[xtreme4099]

im gonna have scrounge around for some el2002's, tangent wasnt willing to part with them....that sneaky sneak. ;-p~~~~

 

[ppl]

The complete line of Elantec Buffers are discontinued so Tangent might wish to hold on to them. good luck in your quest

 

[aos]

But ppl... you said before that AD8610 has much better high frequency extension than OPA627/637? How come this change of heart?

 

[ppl]

This is only for the PPA all my other Amps do not sound as good with the OPA637's I would use the AD-8065 if all my sources and recordings were perfect with the PPA. Also if the 8065 is contemplated then the HA-5033 Buffers should be used due to the 5033's 250 MHz. Bandwidth.

The PPA dose not respond the same to different Op Amps as conventional Amps do. Also the AD-8610 is a real nice Op Amp for the PPA and is still my Default recomended Op Amp in this Amp. The OPA-627 still sounds dark if used in the gain channels so i opted for the 637 in this location in the PPA, rather than the OPA-627. The OPA-627 still must be used in the Ground Channel for unity gain stability.

What really attracted me to the OPA-637/627 in the PPA was sound stage.

 

[e_dawg]

Interesting. I found the 8620 way better than the 8066. Tried the 8066 and the 8620 in the Home-Vibe and in the AOS Piccolo DAC using PPA w/OPA627's and Beyer DT880, Senn HD600, and Grado SR60's.

The 8066 had killer impact and dynamics, and was fast and detailed, but the treble was far from perfect. Not only was there a bit of a veil there, but it was harsh. A bit gritty all over. Not a smooth op-amp. Not musical.

The 8620, OTOH, was almost as detailed, had great dynamics, and was smoother. But most importantly, the treble was clearly superior. More natural, no veil, and not harsh like with the 8066. Everything just sounds more natural and musical, almost like the OPA627, which is the best op-amp money can buy IMO.

The 8066 may have great specs on paper, but most of those specs are at very high frequencies (i.e., non-audio). It is not designed for audio, and the specs are not nearly as good in the audio freq range. There is a lot of hype on the net, especially from the CD player modification websites, where they tend to focus disproportionately on specs like settling time (e.g., AD825/826). Good numbers for specs like bandwidth, slew rate, and settling time do not always make for a good sounding op-amp.

 

[xtreme4099]

hmm... this ancient thread of mine got revived ... it depends on the application, i still love the 8065s, even after having the 8620s which can be overlydynamic, the 8610/20 is slow compared the 8065. 34mhz vs 145mhz. right now i still have the 8065 in both my soundcard and my amp, it really depends on the application, and the phones your listening to, but for my particular setup, they sound very natural, fast, and pick up on a lot of the ambience that the 8610/20 misses.

during an intermission phase of my amp when phils new dynobuffer wouldnt work with the 8065s i had the 8610s for quite a while, i grew weary of their sound optiing for my old sound, as soon as that was fixed the 8065s were promptly put back into my amp, and my old ethusiasm for them returned, and it has stayed ever since.

 

[e_dawg]

Well xtreme, after listening to more selections from my music collection, I find that part of the problem is that the 8066 is ridiculously quick and detailed and ruthlessly revealing, and will make aggresively mixed recordings or bright systems even worse.

I take back some of the criticism I have of this op-amp's harshness. Definitely part of the blame has to fall on the rest of the system and how the recording is mixed. If the recording is mixed just right or if the system is a little more laid back, the 8066 is not too harsh.

I still find there is a bit of a veil in a small frequency range in the treble. Very strange. Perhaps I shouldn't say that this part of the spectrum is veiled (because in comparison to most other op-amps, it is not bad at all)... it's more like the rest of the spectrum is so darn revealing that the fact that there is a small region that is not as revealing is a bit out of character.

And to follow up your comments about the 8620, in comparison with the 8066, I do find that it is not as quick or revealing. I do find it more musical than the 8066, but indeed, I can't help but notice that some resolution and speed has been lost.

 

[xtreme4099]

i can see that in your particular ppa, the 8065 was not favorite for while, i had the LT1028 for sometime, loved their vocals but after a while noticed they heavily veiled music, at least compared to analogdevices opamp, the LT1122 ant 1028 are your opamp if you like that opa sound, but having the latest dynobuffer, and phils newest modifications to the ppa which puts it in openloop, all my complaints for the 8065s are gone, there is a certain harshness to it with feedback, but since ive put my amp in openloop that harshness is gone, and to tell you the truth its actually become more revealing at the same time.