Best OPA chip for bright, low impedance cans?

Sep 25, 2004 at 5:13 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 22
crazyfrenchman27

crazyfrenchman27

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I was thinking that it would be better to pair a darker chip with a bright headphone to tone down the excess. Is this true?

Do certain OPAs pair better with low impedance cans (compared to high impedance). If so, what would they be?

What are some good dark and detailed OPAs chips?

I was thinking of using it with a Grado or an Audio technica (32-40 ohms).

I'm just fishing for information right now and thought this was the best place to consult others.
 
Sep 25, 2004 at 5:20 AM Post #3 of 22
Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyfrenchman27
What are some good dark and detailed OPAs chips?


OPA2227? I've heard it's a lot darker than the AD8620, but perhaps less detailed...it's supposedly a good match for Grados where many people wish to tone down the perceived brightness.
 
Sep 25, 2004 at 5:22 AM Post #4 of 22
I'm using the OPA2227 right now, but I was thinking that I could get more detail from another chip while staying dark.

OPA627 sounds good, but is it worth the price? And are there other chips with similar sonic characteristics that are cheaper?
 
Sep 25, 2004 at 5:25 AM Post #5 of 22
OPA627 is the most detailed chip I've heard. More detailed than the AD86*0, and certainly more than the 2227. I'd say it's definitely worth the price, but everyone's budget differs...look in the Buy/Sell forum here (in the accessories section), and you'll occasionally find them selling for cheaper.
 
Sep 25, 2004 at 5:37 AM Post #7 of 22
Ah, screw that, OPA627 is too power hungry for one 9V. I'd probably need three. Even with 1000 uF caps, I don't think I can flip the OPA627 with the OPA2227...Anyone else have any experience with OPA627s in cmoys?

What about the AD825?

Heeeeeeelp!
 
Sep 25, 2004 at 5:49 AM Post #8 of 22
In case you haven't seen it, here's a good article on opamps. Unfortunately, there are no notes on the 825.

Reading through the article, it seems like the AD8065 might be a good choice sound and voltage wise. But then again I know very little about this stuff.
 
Sep 25, 2004 at 6:02 AM Post #10 of 22
I have an amp with an AD823 and another with an AD8620. The 823 seems a bit smoother and slightly less detailed. So maybe that would be a good choice with Grados. Of course, it's hard to just compare chips when you don't consider the other components.
 
Sep 25, 2004 at 6:19 AM Post #11 of 22
Im using the 627/637 with my a900 and it owns !! very nice. highs still a lil sharp ... but i think still burning in and will settle down.
 
Sep 25, 2004 at 2:06 PM Post #15 of 22
Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyfrenchman27
Does anyone know if you can flip an OPA627 into an OPA2227 occupied DIP? I think 627 is single channel and requires more voltage than a single nine...OPA2227 is dual...



This is for your cmoy, right?

The OPA627 is a single amp chip, you'd need an adapter to put two in the place of one OPA2227. I don't think it's worth it for a battery driven cmoy. Maybe with 2 x 9V it would be OK, but I liked the OPA2107 better in a 1 x 9V cmoy, it has a similar sound to the 627, perhaps not as much detail and sound stage, but still I feel it's better for battery power than the 627.

But, what you really need for Grados is a chip that can deliver more current, like the NJM4556 -- none of the BB chips I tried really impressed me for low impedance headphones. The NJM4556 is the chip Grado used in the RA-1. The RA-1 is a single chip amp, as is the cmoy, but it's optimised to drive Grados.
 
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