[Atgm1]

The first 2 opamps are from the I/V stage, but are SO8/SOIC, so you really need to troubleshoot this a bit to install SS V6 opamps. I would say that it's kinda impossible. Instead, you might want to replace the two MUSES 8920 with two OPA1612 and the LPF opamp MUSES892 (DIP8 socket) to replace it with SS V6 Classic/ or Vivid.

However, in the end I don't think there will be any audible improvements in any way, but there will be fun to do these mods for sure.

The fact is that after installing burson vivid, the owners of the audinst HUD DX-1 are very pleased with the improvement in sound quality - heaven and earth. so I wondered if I should be installed directly in the DAC as well. Do the operational amplifiers of the DAC work when pairing with an external amplifier?

 

[raoultrifan]

Yes, the two SO8/SOIC opamps are the most important ones when speaking about opamp swap and yes they both work when connected to an external amp.

 

[mikaelmark]

The fact is that after installing burson vivid, the owners of the audinst HUD DX-1 are very pleased with the improvement in sound quality - heaven and earth. so I wondered if I should be installed directly in the DAC as well. Do the operational amplifiers of the DAC work when pairing with an external amplifier?

Yes, absolutely! I have implemented a Burson V6 Vivid in my AK4490 DAC, with very good result!

The only thing you should have in my, is if you should buy single (two pieces) or dual (one piece) for the unit. Those Opamp´s will replace a a lot of different OpAmp models.

 

[Atgm1]

Yes, absolutely! I have implemented a Burson V6 Vivid in my AK4490 DAC, with very good result!

The only thing you should have in my, is if you should buy single (two pieces) or dual (one piece) for the unit. Those Opamp´s will replace a a lot of different OpAmp models.

thanks for the answer. Do you use a DAC in conjunction with an amplifier? with which, if not a secret?

 

[raoultrifan]

Hi,

To my HPA-3B I have ASUS Essence One MKii connected via balanced interconnects. It is a heavily modded DAC/headamp combo, but right now it is using 4xNE5532 + 4xLME49720 + 3xLM4562: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/asu...-dac-cebit-2011.542563/page-229#post-13130247.

I had also tested it with SS V5 and SS V6 as well here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/asu...-dac-cebit-2011.542563/page-226#post_12959422.

I'm OK with the sound, very neutral and with extremely low noise on my headphones, including on the 103dB SPL & 16 Ohms IEMs. I have absolutely no hum noise coming from the DAC and not from the HPA-3B too, especially after the mods I did inside the HPA-3B; you can find suggestions about few mods below:
- https://www.head-fi.org/threads/int...-review-to-follow.770610/page-3#post-12101227
- https://www.head-fi.org/threads/int...-review-to-follow.770610/page-7#post-12390513
- https://www.head-fi.org/threads/int...-review-to-follow.770610/page-4#post-12120336
- https://www.head-fi.org/threads/int...-review-to-follow.770610/page-5#post-12157815

 

[loserica]

The fact is that after installing burson vivid, the owners of the audinst HUD DX-1 are very pleased with the improvement in sound quality - heaven and earth. so I wondered if I should be installed directly in the DAC as well. Do the operational amplifiers of the DAC work when pairing with an external amplifier?

IMHO with Burson V6 Vivid (Dual) the sound has brought liquidity (at the opposite side it is the stock Opamp which sounds dry!!). Vivid has peace&rhythm, speed&good timing, those
important attributes for what I call musicality and high sound-resolution. With the Muses02 the passages are somewhat more crowded, dynamic is poor, less transparent compared to Burson. Everything seems dull, boring with the stock Opamp.

 

[raoultrifan]

friends, are these opamps suitable for our amplifier?


https://eu.mouser.com/ProductDetail...=sGAEpiMZZMtCHixnSjNA6POfvxHi7ti2NVFSnl25bd8=

https://eu.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Texas-Instruments/OPA637AP?qs=wgAEGBTxy7nfgz4EbApFvQ==

Perhaps OPA2228 or OPA1692 might work, but please pay attention to overheating (possible oscillations).

