raoultrifan said:

Here http://www.head-fi.org/t/770610/introducing-the-matrix-m-stage-hpa-3u-and-hpa-3b-review-to-follow/60#post_12250417 I was able to measure about 1.5 Watts in single-ended and about 4.5 Watts in balanced operation with 60-62 ohms cables + resistors, so in 50 ohms it should have a little bit more power (perhaps with 10-15% more).

1) Good luck with this, I'm waiting for some nice screenshots and also for your first tests and opinions. I'm sure everything will go just fine, but take care anyway.

2) On the negative rail you should have around -18.2V, so from + to - there's still almost 36V anyway, very high for these BURSON op-amps that can support up to 30V max. Feel free to check what "only" +/-16.5V can do to them in Gustard H10 thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/735828/gustard-h10-high-current-discrete-class-a-output-stage-headphone-amplifier/4260#post_12276557 and many other posts as well showing the V5s overheating and loosing the red case. Despite being completely users fault (nobody measured the voltage from inside H10 before starting to roll op-amps) BURSON created special op-amps for all H10 customers and the're gonna replace them all; these special op-amps can tolerate +/-17V and higher temps. They also created an aluminum bridge to get rid of the heat from inside H10. Now that's what I call customer service.

Really waiting for your test; if you can find an A/B testing device or if you can do some by yourself it would be great.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I would not say it was completely the users fault as the Burson website stated it was a direct replacement for the stock op-amps.

And I might pick up a Schiit Sys for direct comparisons.

vadergr said:

That is great because i am down to the hpa-3u , the gustard and the lake people g109.

When you get it, please give us a feedback.

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The 3U and 3B are different amps.

I believed the only difference was the bananced and the dac.

vadergr said:

I believed the only difference was the bananced and the dac.

Click to expand...

Yes. No DAC, balanced and twice the power in the 3B.

The output buffer transistors are bridged inside HPA-3U and this why there's more power than HPA-3B in single-ended.
Also, in HPA-3U there's only one op-amp inside, so cheaper to do some "rolling".

raoultrifan said:

 
1) Good luck with this, I'm waiting for some nice screenshots and also for your first tests and opinions. I'm sure everything will go just fine, but take care anyway.
 
2) On the negative rail you should have around -18.2V, so from + to - there's still almost 36V anyway, very high for these BURSON op-amps that can support up to 30V max. Feel free to check what "only" +/-16.5V can do to them in Gustard H10 thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/735828/gustard-h10-high-current-discrete-class-a-output-stage-headphone-amplifier/4260#post_12276557 and many other posts as well showing the V5s overheating and loosing the red case. Despite being completely users fault (nobody measured the voltage from inside H10 before starting to roll op-amps) BURSON created special op-amps for all H10 customers and the're gonna replace them all; these special op-amps can tolerate +/-17V and higher temps. They also created an aluminum bridge to get rid of the heat from inside H10. Now that's what I call customer service.
 
Really waiting for your test; if you can find an A/B testing device or if you can do some by yourself it would be great.
 
Thanks!

Click to expand...

Hi Raoul,
I will get some clarification from Burson regarding the max voltage that new batches of V5 can handle, those melted V5 on Gustard H10 are scary and hopefully Burson already have solution to it.
Have a second thought on how to regulate +/- 18V to +/- 15V, adding voltage regulator required cooling heat sink, and it may draw more current and produce more heat, So I may be getting a zener diode with matching resistor which help to regulate the DC to +/- 15V..

canthearyou said:

I would not say it was completely the users fault as the Burson website stated it was a direct replacement for the stock op-amps.

And I might pick up a Schiit Sys for direct comparisons.

Click to expand...

 
I'm not sure how will you A/B test headphones with Schiit Sys, because this only has RCA plugs. Perhaps this would be a very good A/B testing tool for single-ended DACs only, but not for single-ended headphone amplifiers.
 
Here's what I'm using for A/B testing, either single-ended DACs, either single-ended headphone amplifiers (6.3mm jack directly plugged into 6.3mm amplifier's output connector):
 
 
It's completely DIY and quite easy to build and with good components quality. One PCB divided into 2 sides: the left half used for headamp testing and the right half for DAC testing.
 
