Nazo
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2008
- Posts
- 190
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- 11
I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask this (a moderator could feel free to move it to a different subforum if another might be better) but this seemed like the best spot since it's ultimately more about headphone amps and probably applies most to those who have used the likes of the CMoy (I'm not sure what else anyone would have used an AD8620 in anyway.) So right now I'm using a Fiio D3 connected to a CMoy with an AD8620 OPAMP and it just couldn't possibly suit me better -- I absolutely love it. I've seen someone describe it as making a CMoy sound like a $100 amp, but for me it sounds even better than the iBasso D3 I got a long time ago for a different headphone. Perhaps it's not the best of the best for some, but for me it is. Still, it is a little inconvenient having the Fiio D3 connected to a soundcard then connected to a separate amp, dealing with the amp (especially as far as portability goes -- I'm powering it via 6xAAs since a 9V seemed to drain too quickly, so the case I have it in had to be a little larger and more inconvenient to carry around,) and etc. I've read that the AD8656 is supposed to be completely compatible with the Fiio D3 and that it works very well with it and even sounds great. Certainly it could be a lot more convenient if the one device could basically just do everything. Still, I wonder if it would be a "downgrade" for me to go from the AD8620 I'm using now to that one? It occurs to me that, given the model number, it might actually be somewhat similar to the AD8620 (maybe even in the same series or something?) If it basically sounds the same or even a little bit better, it would be a great way to go.
I still haven't decided for certain if I'll do this in the first place (I haven't really done much actual soldering of chips in the first place, plus I'll have to rig up a volume control somehow -- though I have an idea or two on that -- since most things don't actually let you adjust the volume of the digital outputs and the D3 itself lacks any sort of volume control, so the whole thing is definitely inconvenient) but obviously there's no point in even going to the troubles to try it if it's not really going to be any better. (As a pre-amp the TILMV358 seems to be fine, so while the AD8656 might technically still even be an upgrade for this purpose, it wouldn't be worth it for me at all if I wasn't going to be able to use it directly as a headphone amp.)
By any chance would anyone have any idea how the two really compare? I don't know if anyone would have had much opportunity to compare the two side-by-side, but perhaps someone might have enough of an idea of how each sounds to be able to more indirectly compare? It absolutely has to be really close to be worth all of the trouble for me. In fact, one person's "better" might actually be worse for me.
BTW, IF I am going to do this, I need a good source to actually get the AD8656. I got the AD8620 easily enough (already in an adapter even) from eBay, but the AD8656 looks to be tougher to track down. It seems that Mouser at least doesn't have it which is where I'd normally think to look for things like chips. It would be nice if I could get it from somewhere that wouldn't charge an arm and a leg for shipping, but regardless I'll need to find somewhere to actually get it. Does anyone know of a good source for OPAMPs like this?
I still haven't decided for certain if I'll do this in the first place (I haven't really done much actual soldering of chips in the first place, plus I'll have to rig up a volume control somehow -- though I have an idea or two on that -- since most things don't actually let you adjust the volume of the digital outputs and the D3 itself lacks any sort of volume control, so the whole thing is definitely inconvenient) but obviously there's no point in even going to the troubles to try it if it's not really going to be any better. (As a pre-amp the TILMV358 seems to be fine, so while the AD8656 might technically still even be an upgrade for this purpose, it wouldn't be worth it for me at all if I wasn't going to be able to use it directly as a headphone amp.)
By any chance would anyone have any idea how the two really compare? I don't know if anyone would have had much opportunity to compare the two side-by-side, but perhaps someone might have enough of an idea of how each sounds to be able to more indirectly compare? It absolutely has to be really close to be worth all of the trouble for me. In fact, one person's "better" might actually be worse for me.
BTW, IF I am going to do this, I need a good source to actually get the AD8656. I got the AD8620 easily enough (already in an adapter even) from eBay, but the AD8656 looks to be tougher to track down. It seems that Mouser at least doesn't have it which is where I'd normally think to look for things like chips. It would be nice if I could get it from somewhere that wouldn't charge an arm and a leg for shipping, but regardless I'll need to find somewhere to actually get it. Does anyone know of a good source for OPAMPs like this?