I thought the 789 used a discrete amplifier circuit and the 1602's were only used when converting balanced to single ended, internally. If you use SE input on 789 the 1602's are never used. Is this wrong?
Can't quite wrap my head around an $800 amp that intentionally uses op-amps, and the horror of op-amp rolling as a feature. There are amp's half the size and price that are fully discrete, or class A transistor. Rolling Op-amp's and Capacitors' in then signal chain is not the same as rolling tubes. As tubes are used for flavor on purpose, op-amp's and caps in the signal path are done for cost cutting and/or poor design.
That thing's got a ****-load of Wima Film caps in it too... I sure hope it doesn't have more then one or two in the signal path.
Hi Mike,no point in getting all mad
,no one is trying to steer controversy and what not ,one of the reasons I bought this amp was roll-able opamps
I previously owned very good OTL and still have a bunch of tubes and other tube amps but the day I tried "discrete" opamps it was over ,still miss the euphoria you get with valves but I couldn't deal with all that distortion,hum,etc
Take a good look around ...any SS gear below THD + N: <0.001 or below .000x % most likely have opamp implemented (top tier and Stax included ) in the circuit just like "WIMA"..I rather have caps then no caps at all (you can hear the effect on 789 when it's idle or turned off)
You can find all opamp specs online or do little research yourself ,it's not that difficult,even old man like me can do it ,789 is as good as they get under 1K no doubt but it wasn't for me
Now back to where I started ...listening to 2x opa 1602A as I type ,btw it's direct LME49720 replacement
for fainthearted
http://e2e.ti.com/support/audio/f/6/t/457875
I can't do direct A/B comparison since 789 was recently sold but if you own 789 and willing to do proper comparison PM me and if you have a pair coming your way (US only) ,just send it back when you done
Here is my 2c I'm very surprised how good this opamps are ..sounds pretty much like the other amp ,just little bid thicker and less analytical,it retains same low end definition , thump-er opamp...and ..balanced LOL
Cheers