[EddieE]

Well hey, if it works fine without it, it works fine without it! Glad it sorted itself out in the end.

 

[Radical_53]

My thoughts exactly! It works just fine now without the cable so I won't look back too soon. I might want to sort it out somewhen, certainly not in the near future.

Anyhow I still opened the amp up again today yet this time with something different in mind. I still had one of these fine pieces lying around and today the second one came in through the mail:

Both are OPA637 BP and work wonderfully in this amp. I already liked it in its original state but it love it equipped with these. I read this term somewhere over here and it hits the nail on the head, "effortless". It's just a breeze to listen to the amp now, very detailled and exact reproduction yet nothing painfully shrill or "in your face".
Powerful, precise and very easy to listen too. The experience now was definitely worth the work and the money involved

 

[Hellenback]

Where are the op-amps you are referring to in the picture and are they socket-ed or do they require soldering?

 

[Radical_53]

They're completely socketed, you only need a good set of pliers to get them out (an IC puller preferably).
The opamps are the two "towers" with double 8-pin "chips" you see in the picture. The amp originally only used one of these 8dip "stereo" opamp, the OPA637 I'm using is a mono design and thus needs two units to do the work. I like their sound and somehow I thought it was a nice touch to take a further step on the "dual mono" path in a way

 

[spookygonk]

Hm, thinking about one of these amps or a Matrix M-Stage (or the cheaper Audio-GD Sparrow) for my first desktop SS amp. I have Senn HD580/600 & AKG K701 headphones. Is the MKV still a good buy these days?

 

[Frank I]

I haven't heard the V but currawong liked the Audio GD C2C much better. I can tell you the Matrix M Stage has brought the 701 to another level. I also have the Shure 840 and Denon 1001 and all work so well with the M Stage. The adjustable gain is a plus and so easy to cahnge as the switches are under the amp and a snap. Very dood amp and a steal at it's price.

 

[spookygonk]

Looks like the Matrix M-Stage is the one to god for. Thanks.

 

[bflatfinesse]

Penchum,
 
Your review has convinced yet another head-fier to purchase this amp.  I just ordered it yesterday, and can't wait for it to arrive!  I really appreciate your review and hope that the amp lives up to my expectations.
 
Thanks again for your review!

 

[dynoforce]

G'day mates,
 
I am looking into my 1st headphone rig and really like what I've read about the LD MKV thus far.
 
I am hoping to use it with either ATH-A700 (102 dB/mW at 1 kHz/64 ohms) or ATH-AD700 (98 dB/mW at 1 kHz/32 ohms).
 
I am thinking the more efficient & higher impedance ATH-A700 could be driven "better" by the LD MKV though I really don't know what I am talking about.
 
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
Cheers,
 
Gunn Ooi
 
 

 

[JaymzN]

I'd just like to say, I recently purchased a MkV. Listening chain is in my sig.
 
At approx 50 hours burn-in, not only is it absolutely gorgeous, but it makes me realize just how good Penchum's original review was. I refuse to believe it is actually going to get much better with more burn in but time will certainly tell.

 

[skrivefeil]

Nice work, Radical!
 
I think you had the exact same problem as I'm experiencing with my LittleDot DAC_II (the DAC with integrated head amp).
Will try that some day soon, fingers crossed.

 

[derbigpr]

Guys I just got this amp, and I have a very low volume buzzing noise, but only when inputs from my Asus D2X soundcard are connected. I dont have any other source I could try atm, but when I unplug the RCA's, amp is completely silent, even on full volume.  Also, the buzzing goes away when PC turns off, and it changes in frequency a couple of time when the PC is booting up.  The buzz is identical on both my HD650's, HD558's and HD438's, so it has nothing to do with impedance, and its audible even when volume control is turned completely down. It increases slightly as the volume knob is turned to max, but its still very silent. However, its apparent enough to be annoying when listening to music, especially on lower volumes.
 
Is it possible that D2X soundcard is not isolated / protected enough from PC noise, and it actually transmits noise trough the amp to my headphones?  Because I cant hear that buzzing when i connect the headphones directly to the soundcard...

 

[Radical_53]

I had the same problem when I was using the amp without a resistor plug or when I plugged my headphones into the soundcard directly. As I don't have a way to properly shield the card there's nothing to be done about it.
If you don't need a very powerful PC you might want to try to find some components that are somewhat more "quiet" but I haven't really found a cure yet, at least not for the combination of sensitive audio gear being used with a PC.

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

I had the same problem when I was using the amp without a resistor plug or when I plugged my headphones into the soundcard directly. As I don't have a way to properly shield the card there's nothing to be done about it.
If you don't need a very powerful PC you might want to try to find some components that are somewhat more "quiet" but I haven't really found a cure yet, at least not for the combination of sensitive audio gear being used with a PC.

I was thinking of getting another sound card or DAC, but i really like D2X because of its "all-roundness". Thats why I want another sound card, specifically Asus Xonar ST.  Apparently, that card IS shielded against noise, since its made for hi-fi use, unlike D2X which is made for gaming/home cinema.
 
Specs from Asus:
 
"EMI-free analog output path
EMI shielding seals all analog output signals perfectly from noise, offering distortion-free audio enjoyment

Independent power for analog signals
Draw additional power from MOLEX ensures the power-sensitive analog signals treated with the cleanest power source

Hyper-Grounding circuitry design
Utilizing multi-layer PCB design to separate audio from noise "

 

[Radical_53]

Well, on my card (Auzen X-Fi HTHD) the sound changed when I switched OPAMPs. The more sensitive it was the louder this sound got. Different mainboards or PSUs didn't help, switching off some of the energy savers did though (not a valid option for me).
I'd seriously doubt a different card would help much on its own. Some people say it helps to move the soundcard as far away from the graphics card as possible but to me it seems as if the noise came in through the bus connection. Can't do much about that of course other than going back to PCI instead of PCIe.