[idairyou]

Ah! that's very good to know, and yes I think I will invest on a supercharger at some point. Just to make sure that the amp quality is always stable.

https://orangeamps.com/product/op-amp/ Is this the one you're talking about? I'm actually interested in Opamps rolling. So any guide would be very helpful.

There are a lot of them out there some more well known than others.

Burson (of course)
Orange
Stakkato or is it Staccato (I'm not sure witch)
SparkOS Labs
Hairball Audio
Iron Age Audioworks

There are also DYI kits you can buy.

Do a google search on discrete op-amps, and you will have a lot of choices. So many out there to buy on EBay or AlliExpress.

 

[ekjellgren]

Anyone tried pairing the Soloist with a E70 Velvet DAC?

 

[Archlize]

I'm thinking of Opamp rolling my Soloist with the sparkos. Any concerns that I should be worry about? I don't want to cause a short circuit or DC offset that would kill my headphones. Thanks again!

 

[adeadcrab]

I'm thinking of Opamp rolling my Soloist with the sparkos. Any concerns that I should be worry about? I don't want to cause a short circuit or DC offset that would kill my headphones. Thanks again!

The opamps go in one way. Check the semicricle notch on the underside of the DIP8 mount. It lines up with the socket in the GT.

 

[ConfuMaleTitis]

I'm thinking of Opamp rolling my Soloist with the sparkos. Any concerns that I should be worry about? I don't want to cause a short circuit or DC offset that would kill my headphones. Thanks again!

Other than be very (very) careful what guidance you choose to follow online. I can't tell you the number of videos where electronics technicians throw out simple equations and claim they can make adjustments to circuits and as an EE, I can say that I don't know enough about the circuit to say whether their work is safe or not. Very well could greatly reduce the lifetime of the amp.

There is a video somewhere on the Burson talking about bias screws (on a pot) and I can assure you, those aren't bias screws so make triple sure before you go making changes. Just because someone tosses out a couple equations doesn't mean they know what they're doing. In many cases, it means they know just enough to get into big big trouble.

PS - Take extreme care not to bend the op amp pins..if you've never done it before, good chance you'll end up there.

 

[Archlize]

Other than be very (very) careful what guidance you choose to follow online. I can't tell you the number of videos where electronics technicians throw out simple equations and claim they can make adjustments to circuits and as an EE, I can say that I don't know enough about the circuit to say whether their work is safe or not. Very well could greatly reduce the lifetime of the amp.

There is a video somewhere on the Burson talking about bias screws (on a pot) and I can assure you, those aren't bias screws so make triple sure before you go making changes. Just because someone tosses out a couple equations doesn't mean they know what they're doing. In many cases, it means they know just enough to get into big big trouble.

PS - Take extreme care not to bend the op amp pins..if you've never done it before, good chance you'll end up there.

The opamps go in one way. Check the semicricle notch on the underside of the DIP8 mount. It lines up with the socket in the GT.

Okay I'm not sure if I should do it now lol. This a bit scary haha. Are there any proper video guides..?

 

[Sam Spade]

Okay I'm not sure if I should do it now lol. This a bit scary haha. Are there any proper video guides..?

I have burson conductor 3x and sparkos aries head amps. I've found opamps plug and play pretty much. but just be careful.

 

[Archlize]

I have burson conductor 3x and sparkos aries head amps. I've found opamps plug and play pretty much. but just be careful.

Very reassuring! Thanks~

 

[ConfuMaleTitis]

Very reassuring! Thanks~

You'll be fine. Depending where you live, and if you think you want to do this more than once or twice, might be worth a $30-$50 investment in an ESD mat. If you don't know what that is, read up and that's all you need to know. If you reach out to a door and get a shock, probably you need one. I've spent most of my life working with embedded systems and have probably 40 prototype boards within 10 feet of me and I don't use one (but do have one in case I need it) - but I've lived most of my life in humid environments. The other part, well, LA and Denver - yes there I'd use the mat in certain cases. Don't do what I do - I don't use it very often, and I've never blown a device from an ESD but now that I say publicly probably tomorrow I'll toast an expensive board

