respond to a simple email. Great amp/dac, but the costumer service sucks.

For everybody interested in using the dac mobile of the Leckerton UHA-4. I just got a galaxy s3 on ICS and I plugged in my micro usb with OTG and it worked straight away.

I was very impressed by this since USB-audio is officially supported on Jelly Bean. But the Sammy gave zero trouble under ICS. I think we can put the Leckerton UHA-4 on the list of dacs that support usb-audio from an android-device.