[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by InFn-0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, $300 on Opamps is surely too much for me, i was kind of hoping the single 100$ one would be enough. At this moment i am not considering swapping opamps as i have dangerously little idea about these things and how to handle them. So i guess i ll just wait till i get the Claro Halo and i ll let you guys know my impressions.

You can always start swapping out with IC opamps which offer much better specifications then any of these units. Some like the sound of the discretes and some do not.
There sound quality is subjective at best and you may or may not like them.
Get you card home, listen to it and then if you think it needs some changes to the signature post back and some of the opamp experts can give you some ideas about units that might help you get what your after.

 

[haloxt]

leeperry, I used all three hdam's with my audio-gd compass.

Agree with robscix, the audio-gd hdam's have very crazy measurements and they sometimes sound that way if you pair it with a bad combination. Just know that they aren't really neutral.

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by InFn-0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, $300 on Opamps is surely too much for me, i was kind of hoping the single 100$ one would be enough. At this moment i am not considering swapping opamps as i have dangerously little idea about these things and how to handle them. So i guess i ll just wait till i get the Claro Halo and i ll let you guys know my impressions.

two OPA-Earth cost USD45, so I'm not sure where those $300 come from.

anyway, the stock soundcard sounds good...but if at some point you wanna dig deeper, you can get some nice LT1124ACN8...these chips are really great and only cost a couple of bucks each. they're also dead easy to swap

LT1364CN8 is also a great chip, especially w/o discrete op-amps as final buffers.

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haloxt /img/forum/go_quote.gif leeperry, I used all three hdam's with my audio-gd compass.

oh, cool! what did you think of them? I found Moon distorted as hell, Sun-V2 lacking some tonal nuances...but Earth sure was nice.

the new burson(w/ a mundorf cap) is like an Earth on steroids...if you want low distortion, put an LME49722MA...and suffer

the old burson was made by A-GD, the new one definitely isn't...and is a major improvement(ask Slash47

)

..and how would you compare the Claro Halo and the Compass?

 

[LuciferX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by InFn-0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, $300 on Opamps is surely too much for me, i was kind of hoping the single 100$ one would be enough. At this moment i am not considering swapping opamps as i have dangerously little idea about these things and how to handle them. So i guess i ll just wait till i get the Claro Halo and i ll let you guys know my impressions.

Dont worry, you should start doing easy things, i have changed my opamps for first time about 5 day ago, im using free samples for TI ... (4x2132P). My next step is get 2107 and mix them with Opa2132p to test how sound changes. The only thing you need is check a "dot mark" and halfmoon form of the opamp

 

[ROBSCIX]

Orientation is the important part of installing them. If you install them backwards and apply power you will destroy the opamps and possibly damage the circuit.
Usually all opamps and opamp sockets are marked with dots or notches in the socket to show you the proper way to install them.

 

[haloxt]

I've only compared them using lm49860 and lm4562, but compass has better soundstaging but not as analytically accurate and flat as claro halo which imo is the sound card's strong point. I prefer claro halo+my power conditioner over compass without a power conditioner. But with a power conditioner on both I prefer the compass, but I don't think the difference is enough for me to say it is worth the upgrade, and I could live with claro halo with a power conditioner.

 

[leeperry]

I can't stand the LM/LME chips tbh, they kill the low end bass.. that's no good.

and I find it pretty ironic that you mock discrete op-amps but swear by a power conditioner tbh

while being blindfolded, could you tell whether the conditioner's plugged? I've checked its datasheet, it kills EMI/RFI like every $15 surge protection plug? it's not quite an online UPS that recreates a perfect sine wave, is it?

 

[haloxt]

You know half of what you say makes no sense to me.

I don't mock discrete opamps. I merely stated that audio-gd gave unique sound signatures to their three hdam's that are not neutral.

I don't ask you for blindfolded proof about your opinions on audio like you do on almost every thread I've seen you on. Maybe I should start trolling you back by asking for blindfolded proof for everything you say? And what's with all these random questions? You say you've checked the datasheet, are you referring to the datasheet of the furman ac-215? If you have read its datasheet then I don't know why you have to ask me these questions. It is better than any $15 emi/rfi surge protector, and no it's not a UPS or create a pure sine wave, it's furman's entry level power conditioner and I think it is excellent bang for buck for both the compass and the claro halo sound card.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif I can't stand the LM/LME chips tbh, they kill the low end bass.. that's no good.

You don't like the LM/LME's..are you sure?

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif wow I've just put the LM4562, I'm stunned major improvement over the stock 2114, wider soundstage, no saturation audible whatsoever, very very very clean and chirurgical sound

Well I guess there is your opinion on the LM4562 now what about the LME49720's?
Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif but w/ some LME49720HA + some lossless remastered audio in KS, the SQ on the STX is simply out of this world

Looking through the STX and ST thread there are pages of posts like this...

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by InFn-0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, $300 on Opamps is surely too much for me, i was kind of hoping the single 100$ one would be enough. At this moment i am not considering swapping opamps as i have dangerously little idea about these things and how to handle them. So i guess i ll just wait till i get the Claro Halo and i ll let you guys know my impressions.

When you decide, here is some units you might consider:

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haloxt /img/forum/go_quote.gif it's furman's entry level power conditioner and I think it is excellent bang for buck for both the compass and the claro halo sound card.

well yeah, power conditioners...ppl tend to neglict these too much, you're absolutely right! I'm sure it matches the sonic synergy of your "custom power cables"(from your profile) quite nicely

That's too bad I didn't read your post in full...but I agree, if I had killed twice the same soundcard because each time I installed the op-amps upside down like you did...I'd also have it pretty bad. I feel you

 

[InFn-0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif two OPA-Earth cost USD45, so I'm not sure where those $300 come from. anyway, the stock soundcard sounds good...but if at some point you wanna dig deeper, you can get some nice LT1124ACN8...these chips are really great and only cost a couple of bucks each. they're also dead easy to swap LT1364CN8 is also a great chip, especially w/o discrete op-amps as final buffers.

I was actually talking about burson opamps. The BURSONOP-71484(Dual Discrete Op Amp Modules, pair) cost $180 a pair, so 4 of them would be 180 x 2 = $360 right?

 

[leeperry]

burson's are not cheap, prolly too expensive for a first buy...make baby steps, first some nice IC's, then some Earth, and then some burson's...each will be a major leap

you don't need 4 burson's, 2 nice IC's on the DAC output and then 2 Earth/Burson's as final buffer are just fine! the 4 op-amps don't do the same job, 2 are used as low pass filters from the DAC and 2 as final buffers to embelish the sound and reach line out level.

 

[InFn-0]

Thanks , that helps a lot, i ll just have to look forward to getting my sound card first, and then we can think about more additions