 

[Archlize]

You'll be fine. Depending where you live, and if you think you want to do this more than once or twice, might be worth a $30-$50 investment in an ESD mat. If you don't know what that is, read up and that's all you need to know. If you reach out to a door and get a shock, probably you need one. I've spent most of my life working with embedded systems and have probably 40 prototype boards within 10 feet of me and I don't use one (but do have one in case I need it) - but I've lived most of my life in humid environments. The other part, well, LA and Denver - yes there I'd use the mat in certain cases. Don't do what I do - I don't use it very often, and I've never blown a device from an ESD but now that I say publicly probably tomorrow I'll toast an expensive board

I live in Tokyo! and the electricity clean is thankfully very stable and clean. But I might that since I move between countries a lot. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[stmayhem]

Changing opamps in my Soloist was the easiest thing ever. The biggest issue was that original Vivids had tight cable ties around them. I used very sharp knife to cut them, carefully. Putting Sparkos in was easy - just slot them in, but make sure orientation is correct.

 

[Archlize]

I finally got myself a composer 3xp! and as expected it actually smoothens all the highs that I had problem with my previous DAC.
Now I've been experimenting, between using Pre-out on the Composer+ Soloist Power Amp mode vs Dac out Composer + Soloist Normal Amp mode. Can't decide which one sounds better but I could hear a difference. Anyone can maybe chime in their personal opinion that have similar set up?

 

[idairyou]

When the soloist was my daily driver, I used it in power amp mode to get that last 2% of performance out of it. For me I feel that wither you use power amp mode or not depends mainly on the DAC.

When I used it in power amp mode my DAC was a Musician Pegasus, using a Goldpoint as a passive pre-amp, and I still use this setup for bedroom headphone listening.

Before I stopped using the soloist as the daily driver, I hooked it up to the Holo Audio Spring 3. I took it out of power amp mode, because the step up in performance between the Pegasus and the Spring 3 made running the Soloist in power amp mode unneeded.

 

[Archlize]

When the soloist was my daily driver, I used it in power amp mode to get that last 2% of performance out of it. For me I feel that wither you use power amp mode or not depends mainly on the DAC.

When I used it in power amp mode my DAC was a Musician Pegasus, using a Goldpoint as a passive pre-amp, and I still use this setup for bedroom headphone listening.

Before I stopped using the soloist as the daily driver, I hooked it up to the Holo Audio Spring 3. I took it out of power amp mode, because the step up in performance between the Pegasus and the Spring 3 made running the Soloist in power amp mode unneeded.

I'm using the burson stack so I'm on the fence at the moment haha for my HEKV2. The 1st combo, Composer (Pre-out, as volume) + Soloist (power amp mode) = This I feel like add more slam, bass, and body to tracks with the sacrifice of Guitar's timbre and sparkle but this could how a natural guitar sound. But wind instrument sounds so satisfying. No Cost in Resolution it seems.
or 2nd combo, Composer (Dac Out) + Soloist (Normal Mode, as volume) = This bring back the sparks and make it sounds bright but bring an tiny bit of air. I think this one keeps more neutral.
Not really sure which one to use, I enjoy the the first combo more. But I feel like the 2nd combo brings more of the HEK signature sound.

 

[mikeypas]

I'm using the burson stack so I'm on the fence at the moment haha for my HEKV2. The 1st combo, Composer (Pre-out, as volume) + Soloist (power amp mode) = This I feel like add more slam, bass, and body to tracks with the sacrifice of Guitar's timbre and sparkle but this could how a natural guitar sound. But wind instrument sounds so satisfying. No Cost in Resolution it seems.
or 2nd combo, Composer (Dac Out) + Soloist (Normal Mode, as volume) = This bring back the sparks and make it sounds bright but bring an tiny bit of air. I think this one keeps more neutral.
Not really sure which one to use, I enjoy the the first combo more. But I feel like the 2nd combo brings more of the HEK signature sound.

I'm using the soloist 3xGT with HE1kSE, no power-amp mode on this unit. But enjoying the sound very much!