[Paul - iBasso]

  I bought some old school NiCd, Nickel Cadmium batteries, they have lower internal resistance than NiMH batteries, which also means they have higher current delivery, so I'm going to do a test of NiCd vs NiMH to see if I can discern any audible difference.
 
I remember when I was a kid when I'd put NiCd batteries into my remote control car they would make the car go much faster than other battery types.
 
edit: Further research shows certain modern NiMH (Panasonic/Sanyo Eneloop) have surpassed NiCd in every way, and Li-Ion is a good all round option. Still, I'm going to do a test of all to make sure.

The Eneloop and most low discharge batteries have an excellent ESR. I look forward to your comparison.

 

[mpawluk91]

Probably going to be a a little more time until my review, home remodeling has consumed a lot of my spare time

 

[ShreyasMax]

Probably going to be a a little more time until my review, home remodeling has consumed a lot of my spare time

Shall patiently await your review. Cheers

 

[ph0n6]

 
Full-discrete P5 is heaven confirmed Though gonna have to grind the leg of the opamp if I want to fit in the case, hopefully not breaking it in the progress.

 

[ShreyasMax]

Waiting for first batch of Falcons to be imported by the dealer here in India. Can't wait!

 

[ph0n6]

 
 
Just a report for those who are interested in the Sparkos opamp. I tried fitting the SS3602 in, there is a small "line" that is deeper than the whole case which get in the way. I grinded it (spare me for the horrible skill lmao) and it's now fit just fine. In term of sounds all I can say is if you are on the fence just grab it and be done with opamp for good

(if you don't mind grinding the beautiful CNC case that is lmao)
Update: Also I insert a paper on top of the opamp to insulate it from the cover and conduct electricity. And you do NOT want the opamp to touch the cover when plug in the charger or touch your hand onto the cover, it might break the opamp. Also the thing runs really hot when running with the charger (and hot as in class A hot).

 

[oldmate]

...

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

  Just a report for those who are interested in the Sparkos opamp. I tried fitting the SS3602 in,

 
Interesting opamp, quite pricey, wonder how it compares to Burson V5i.

 

[ph0n6]

Another thing, my P5 now have noise when I use the volumes pot, and it gets worse with higher volumes (it's fine with below 11 hour, but pass that and it became pretty unbearable). The stock 5534 only have slight noise while the Sparkos cranks it up alot (probably due to high gain of this opamp). The weird thing is I did not experience this before. Wonder how can I clean the volume pot since it's pretty hard to reach.

 

[jamato8]

  Another thing, my P5 now have noise when I use the volumes pot, and it gets worse with higher volumes (it's fine with below 11 hour, but pass that and it became pretty unbearable). The stock 5534 only have slight noise while the Sparkos cranks it up alot (probably due to high gain of this opamp). The weird thing is I did not experience this before. Wonder how can I clean the volume pot since it's pretty hard to reach.

I have the P5 and it is quiet. Do you mean there is noise when you change the volume or a continuous hiss? Have you tried different op amps? 

 

[ph0n6]

Yeah it used to be quiet. There's noise when changing volume only, not hiss. I guess the volume pot is dirty now since I leave the lid open a lot, though not sure how to clean it.

 

[jamato8]

Yeah it used to be quiet. There's noise when changing volume only, not hiss. I guess the volume pot is dirty now since I leave the lid open a lot, though not sure how to clean it.

Run the volume up and down, spin it back and forth, with your fingers a number of times, 20 or 30. That is often all that is needed to clean the pot. 

 

[ph0n6]

 
Run the volume up and down, spin it back and forth, with your fingers a number of times, 20 or 30. That is often all that is needed to clean the pot. 

 
Yeah that what's I tried at first, works for other amps but not this one. I guess the high gain of the opamp is too much here. Though I can live with it as long as I don't turn the volumes over 11 o'clock which I rarely do except when I listen to some really quiet classical pieces. But just a report for those interested in the Sparkos opamp.

 

[ShreyasMax]

Probably going to be a a little more time until my review, home remodeling has consumed a lot of my spare time

Any further impressions or updates? Thanks!

 

[jamato8]

   
Yeah that what's I tried at first, works for other amps but not this one. I guess the high gain of the opamp is too much here. Though I can live with it as long as I don't turn the volumes over 11 o'clock which I rarely do except when I listen to some really quiet classical pieces. But just a report for those interested in the Sparkos opamp.

I wonder if it isn't the pot but some DC offset. I have had a couple of op amps that caused problems. But if you aren't moving the volume control, and you get no noise, I am not sure of the problem.