estreeter
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2009
- Posts
- 8,336
- Likes
- 480
My Fellow Head-Fiers,
I bought the Blue Bird U3.6 on EBay Australia a few weeks back, along with the Topping NX2, hoping to assemble a cheap smartphone rig. To date, my USB OTG cable refuses to play ball, but this is the configuration I'm using these gadgets in:
Acer Laptop->NX2 as USB DAC->U3.6->Philips&ShureIEMs/Philips Citiscape Downtown overears.
I've completely abandoned any attempt to give subjective impressions of the U3.6 - suffice to say that it's a well behaved amplifier with none of the pitfalls I've come to associate with cheap portable devices. It also has plenty of headroom with the stock OPA2604 opamp, but the provision of a DIP-8 socket gives me the potential to try other silicon without fear of frying a $300+ amp.
Some argue that opamps are just one more area where audiophiles get to indulge in a little placebo-induced gratification - all I can say is that for the price many of the more common opamps sell for, I'd be an idiot not to give a few of them a shot. I have no credible specs for this amp, much less a circuit schematic and the optional opamps I found on another vendor's site are either nothing special - NE2355 - or obvious fakes (MUSES01/02 for a fraction of their US prices). Caveat Emptor, I guess.
I was keen to try the OPA627 based on what I'd read but the price for two chips and an adapter add up to more than what I paid for the amp, so now I'm looking at the AD823. I can only go on what I've read and I'd appreciate advice from those who've spent time experimenting with different options. Unfortunately - or fortunately - there is no option to change buffers on this amp, but that's fine with me.
As with my iBasso P4 from 2013, it may well be that the stock opamp remains the best overall choice, but its fun to try different things and I cant think of a cheaper way to do it. I'm hoping HiFlight or someone else can suggest a couple of options or comment on the AD823 - as with anything in this hobby, I'm sure other Head-Fiers have differing opinions on the part numbers that get bandied around on various sites.
As for what I'm 'looking for', that's less important than the journey at this point. I'm realistic - you dont turn a Hyundai into a Ferrari by putting a bigger engine in it. Please consider this part of the 'fun' side of Head-Fi - I spent too much of 2014 with a pair of HD800s strapped to my head trying to hear the difference between 24/96 and DSD : never again.
Thanks in advance,
estreeter
Note that the photos in subsequent posts are mostely from EBay Australia vendor Michael's Garage or the AliExpress.com vendor - my smartphone photos just dont have the same clarity.
I bought the Blue Bird U3.6 on EBay Australia a few weeks back, along with the Topping NX2, hoping to assemble a cheap smartphone rig. To date, my USB OTG cable refuses to play ball, but this is the configuration I'm using these gadgets in:
Acer Laptop->NX2 as USB DAC->U3.6->Philips&ShureIEMs/Philips Citiscape Downtown overears.
I've completely abandoned any attempt to give subjective impressions of the U3.6 - suffice to say that it's a well behaved amplifier with none of the pitfalls I've come to associate with cheap portable devices. It also has plenty of headroom with the stock OPA2604 opamp, but the provision of a DIP-8 socket gives me the potential to try other silicon without fear of frying a $300+ amp.
Some argue that opamps are just one more area where audiophiles get to indulge in a little placebo-induced gratification - all I can say is that for the price many of the more common opamps sell for, I'd be an idiot not to give a few of them a shot. I have no credible specs for this amp, much less a circuit schematic and the optional opamps I found on another vendor's site are either nothing special - NE2355 - or obvious fakes (MUSES01/02 for a fraction of their US prices). Caveat Emptor, I guess.
I was keen to try the OPA627 based on what I'd read but the price for two chips and an adapter add up to more than what I paid for the amp, so now I'm looking at the AD823. I can only go on what I've read and I'd appreciate advice from those who've spent time experimenting with different options. Unfortunately - or fortunately - there is no option to change buffers on this amp, but that's fine with me.
As with my iBasso P4 from 2013, it may well be that the stock opamp remains the best overall choice, but its fun to try different things and I cant think of a cheaper way to do it. I'm hoping HiFlight or someone else can suggest a couple of options or comment on the AD823 - as with anything in this hobby, I'm sure other Head-Fiers have differing opinions on the part numbers that get bandied around on various sites.
As for what I'm 'looking for', that's less important than the journey at this point. I'm realistic - you dont turn a Hyundai into a Ferrari by putting a bigger engine in it. Please consider this part of the 'fun' side of Head-Fi - I spent too much of 2014 with a pair of HD800s strapped to my head trying to hear the difference between 24/96 and DSD : never again.
Thanks in advance,
estreeter
Note that the photos in subsequent posts are mostely from EBay Australia vendor Michael's Garage or the AliExpress.com vendor - my smartphone photos just dont have the same clarity.
