[Shahrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dex85 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^^that goes for line-out though. since he is going to use HP out, my guess is he will like 720HA better than NA. more bass, not as harsh as NA

Ah yes, an important point I failed to read.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX /img/forum/go_quote.gif Maybe that is the trouble. Bad match with the headphone amplifier chip to give him what he wants. The amp chip has it's own siganture and when used in the circuit that also has to be considered. If bass is what you want there are other opamps that bring tha bass.

Agreed.

 

[ROBSCIX]

The LME49720/LM4562 can be a bit light in the bass end depending on you gear.
There are other opamps that are more heavy in the bass region. Again, this is depending on your personal gear. If your current opamps aren't giving you the sound signature your looking for with the can amp chip...try other opamps. Alternately you can go with the line out or the line out and external can amp depending ont he needs of your headphones.

 

[Bojamijams]

Well the Line Out is feeding the Audioengine A5's .. and the only way to get a headphone amp in that mix is to use the Loop Out on the A5's to feed an external amp .. and that just seems like too much 'pass through' usage.. especially since I have no idea how the loop out inside the A5's looks like..

After some consideration I'm going to hold out for an op-amp swap for now.. I have the HifiMan 801 coming soon and will most likely be using that as my main desktop and portable headphone setup and I like the sound right now with the line-out through to my A5's and don't really wish to change it.

Hmm so umm.. I guess the TL;DR version is... nothing to see here, carry on

 

[dex85]

^^it would be great if you could do a comparison between HifiMan and STX once you get it. i would be very interested in it since 801 looks like a mighty portable player

EDIT: i just tried stock op-amps after some time. i have to say bass of JRC is more convincing than that of the 720 HA. quantity-wise i would say jrc leads at lower bass and has a better extension, while HA leads at mid and upper bass. but HA bass sounds kinda weird, it lacks depth and doesn't sound very natural. besides bass, comparison made me realize that HA has a weird coloration in mids (my rough guess would be around 2 kHz), violin in Toss the Feathers by Corrs has higher pitch than it should. regardless of all, HA remains my favorite op-amp for HP out. It offers sheer musicality thanks to its superb speed and liquid signature.

 

[Bojamijams]

Thanks for that update

And yes I"ll compare the 801 with the STX

 

[abelincoln]

I just got my replacement STX back yesterday. It sounds a lot more solid--no more fluttering volume, although I haven't checked it out with RMAA yet.

I was reading through the other STX thread and Lee Perry said something about hearing a strange noise when he first got his card and swapped opamps straight off without trying out the stock configuration first. Since that's exactly what I did, maybe there's something to letting it burn in with the JRC opamps.

Looking forward to trying out the LME49720NAs. Mine should be in the mail right now. Two quick questions--it sounds like the NAs are better than the HAs for line out? Also, is it best to use three 720s or just two for the I/V and leave the buffer (?) opamp the same? Again, this is for line out.

Thanks.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Well, you definatley had a issue with the card. Bad DAC, bad caps or opamps..something was not functioning properly thats for sure.

If a opamp was malfunctioning or osciallting, it wouldn't start operating properly because It "burned-in". Some say opamps never burn in. Some say they do. There is a opamp thread I started in the DIY section, there are many there with great expertise in opamps and I sugegst you ask there if you want explanations or other info related to opamps. May help for you.

Some like the NA's better then the HA's for the line outs.

The LM4562NA that is in your buffer is exactly the same as the LME49720NA. This is according to National Semi, they told me the only difference is the paint on the label.

 

[Duperman]

Is this STX currently the best pci-e card for 2 channel sound? It's +100$ more than the DX at my local shop. is it more targeted for the headphone amp?

I got my DX working btw

don't know if the stx would sound even better, my speakers are the bx5a.

edit: on 2nd thought i'm getting ahead of myself, I'll stick with this for now

 

[ROBSCIX]

The STX is far beyond the DX. Your comparing the entry level to one of the flagship models...

 

[Juupeli]

phew finally done, 131 pages in 2 days

got my card in post with AKG K 702, my first proper headphones.
Ordered some opamps last night, but it was waaay late and can't even remember which ones. Think it was some that were mentioned around half way through the topic

Only see few mentions of the card and k702, so anyone done more exclusive test with different opamps to recommend for mentioned headphones?
Thanks in advance, and yeh i'am new to the forums.

ps. English ain't my native language so my wording might sound bit rude sometimes even thou i don't mean it, we finns aren't known for using pretty words

 

[dex85]

^^i've been using K701 with STX. i prefer LME49720HA for headphone out over any other op-amp i've tried (not so many though). but that's me, your preference may vary.

 

[Juupeli]

okies i'll keep that in mind and thanks for the fast reply.

now bit OT, have you had chance to compare STX and any of the "reasonably" priced external amps that are recommended for 701/702, like Heed CanAmp?

 

[Bmac]

Juupeli, I find the somewhat bass-heavy stock JRC2114's work quite well with the somewhat bass-light K701. They get a bad rap here for some reason but they aren't bad; the bass is a little slow, but they've been used in many good CD players for a reason.

After lots of experimenting I've been using 3 x OPA2107 for a while now and I'm really enjoying them. Presentation is similar to stock, but the bass is a little lighter and faster. I tried the 49720NA, and while many people here enjoy them, there was not enough bass for me, and with the K701 the soundstage, while HUGE, sounded artificial to me. The K701's have a pretty big soundstage to begin with, so I found the 49720NA's just too much.

As with anything audio though, YMMV. Have fun finding what works for you.

 

[Bojamijams]

I just checked ASUS' website to get Win7 drivers as I'll be setting up my new system soon and it seems they're dated 10/05/09 .. I'm hoping it means October 5th and not May 10th but worth a look if you're having trouble right now to see if the 'new' driver fixes them.

 

[dex85]

^^+1 on JRC2114 having good bass synergy with K701. i also agree on 49720NA. on the other side, 49720HA compared to NA, soundstage is not as wide, bass is not as timid despite sounding a little weird and i very much enjoy the liquid signature it offers with K701.