HR-2 & XP-7 Op Amp Rolling Kit
Nov 21, 2004 at 9:34 PM Post #61 of 83
I'm just about done with the kit. I sent PMs to those on the list. I will ship it out to Patrickhat2001 tomorrow.
 
Nov 21, 2004 at 10:29 PM Post #62 of 83
I still think that OPA627BP op-amp is the best damn sounding one of the entire lot. I can easily understand why they cost the most money. When I had both the Emmeline HR-2 and Emmeline II The Stealth, I could almost match the tonal quality of tubes with solid state op-amps if I rolled carefully enough. I got some extra cash laying around and I might just spring for some used, fully burned in OPA627BP op-amps this time for sure. They sounded so musical. So musical. For those of you still on the list, do yourself a favor and spend some extra time with this special and magical op-amp. Try out more source components with it installed in your Emmeline HR-2 / XP-7. Try out more headphones and earphones with it. I think I can persuade you to agree with parts of my review of these two mighty headphone amplifiers in the archives about this special OPA627BP.
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Nov 21, 2004 at 11:47 PM Post #63 of 83
Quote:

Originally Posted by Welly Wu
I still think that OPA627BP op-amp is the best damn sounding one of the entire lot. I can easily understand why they cost the most money. When I had both the Emmeline HR-2 and Emmeline II The Stealth, I could almost match the tonal quality of tubes with solid state op-amps if I rolled carefully enough. I got some extra cash laying around and I might just spring for some used, fully burned in OPA627BP op-amps this time for sure. They sounded so musical. So musical. For those of you still on the list, do yourself a favor and spend some extra time with this special and magical op-amp. Try out more source components with it installed in your Emmeline HR-2 / XP-7. Try out more headphones and earphones with it. I think I can persuade you to agree with parts of my review of these two mighty headphone amplifiers in the archives about this special OPA627BP.
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I agree. the most remarkable aspect of this op-amp, is it's ability to bring out the decay trails from the recording.
 
Nov 21, 2004 at 11:53 PM Post #64 of 83
Perhaps surprisingly, I'm finding I'm hearing a lot of detail with the 8065. I found the 825 to be lacking in bass. I did enjoy the 627 but I'm not sure I liked it better than the 797, which is what I was originally used to. I'm going to give it one more listen before I pack it up and ship it out.
 
Nov 22, 2004 at 2:23 AM Post #65 of 83
Here is the funny thing about the AD8065 op-amp. It is extremely detailed and resolved but it is very dark at the same time. For some reason unknown to me, one of my two chips has gone dead. I have not used it for months but I think it is dead. I can't understand it as I take care of my stuff. I'll have to try it out later tonight.

I'm on the lookout for a used pair of OPA627BP op-amps. I got one offer but I'm hesitant to do business right away without getting another offer. The price is a bit too low to be too good.
 
Nov 22, 2004 at 3:03 AM Post #66 of 83
Quote:

Originally Posted by Welly Wu
Here is the funny thing about the AD8065 op-amp. It is extremely detailed and resolved but it is very dark at the same time.


Maybe that's why I liked it so much. I have Beyer DT 931 headphones which tend to be bright and an old cd player which probably adds to a bit of high end harshness due to the age of the DAC. The AD8065 seemed to really bring out a lot of detail at low volumes.

In contrast, I'm giving the OPA627BP one last spin and I'm finding that at lower volumes the midrange seems a bit recessed. I need to turn up the volume a little to retrieve the same level of detail, but when I do it sounds very smooth and musical with a nice airiness. It really is a good chip.

This was a really interesting experience. Thanks john_jcb for doing this.
 
Nov 22, 2004 at 5:04 AM Post #67 of 83
Before you ship John_JCB's op-amp rolling kit out, please answer this question for everybody who is reading this thread:

Which two pairs of operational amplifiers would you buy for yourself after having auditioned nearly every conceivable kind possible? Why?

To answer my question: the AD797 and the OPA627BP.

The AD797 is muscular, beefy, aggressive, fast, and yet it is dark and warm as well. The OPA627BP is so musical...so musical. It is so balanced, coherent, and damned near intoxicating. I need these two op-amps to tune my rig. That's why I'm trying to get a 100+ hour burned in, used, pair of OPA627BPs that are in mint condition from a highly regarded Head-Fi seller on the cheap. That OPA627BP are must have chips because I can only imagine the total system synergy with my very musical ModWright LLC Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi.

But, that's just me. Damned. Been gone from Head-Fi so long I get too excited :/
 
Nov 22, 2004 at 2:01 PM Post #68 of 83
That's an intersesting question since I already have two sets, the 797 and 8610. So in addition to those two I would probably buy the 627 and the LT1115. However, if I were limited to just two sets I would probably pick the same two as you, the 797 and 627. That being said I'm not sure I'm going to buy the 627 anytime soon. I really have to spend more time with the 8610 also.

As to why I like those chips, I'm pretty much in agreement with you. I found the 797 to be "beefy" as well. Check one of my previous posts where I used the exact same adjective. It gives a nice full sound that works well with my headphones. The 627 gives a slightly smoother sound but I found the midrange to be a bit recessed at lower volumes. However, turning it up a bit and you're rewarded with a very musical experience.

The LT1115 gave me a nice smooth presentation that was a little rolled off on the high end. This mated well with my DT 931 headphones although it didn't sound too good with the HD 25. It was nice for giving the amp a relaxing sound.
 