 

[Atgm1]

thank you guys for the warm communication and caring

 

[mikaelmark]

A few days ago, I also did a comparison for JRC NE5534, Burson V6 Vivid Classic and a Sparko SS3602 installed in a Burson Fun headphone amp, every A/B-test were done with a DIY stereo switch for instantly swapping between the simultaneously powered amps and compairing with my own DIY assembled LBC amp with a V6 Vivid and Sparko discrete voltage regulators SS7815 and SS1117-15, that will replace the original LM317 and LM337. Those discrete voltage regs will give the amp a steady and clean power voltage with very low noise and a black background.

Before the test, every OpAmp were burned in with pink/white noise and sinus waves for several hours. The test were made with a pair of Sennheiser HD 800 connected with the DIY A/B-switch to both amps simultaneously powered and listening to some CD´s, for example Ani DiFranco and Laura Pausini from 2006 - playing in my Arcam CD192 CD-player. Here are my conclusion:


The standard NE5534 was dull sounding some treble roll off and not as clear and open as all the other OpAmps.

The difference between Burson V6 Vivid and Classic was the smallest between all tested and not as big as many people stated, that the Vivid should be more open with a bigger sound stage and the Classic should be warmer and closer To me, it was almost not hearable.

The Sparkos SS3602 had more treble than the all the other.

And when I compaired both amps with V6 Vivid for both, the DIY amp had a more open sound with a wider sound stage. But have in mind that I have paid a bit more for the DIY amp in component cost than the Burson Fun, that will cost $399 with V6´s. I think one of the biggest improvement for the DIY are the Dale 24 step volume attenuator, while the Fun has an Alp RK27 "Blue Velvet", found in mostly every well known amp in the market. One more thing I noticed, was the raw power for the Fun, as the volume knob were at bearly 9´clock, while the DIY were at almost 12´clock, when calibrated equally with noise.

My DIY amp were connected to the CD-player with a Van Damme Twin Interconnect, while I choosed the original bundle Pailiccs for the Fun. I also tried the Fun with a thick high grade silver plated OFC Interconnect, without any noticeable improvements. Therefore, I will praise the bundle Pailiccs quite high, altough I soldered the cables screen to the connectors for best connection. Have in mind that most other equipments bundle cables are of a very low quality that should be avoided to use for HiFi!

My verdict are that the Burson Fun have a very affordable price, compared to most other amps (for example; the Grado RA1 have a price, while having a very simple schematic, base on the Pimeta that can be done as a coffe break DIY-project), and will give a sound that will satisfy most people, and beat most of it´s competitors - especially if you choose a discrete OpAmp, regardless model. I´m aware there are at least one more discrete in the market; the NewClassD (confusingly working in Class A) - that are priced a bit higher than the Sparko, while the Burson models are the cheapest. While I hav´nt heard the NewClassD, I do not think it´s much better and I guess it will play in the same league with those I´ve tested.

Finally, I really want to thank Charles at Burson and Andrew at SparkoS, as they equipped me with the discretes and made this test possible!

 

[Atgm1]

It´s a AK4490 DAC connected to a Yamaha RX-V771 Home Cinema Receiver, connected to a pair of fully modded B/W 683 S2.

Now, I also finishing a DAC 9 with AK4399 with either a pair of B6 Vivid or Sparko SS3601.

One more thing to have in mind, is if the OpAmp for the PCB are 8 pin DIP (VIA hole mounted) or SMT (for SMD = Surface Mounted Devices). If it´s DIP, then it´s directly swappable. But if it´s SMT, then you must solder the OpAmpss 8 pins to the very small and tiny solder SMT-pads, and this will require good solder experience and maybe a DIY-socket as a standard socket for this purpose is not easy to find as it´s the opposite way with a SMD IC to DIP for the PCB.

