[earfonia]

  Here are my impression over a few opamps in the E12DIY. I stuck to BUF637 this time and will look into LME49600 some other time.
 
AD8620 - good detail, almost edgy, a little flat on soundstage and lean on lower end texture
MUSES01 - near perfect balance. ultra smooth and full sounding with lots of texture
MUSES02 - Better depth than muses01, more layback with a little less texture
MUSES8820 - similar to MUSES01, but scaled down and not nearly as grand
MUSES8920 - similar to MUSES02, but similarly scaled down like 8820
LME49720HA - very clean and clear with good air and soundstage
OPA2107 - a little mid centric, nothing remarkable
LM4562 - similar to LME49720, even cleaner and leaner, very O2 like.
OPA2209 - a little veil on the mid and lacking detail
AD8066 - great micro-detail and decent soundstage, but otherwise unremarkable
AD797 x2 - neutral but edgy, like AD8620 with better depth
OPA1611 x2 - laidback, if not a little dark
OPA604 x2 - almost like opa1611, rather smooth.
 
So far none of the stock opamp really wow me. Beside MUSES01/02 which I have expected to be pretty good sounding, the only other opamps that really surprised me are the LME49720HA / LM4562 (*they are said to be the same internally), LM4562 in particular is very transparent and clean, giving a similar presentation as O2. It will serve as a great choice for those who are looking for wire-with-gain / colorless style of amplification. MUSES01 and 02 more or less about the same level. 01 has the advantage of having a great balance between detail and texture, while 02 has the advantage of having better layer and soundstage. I'll say 01 is a bit more musical while 02 is a bit more neutral in comparison to each others. Though by themselves, I won't say any one of them is really on the musical or neutral side. They are all fairly well balanced. The opomp I really won't recommend are OPA2209 (or OPA209) and OPA2107. The rest are just unremarkable one way or another.

 
Thank you!  I bet you spent whole day rolling op-amps
Beside the source, X3 and DX50, what IEM you used for the test?
 
I ever tried OPA2209 on my Dr. DAC2 DX, and I was impressed by how clean and detail was the sound signature, it was very good.  So my past impression of OPA2209 is contrary with your's on E12DIY.  Maybe the matching with the buffer makes the difference.  I will test OPA2209 later with E12DIY.

 

[ClieOS]

   
Thank you!  I bet you spent whole day rolling op-amps
Beside the source, X3 and DX50, what IEM you used for the test?
 

 
RE0

 

[hkfriends]

In the spirit of DIY, I took the time to sand down the case so it will accommodate a DIP8 packaged opamp better.

I used some masking tape just to mark the area that needed to grind down. You will have to go about as deep as the microUSB opening, around 23mm or so.

I took out roughly 1mm or so in material, basically half-ing the overall thickness.

 

Now the DIP8 opamp sitting flush inside the case without bending the PCB or applying any stress.

me too, i sand down the case inside

 

[ClieOS]

After spending some time with the E12DIY, I have to say I am very impressed. This is definitely among the best portable amp I have heard (i.e. StepDance, O2, Panda amp-S...etc). The stock AD8620 doesn't fully show just how good it is, but once you put in a worthy opamp, it really does push to the limit.

 

[hoekeat]

ClieOS , which worthy opamp r u referring to? u still have jdslabs cMoyBB to compare to?

 

[ClieOS]

These.
 
JDS cmoyBB is not even near the same league. JDS C5 is probably a better contender but with the right opamp, I'll say E12DIY sounds better to me.

 

[earfonia]

  After spending some time with the E12DIY, I have to say I am very impressed. This is definitely among the best portable amp I have heard (i.e. StepDance, O2, Panda amp-S...etc). The stock AD8620 doesn't fully show just how good it is, but once you put in a worthy opamp, it really does push to the limit.

 
Which buffer sounds best to you?  Or maybe best with the Muses or LME49720HA / LM4562.
 
Currently I have 2 units of E12DIY, one belong to my brother, with stock AD8620 and BUF634, and mine with AD8620 with LME49600.
I tested them with Dragonfly DAC as source, and DT880 Pro 600 ohm.
 
BUF634 and LME49600 to me both sound very2 close, I couldn't hear differences in tonal balance between the two, at least they are both seem quite transparent in E12DIY.
Differences only heard in complex music or passages, where LME49600 seems to be better in detail and separation, overall a bit cleaner and more transparent, but only a little better, not much.  Both buffers perform very2 well, with very little sonic differences.
But if I have to choose, it seems LME49600 sounds a bit better to me.  This is with DT880 Pro 600 ohm, E12DIY set at high gain. 
I will try with more headphones and earphones later.
 
Does anyone know if the high bandwidth pin for both BUF634 and LME49600 is used in E12DIY ?
 
Haven't tried LMH6321.

 

[TekeRugburn]

   
Which buffer sounds best to you?  Or maybe best with the Muses or LME49720HA / LM4562.
 
Currently I have 2 units of E12DIY, one belong to my brother, with stock AD8620 and BUF634, and mine with AD8620 with LME49600.
I tested them with Dragonfly DAC as source, and DT880 Pro 600 ohm.
 
BUF634 and LME49600 to me both sound very2 close, I couldn't hear differences in tonal balance between the two, at least they are both seem quite transparent in E12DIY.
Differences only heard in complex music or passages, where LME49600 seems to be better in detail and separation, overall a bit cleaner and more transparent, but only a little better, not much.  Both buffers perform very2 well, with very little sonic differences.
But if I have to choose, it seems LME49600 sounds a bit better to me.  This is with DT880 Pro 600 ohm, E12DIY set at high gain. 
I will try with more headphones and earphones later.
 
Does anyone know if the high bandwidth pin for both BUF634 and LME49600 is used in E12DIY ?
 
Haven't tried LMH6321.

I like the LME also.  Ordering some op-amps tonight

 

[ClieOS]

I haven't tried the LME49600 and LMH6321 yet. I have plan for trying out a few more opamps first before I move on to trying out the opamp-buffer combo.

 

[toears]

A new muses02 for $18.40.- a piece. Is that a 'too good to be true' price ?
are there different kinds of muses01 and 02, from New JRC ?
 
If only one version exist, what exatly is printed on it ?

 

[doki81]

erm..just receive my e12diy..would like to know which combi i should try first ...the stock config cant impress me yet

 

[ClieOS]

  A new muses02 for $18.40.- a piece. Is that a 'too good to be true' price ?
are there different kinds of muses01 and 02, from New JRC ?
 
If only one version exist, what exatly is printed on it ?

 
Yeah, that does sound too good to be true. Even at cost, a MUSES02 should sell over $30.
 
MUSES01 and 02 look mostly the same. You have the MUSES logo, the '01' or '02' marking, as well as the 3 digit batch number. There is no other type of marking AFAIK.

 

[CosmicHolyGhost]

I purchased my MUSES for 45USD each from a reliable seller in Hong Kong who specialized in high end audiophile parts.

 

[doki81]

  I purchased my MUSES for 45USD each from a reliable seller in Hong Kong who specialized in high end audiophile parts.

can to share the link?

 

[earfonia]

  erm..just receive my e12diy..would like to know which combi i should try first ...the stock config cant impress me yet

 
Try all, we are also still trying, mixing and matching
True, stock config is not really impressive, and ClieOS mentioned, AD8620 is not the best op-amp to reveal the sound quality of E12DIY, which I agree.
Maybe AD797 sounds better, but I haven't tried yet.
You may want to check ClieOS impression on the op-amps here.