How about sibilance (an over-emphasis on the sounds "s", "sh", "j", or "z")? How does the PPA and the different op-amps handle this? Keep in mind that some sibilance may be in the recording itself.


JF

i believe thats something that has to be heard rather than said ...however two recordings i know of with a lot of it ... diana krall live in paris and eric clapton unplugged, it seems less prevalent with LT1122, 627, 637 opamps.

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You're probably right. But it doesn't seem like this forum lacks opinions. Might have to check out some Diana Krall...

In the past, I had a PPA like circuit breadboarded, but didn't know what I need to listen for... Sibilance is now something I check for...


JF

Off topic but I hear Jboehle's PPA (the transparent case) and I thought it had stunning bass. The bass boost was permanently wired in but it was amazing with the HD-650's, R10's and brought my bass shy 595's to life!!

Which is why the current owner of that PPA just bought my HD-595's

I think the PPA is a great amplifier with a very balanced sound without undue emphasis on bass, mids and highs...its definitely got the telltale Solid State "Metallic" twang but its not as bad as some of the cheaper solid state amps like the CMOY, Meta42, Pimeta etc. which have a very coloured presentation.

Raul - if you liked the Perreaux, you will love the PPA because it is more powerful (more volume headroom to play with) and you can listen at lower volumes without loss of detail.

that metallic twang can go away with different opamp ... like the LT1122, or a smoother 627-637, theres also a mod you can do to an ad744 thats makes it quite warm and balanced detailed ... more info on this later...

Bah...double post.

that metallic twang can go away with different opamp ... like the LT1122, or a smoother 627-637, theres also a mod you can do to an ad744 thats makes it quite warm, balanced and detailed ... more info on this later...

I wouldn't think my PPA would trick a tube head into thinking it was tubes, but maybe it's the OPA627's as it lacks a lot of that solid state twang. Jason's did have the 8610's in L+R, which again may be excellent in thier own regard but are quite ruthless and well open in the treble.

One quick comment on the bass with the Perreaux - I'm talking more with the HD650's. With low Z cans it rocked in the bass region but felt lighter to me with the HD650. Not the case with the PPA.

With bass boost on, the bass would satisfy anybody who demanded a healthy dose of bass! I tend to leave it off but last night I had it on most of the night and it rocks the HD650's big time! Oh, and Mark tweaked my bass boost as it had a .1 cap if I remember right the first time I had the amp and the bass boost was waaaaaaaaay overblown. Not so much in dB's but in it's breadth of boost. It went way up into the midrange and made it sound like a loudness filter had been activated. I don't know if that is the standard cap size that the build specs call for but you guys waiting for an amp might inquire about this. I think Mark ended up with a .22 or higher cap, which makes the roll off much steeper. After Mark tweaked mine it's perfect.

xtreme4099 - Thanks for the opamp impressions! I intend to experiment some one day, but very happy right now. Again, I have a penchant for a more forgiving, maybe a hair darker sound myself. I'm one of those people who have gone back and forth between tubes and solid state over the years with headphone and two channel gear.

ahh ... well youll have to give the LT1122 a try ... it is quite dark but detailed at the same time, i will be getting another alps blue sometime for variable bass boost.

Would you say darker than the 627? Variable bass boost, heh heh, I love it!

yeah darker and more detailed.

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Ditto, we agree on that then. Sound memory can be misleading, but what I can remember from the South FL meet, Senn HD600's had proper slam and punch from MicroZotl, SDS, Sugden, HR2, Max, pretty much anything I plugged them in had good, objectionless bass. The 650's with the Perreaux not so much so ihmo, when I tried them here at home. However, Perreaux with SR60's -> nice bass. Can't wait to try the PPA with the 650's.

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That's what my PPA has in it. The output is coming off the offset pin rather than the output... similar to the Klauss Noll amp. No need to have the cascode either when driven from the offset pin.

It does sound nice, but i'm still trying to do some extended listening in the PPA.
I have had these 744s in my META (powered by a dual PSU without the railsplitters), and I absolutely love it in that application. It's just remarkable.

In the PPA, presumably because the amp itself is better overall, the improvement is less pronounced, so I have to do more listening. The PPA is also fitted will full Blackgates, as is the PSU, and has the ladder attenuator in it.

same here mark .. full bg's ... all over. even on the buffer ... you can also connect the neutrik jack outputs to the diamond buffer on each of the pin 6's ... for a direct connection to your brain ... heh... no need to go thru the pcb... sockets.... all that other junk heh.

By far, my favorite op-amps are the LT1122 and AD8065. These two work really well with my grados! I want to try that AD744 though, I had a brief listen and I think it warrants more time, especially configured the way VC described.