A few days ago, I also did a comparison for JRC NE5534, Burson V6 Vivid Classic and a Sparko SS3602 installed in a Burson Fun headphone amp, every A/B-test were done with a DIY stereo switch for instantly swapping between the simultaneoulsy powered ampss and compairing with my own DIY assembled LBC amp with a V6 Vivid and Sparko discrete voltage regulators SS7815 and SS1117-15, that will give the amp a steady and clean power with low noise. Before the test, every OpAmp were burned in with pink/white noise and sinus waves for several hours. The resultss are following:


The standard NE5534 was dull sounding some treble roll off and not as clear and open as all the other OpAmpss.

The difference between V6 Vivid and Classic was the smallest between all tested and not as big as many peple stated, that the Vivid should be more open with a bigger sound stage and the Classic should be warmer and closer To me, it was almost not hearable.

The SS3602 had more treble than the all the other.

And when I compaired both amps with V6 Vivid for both, the DIY amp had a more open sound with a wider sound stage. But have in mind that I have paid a bit more for the DIY amp in component cost than the Burson Fun, that will cost $399 with V6´s. I think one of the biggest improvement for the DIY are the Dale 24 step volume attenuator, while the Fun has an Alp RK27 "Blue Velvet", found in mostly every well known amp in the market. One more thing I noticed, was the raw power for the Fun, as the volume knob were at bearly 9´clock, while the DIY were at almost 12´clock, when calibrated equally with noise.

My verdict are that the Burson Fun have a very affordable price, compared to most other amps (for example; the Grado RA1 have a price, while having a very simple schematic, base on the Pimeta that can be done as a coffe break DIY-project), and will give a sound that will satisfy most people, and beat most of it´s competitors - especially if you choose a discrete OpAmp, regardless model. I´m aware there are at least one more discrete in the market; the NewClassD (confusingly working in Class A) - that are priced a bit higher than the Sparko, while the Burson models are the cheapest. While I hav´nt heard the NewClassD, I do´nt think it´s much better and I guess it will play in the same league with thos I´ve tested.

there is another option
Orange Dual Discrete Op-Amp https://orangeamps.com/product/op-amp/

 

[mikaelmark]

thanks for the answer. Do you use a DAC in conjunction with an amplifier? with which, if not a secret?

The DAC are AK4490, connectod to a Yamaha RX-V771 Home Cinema Receiver, Bi amped with a pair of fully modded (recapped and rewired) B/W 683 S2. Now, I will also finish my modded DAC 9, with AK4399 paired with either V6 Vivid or Sparko SS3601.

One think to also have in mind when replacing OpAmps, is the PCB supports DIP (hole mounted pins) or if it´s SMT (with SMD = Surface Mounted Devices). If it´s DIP, then it´s easy swappable with discrete OpAmps, but if it´s SMT, it will require good soldering skills and a not easy to find socket adapter.

 

[mikaelmark]

Ok Sonic Imagery and HDAM

there is another option
Orange Dual Discrete Op-Amp https://orangeamps.com/product/op-amp/

Ok, thank´s!

A quick seach at eBay will found some more, for example Sonic Imagery and some cheaper models, such as HDAM. But for about such a low price, I doubt it´s at the same level!

 

[omegaorgun]

The HPA-3B is very decent! I amp op amps rolling atm.

 

[omegaorgun]

Ok Sonic Imagery and HDAM

Ok, thank´s!

A quick seach at eBay will found some more, for example Sonic Imagery and some cheaper models, such as HDAM. But for about such a low price, I doubt it´s at the same level!

I will have Sonic Scientific Oracle-02 and FOX Lab NT-D1 opamps soon, I currently have V5I-D's and OPA1656's that work very good in the HPA-3B. I might do a opamps shootout soon.

Both of these are superior to the LME48960's, I also have to try the OPA2604 which is one of my fave cheap opamps and it's slightly warmer bretheren the OPA2134.

 

[omegaorgun]

OPA2604's are a nogo, has distortion. OPA1656's and V5I-D's are SOOOO sweet!