I got a 2nd Gen WA7 — sadly not an owner of the first gen, but happy to offer any feedback to anyone interested.   Using the Harmonix tubes with the solid-state power supply, paired with an HD 800.

Quote:   Ya, and you just need a hex key to unscrew them.

Quote:   If headphones are plugged in, the preamp output can not be heard.   If headphones are not plugged in, the preamp output can be heard.   This is what my M-Stage does anyway.

Thanks, found the review here: http://www.headfonia.com/matrix-m-stage-dac/ Was hoping for a more details regarding the sound, but I suppose if people are familiar with the MS2+ then they should have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Matrix definitely singled me out with this one...

Quote:   If you're buying this for music, why don't you just get an iPod Touch? Could probably get a new one at the price of a second-hand iPhone.   Plus, I'm sure there's no difference in the sound.

Quote:   Cross your fingers on this one, but I get the impression that Tam was rushing out orders leading up to his holiday. Perhaps things are back to normal now.     Quote:   Thanks Chris, lots of good information there! I've got different op-amps in mine, but the impedance...

Quote:   Thanks Chris, I wasn't aware the switches controlled voltage.   I imagine high gains with low impedance headphones would simply be annoying. Though I am still curious about how it affects the sound for these people, or why people would prefer a 10dB gain.   Also, would a...

Off topic, I'm still puzzled with this one;   Does anyone know how the gain switches work?   How does using the gains affect the sound signature and performance?

Quote:   Well, these guys definitely have the smarts when it comes to these things.   Sounding pretty confident about the Matrix Portable DAC, although they did receive the unit for free, plus they made some comparisons with the Fiio E17 and the Audinst HUD-MX1 (which are much...

Quote:   Don't sound surprised. I've been nothing but unhappy with Tam Audio's performance recently. I believe the dude packed up and went on holidays and he's been fairly difficult to work with as of late. Like I said earlier, I received my item with the original box used as the...

  Thanks Chris, dunno why Matrix pictured it with the DAC on top. I had it like that originally and it just didn't make sense, so I swapped them around tonight. There's plenty of space around the stack, and I think everything is running cooler :)     If it's any comparison, the...

Quote:   I'm considering a pair of these as well, though I noted that the damping factor may be an issue with the M-Stage. Will it make a considerable difference? I suppose the only way to find out is to hear it.

Quote:   I think the new version had vents designed on the side as to coincide with the introduction of the M-Stage DAC. Question is though, if the devices were stacked on-top of each other (as pictured), which order would the devices stack?   I figured running the amplifier on top...

Quote:   I put new op-amps in my M-Stage the other day, and noticed on the chipset it says 2012 v2.2.   So if you're on the hunt, I'm fairly sure 2.2 is the latest version.

I have an amplifier, a DAC, and two sources running from a single power board. I believe in Australia, power boards have a load limit of 2400V, which means someone could potentially use 10 devices (at 220V - 240V each) on the board, though I'm using less than half this limit.   What's...

Quote:   I totally would order another OPA627AP, if it didn't take 30 days from Tam Audio :)

Quote:   Any particular reason before I blow up my $300?

Quote:   This is in the DAC?   I mean, for Matrix, the M-Stage was one of their first amplifiers which featured a dip switch for the op-amps, replacing them is easy for any consumer. From what I can see, they've applied the same design to the DAC, so I can only assume that replacing...

Quote:   I upgraded the op-amp on my M-Stage with the dual OPA627AP, and the difference in sound is very noticeable. I highly recommend it.   Though I don't understand what role the OPA2134 plays in the M-Stage DAC; if replacing the op-amp (on my preferred input, since there are three...

  The way I read this; the output of your amplifier should be 1/8, 1/10, 1/20+ that of your headphone. Your headphone impedance should not be less than a minimum of 8 times your amplifier impedance.   This is known as the damping factor?   If the amplifier output impedance is lower...

Thanks again MalVeaux, that is a very interesting perspective you have, and now that I consider it, I suppose it makes perfect sense to move in any direction depending on your taste of sound.   I have to say that I tend to have similar tastes in sound, bass, soupy mids and fortified treble...

Quote:   Phenomenal response, thanks MalVeauX!   What I'm struggling to appreciate is potentially owning 3-5 pairs of headphones before I resort to a favoured headphone. I have seen and considered the HE-400 and Denon D5000, but after reading reviews of consumers and audiophiles...