[kds5000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif One thing I did not mention yesterday is that I listen at very low volumes. Rarely do the peaks in the headphones play reach 75 dB with over 95% of the time below 70 dB. As you can imagine the “average” music passages are in the low to mid 60’s dB. This measured with a sound pressure meter I purchased at Radio Shack. I hope the low level listening does not produce results significantly different from those who listen at LOUD levels. As stated yesterday I hope the other testers will be able to add their feedback including how “loud” they listen.

Excellent review Miguel! Thanks very much for your impressions. Can't wait for your next installment of this review.

Funny you mentioned it - I too noticed that my Solo SRG had more weight to the bass as it burned-in. Not so much the mid-bass of a bass guitar, but rather the deep thump from a bass drum. This makes the Solo bass very tight, punchy and controlled, even with my K702. A joy to listen to.

Quick question. As I don't have a sound pressure meter, may I know what's the position of your volume knob on the Solo when used with the RS1 and playing Diana Krall's "Girl In the Other Room"? And roughly what dB would that be? I thought that since all these variables are the same as mine, I can have a rough gauge on what volume I listen to.

Thanks Miguel!

 

[oldson]

couldnt justify £150 for the psu-1 so i opted for a mascot linear 1mA unit!
cant compare to the psu-1 (obviously) but i do notice a significant improvement over stock unit. so much so, i bought the equivalent for my V-dac.
anyone else tried the mascot range?

my old v-dac stock psu , used to get really hot (almost immediately), mascot is cool after hours of use.

 

[mrarroyo]

Kevin, I will retest but I believe I was at around 8 to 8:30 o'clock. I listen at very low volumes. BTW, zero in my Solo SRG is at about 7 o'clock.

 

[mrarroyo]

oldson, do not know that psu. Would you please post a picture? Thanks.

 

[kds5000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Kevin, I will retest but I believe I was at around 8 to 8:30 o'clock. I listen at avery low volumes. BTW, zero in my Solo SRG is at about 7 o'clock.

Thanks for taking the trouble Miguel. Zero on my SRG is also at about 7 o'clock.

On "The Girl In The Other Room" (with the RS1), I listen at between 8:30 to 9 on the volume pot generally. Up to 9:30 for critical listening - but only for 1 track as the sound levels are above my comfort level. I just need a rough gauge to see if I'm listening at safe levels. Any decibel reading you can provide using that disc with the RS1 would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again!

 

[Gradofan2]

Does the Solo use opamps? I wasn't aware that it does.

Someone else suggested it uses the AD843 opamps - is that correct?

If so... why hasn't there been much discussion about swapping opamps in the Solo? Or, are they SOIC opamps soldered in, and not easily swapped?

 

[SpudHarris]

The stock Opamp is an AD823..... I tried rolling a while back and nothing else sounded as good, even OPA627's (in a dual adapter obviously). The circuit etc is probably tweaked for the 823.

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpudHarris /img/forum/go_quote.gif The stock Opamp is an AD823..... I tried rolling a while back and nothing else sounded as good, even OPA627's (in a dual adapter obviously). The circuit etc is probably tweaked for the 823.

OK... I found the PIC of the internals... and I see one opamp - I guess it must be a dual channel - which I assume the AD823 is, and why you had to use an adapter for two OPA627s (a pretty pricey experiment).

I found the OPA2227 dual channel opamp to sound about the same as the 627s - much less costly and a lot easier to sample.

 

[SpudHarris]

I think a lot of people would disagree about the OPA2227 sounding the same as the 627's, myself included... The 2227's are fine for battery stuff like Cmoys but they aren't really classed as audiophile.

Personally I like the snap of a lot of the Analogue Devices chips, 797's 743's, 8610's are amongst my favourites. I bought a Heron P3 so I could experiment with different signatures but how a chip sounds in one circuit may differ from another.

 

[zoiberg]

The latest SRG uses a pair of single op-amps not a dual AD823

I've got one here + psu1 with a few hundred hours on it, sounds fantastic with K701's!

 

[mrarroyo]

The Solo SRG production had to be changed through its mid production cycle, this was due to certain parts not being available. I have not opened the Solo SRG so I do not know what parts are inside. What I do know is that it has an incredible open/detailed sound, currently listening to Mark Whitfield via an AKG K501.

The Green Solo used the AD823.

 

[SpudHarris]

I tried rolling Opamps a while back as I said. I have a vast sellection of all the well knowns and none sounded close to the stock AD823.

I listened for hours last night via D7K's and would still be listening now if I didn't need sleep, for the money this amp would be real hard to beat. It just never puts a foot wrong

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpudHarris /img/forum/go_quote.gif I tried rolling Opamps a while back as I said. I have a vast sellection of all the well knowns and none sounded close to the stock AD823. I listened for hours last night via D7K's and would still be listening now if I didn't need sleep, for the money this amp would be real hard to beat. It just never puts a foot wrong

Very tempting... especially, since you're apparently using it with low impedance phones - which you're reporting sound great with it.

You say... "for the money" - what other amps, if any, would you suggest sound much better (not a bit better, but a lot)?

 

[SpudHarris]

Well, I have it on good authority that the Symphony is a superb amp and has synergie with the D7K's, I've not tried it personally but a few people mentioned it whilst I was in the process of buying the Denons. It's a little expensive for me at the moment though. I guess what I'm saying is if you had £450 to spend on an amp the Solo represents great value for money.

Why would low impedance phones not sound good with the Solo? There are a lot of phones matching that description out there, Im sure Mr Slee has taken this into account...

 

[mrarroyo]

The Solo SRG is definitely a big step up from the Green Solo or the Novo. Currently listening to Maysa via a V3 re-cabled AKG K501. The spatial presentation, clarity, and air between the notes is mind-boggling. There is a crispness and ability to hear when a note starts and ends which makes for an incredible engaging listening experience.

The K501's are not an easy to drive headphone, yet I am at about 8:30 o'clock on the volume and I can not see myself going higher. Yes I realize I listen at low volumes, I measured the sound pressure levels using Radio Shack's 33-2055 dB Meter and it read from 64 dB to 69 dB using the C-Weight.