[matthia]

Received the replacement for the bottom board of the SS2590 (I broke the original one trying to install it). Followed Andrew’s advice and sanded down both boards as far as I could without hitting metal, and it just barely fit! Used one riser to get it to the right height. The boards are touching the inside of the analogue jacks, but the unit is working! I will not comment on the sound until the op-amp burns in a bit. So far so good.

A big thank you to Andrew for the amazing customer service. Charged me half price for the half of the op-amp, honored my original discount code and told me how to make it fit.

Am I right you replaced only the opamps for the RCA output with SS2590?
Do the Sparkos fit into the original case or did you replace the case as well?
Thx

 

[JerseyD]

Am I right you replaced only the opamps for the RCA output with SS2590?
Do the Sparkos fit into the original case or did you replace the case as well?
Thx

Yes - only the RCA output for me. The SS2590 did not originally fit, but I was able to sand down the edge of the two boards and make it fit (with a riser).

 

[JerseyD]

Comparing op-amps is difficult, since I really can't A-B test them, what with the time and hassle of swapping them out. So going by my memory and gut feel for the sound, after a few days of burn-in, I can say that I do prefer the sound of the J2S with the SS2590 (single-ended only) more than either the SS3602 or Burson V6V. There is a clarity and layering of sound that I did not find with either of the other two. The V6V had a wider and more expansive soundstage than the SS3602, but was a little woolly sounding in comparison. The SS2590 has that same spacious sound, but adds more clarity at both ends of the spectrum. Treble is more precise and bass is impactful and detailed.

It was kind of a pain in the ass, since I broke part of it trying to make it fit. But now that it's in there, the sound is well worth the effort. It even has me reconsidering my plan to try out a decent R2R dac, since I am happy with what I'm hearing. Knowing me, though, I'll keep wondering, "sure, but could it get even better?" Let's see how long I go until I get the itch