Nov 22, 2004 at 7:37 PM Post #69 of 83
The opamp kit was sent out this afternoon to Patrickhat2001. I would expect it to arrive by Wednesday.
 
Nov 22, 2004 at 9:51 PM Post #71 of 83
Quote:

Originally Posted by dougbrad81
I agree. the most remarkable aspect of this op-amp, is it's ability to bring out the decay trails from the recording.


Oooo... that comment alone made me seriously consider this amp with that op-amp. Not enough people usually mention this factor when speaking to recorded sound quality. You must be a fellow live music buff
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I personally feel that missing decay notes are the single biggest feature of recorded music that makes it sound recorded instead of live. I usually blame the recordings because they [decaying notes] usually get murdered by the bit rate process, even on a well recorded cd. But if there is a magical amp that brings these back to life... ack, sorry gotta go, my wallet just stabbed me and is telling me to close this browser as soon as possible before it finds it's way to http://www.raysamuelsaudio.com.

Doug, out of curiosity, what headphones did you listen to? I currently like the 3ks the best for that "unrecorded, recorded sound." They might be a bit bright when played neutral, but when properly sourced, amped and equalize... sound stage, note decay, and seperation detail never sounded so good to my ears
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Jan 2, 2005 at 7:20 AM Post #72 of 83
Okay everybody here are my Emmeline op amp impressions on a XP-7

Please note that I didn’t listen to most of these op amps for an extended period of time nor did I do A/B comparisons. There are likely many differences that I totally missed, exaggerated or even made up (not on purpose, of course, but I worried what would happen if two op amps shared the exact same sound only I didn’t realize it). I spent only about 30 minutes with each op amp listening to the same collection of about twenty songs. So consider my comments to be short impressions, not a full-fledged review.

The rest of my testing rig consisted of an E-MU 0404 soundcard connected to the XP-7 via Headphile copper interconnects. For phones I used the HD595s since I think they pair a little better with the XP-7 than the HD600s (the slightly thick sound of the XP-7 pairs very well with the slightly thin sound of the HD595s)

Well, with that out of the way onto the impressions-

797s--Many have found them to have a warm and a slightly aggressive sound signature. I agree, these op amps have a warm, golden coloration and give the Emmeline a little more get-up-and-go than many of the others. The also feature slightly softer sound than many of the other op amps and give a little more bloom to the sound which is just perfect and sounds realistic (more so than any of the others in this regard). Detail is great and nothing seems recessed or accentuated across the frequency spectrum. Very nice and natural sounding, if perhaps a little on the blurry side.

627s--smooth, fuzzy sounding, sounds a little softer and laidback than the 797s, has an accentuation somewhere in the lower-midrange, slightly more neutral tonal character compared to the 797s (a surprise), not as good with detail or separation as the 797s, Overall produces an decent sound but it’s not my cup of tea.

8065s--Just as detailed but a little denser sounding (ie less has less bloom) than the 797s. Also these are a little on the laidback side and have a slightly dark tonal coloration (no hints of gold like the 797s provide). Frequency response in great except for the bass being just slightly recessed (relative to the other op amps). Overall a great alternative to the 797s but I find them too laidback for my taste.

825s--these op amps sound weak, instruments don’t sound as large as with the other op amps nor does the soundstage. The sound is a little congested and the overall sense of detail is pretty subpar. Definitely the most neutral of all the op amps but they’re unable to capture the correct texture of instruments (evident with acoustic guitars). Also weak in the bass. About middle of the road as far as transparency/body balance goes. I didn’t like these at all; they couldn’t make the performance come alive and sound convincing.

604s--Reminds me a mixture between the 8065s and the 797s-it has the tonal character of the former (slightly dark) and the attack of the latter (slightly aggressive). Nice detail, balanced sound across the frequency spectrum except the bass seemed a little boosted. Perhaps a little too much body, the sound could use a little more transparency. Overall in the same class as the 8065s and 797s

LT1028--something was really off with the soundstage of these-sounds weird but they almost made performers sound as if they were performing in a very large box-the soundstage would expand only until they reached the borders of the box then stop. Besides that the bass is a little lean, tonal character is a warm gold like the 797s, detail and seperation are mediocre--the sound is a little congested and there isn’t any blackness between the notes instead that warm gold coloration permeates everything. Transparency/body balance is middle of the road. Overall I found these to be poor performers--due to the weird soundstage and lack of blackness between notes I just couldn’t enjoy them.

LT1115--A lot like the LT1028-weak in the bass, same golden tonal character and transparency/body balance only didn’t have the weird soundstage problem, was a little darker in between the notes (still some coloration there, though) and fairs a little better in detail and separation. Only average at best.

8610s--Unfortunately I didn’t get to try these since a leg on one of them broke before I even took a listen. Sad, I really wanted to hear these.
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So overall I recommend these--
797s
8065s or 604s (depending on whether you feel like a slightly more laidback or upfront sound)

I think these are decent-
627s
LT1115s

I would not recommend these-
LT1028s
825s

Remember, though, to take my comments with a grain of salt as I didn’t spend that much time with each op amp or compare them to each other in A/B comparisons. It is very likely that I could be totally off with many of my comments. I just don’t have the heart to go through an in depth comparison of these op amps especially since I’m seriously considering selling my XP-7.
 
Jun 5, 2005 at 10:18 PM Post #74 of 83
I will do some checking. I think Billy had it last. Will get back to you soon.
 
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