On the left side of PCB there are 2 x 6.3mm jacks used as source inputs that might be connected to 2 different headphone amplifiers and the blue 6.3mm connector can be connected to a good and detailed pair of headphones. The silver/red switch can be used for rapid switching between the 2 sources.
 
On the right side there are 2 sets of RCA inputs that might be connected to 2 DACs and the 3'rd set of RCA plugs is used as output to a transparent headphone amplifier connected to a good detailed pair of headphones. The silver/red switch can be used for rapid switching between the 2 sources.

raoultrifan said:

I'm not sure how will you A/B test headphones with Schiit Sys, because this only has RCA plugs. Perhaps this would be a very good A/B testing tool for single-ended DACs only, but not for single-ended headphone amplifiers.

Here's what I'm using for A/B testing, either single-ended DACs, either single-ended headphone amplifiers (6.3mm jack directly plugged into 6.3mm amplifier's output connector):

  
​

It's completely DIY and quite easy to build and with good components quality. One PCB divided into 2 sides: the left half used for headamp testing and the right half for DAC testing.

On the left side of PCB there are 2 x 6.3mm jacks used as source inputs that might be connected to 2 different headphone amplifiers and the blue 6.3mm connector can be connected to a good and detailed pair of headphones. The silver/red switch can be used for rapid switching between the 2 sources.

On the right side there are 2 sets of RCA inputs that might be connected to 2 DACs and the 3'rd set of RCA plugs is used as output to a transparent headphone amplifier connected to a good detailed pair of headphones. The silver/red switch can be used for rapid switching between the 2 sources.

Click to expand...

I see. I really didn't think it through. I could build something like that.

Ok. I placed an order for the 3B. When I get it I will compare with the Gustard H10. I will keep the one I prefer and sell the other. After that I believe I am going to try an Audio-GD NFB-1 amp.

Great news! Waiting for your thoughts after the burn-in.
 
BTW, the AudioGD has some power:
9900MW /  25 ohm
8000MW /  40 ohm
3500MW  /  100 ohm
1200MW / 300 ohm
600MW  /  600 ohm

Perhaps overkill, unless HE-500 or HE-600 HE-5 or HE-6 planar needs to be used with; also for this high power you may need to pay for the additional custom gain of +9dB. (Later edit).

raoultrifan said:

Great news! Waiting for your thoughts after the burn-in.

BTW, the AudioGD has some power:
9900MW /  25 ohm

8000MW /  40 ohm

3500MW  /  100 ohm

1200MW / 300 ohm

600MW  /  600 ohm

Perhaps overkill, unless HE-500 or HE-600 HE-5 or HE-6 planar needs to be used with; also for this high power you may need to pay for the additional custom gain of +9dB. (Later edit).

Click to expand...

It will be powering HE-500. I will also be running Burson V4 op-amps in the 3B.

Waiting for some pictures win HPA-3B and SS V4. Hmmm...wondering how and if will fit inside the case.

raoultrifan said:

Waiting for some pictures win HPA-3B and SS V4. Hmmm...wondering how and if will fit inside the case.

Click to expand...

It does not fit inside the case. The V4s are larger than the V5s. There was one at the last Head-Fi meet I attended. The owner had cut an opening in the cover to allow the V4s to fit. It looked very cool, and from what I heard it sounded great. I want to give it a more thorough listen under better conditions. Whats real nice is the V4s will run on 20v.

With that said: http://www.head-fi.org/t/804503/burson-audio-op-amp-2-v5-dual-for-2-v4-dual#post_12491075

Anyone compared the 3B to the Liquid Carbon. I'm looking for an amp to pair with ifi micro iDSD and LCD3. This is only half the price of the Liquid Carbon seems to perform really well.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Did a little mod. Makes this amp run nice and cool. Wired a small AC to DC converter to the power switch. Installed a small and quiet fan. Amp has been running for 5 hours and is cool to the touch. I did clean up the wiring after I was finished.