- Joined
- Feb 25, 2010
- Posts
- 176
- Likes
- 62
OK, recently took delivery of my 18v BSG Cmoy. The AD712 op amp was a bit too harsh for my (admittedly ageing ears) so I swapped the 2227 out of the JDS Labs and that softened things a bit but, wow, the soundstage was amazing (although lost some bass that the JDS seemed to provide). However, seeing that JDS offered an AD8620ARZ with BrownDog Adapter for about £20 I decided to jump in. The 8620 needs 18v and from the little I've been able to read seems like a huge improvement on the AD712 and the OPA2227 (which I admit I do like). So i'm going to drop this into the BSG CMoy and see what I get.
ClieOS, if you read this can I ask you if you think this is a worthwhile mod with an iPod 5.5 and Westone 3s?
Thanks.
Edit:
Just some additional views on the BSG Cmoy. I've been using it now for a few days with my iPod 5.5/Westone 3 combo, and compared to my 9v JDS the BSG seems really open up the soundstage. However, poorly recorded stuff (and I mean anything under 320kbps MP3s) really isn't great to listen to. The amp and IEM combination can be a bit tiring since, to me, it seems to make things very sparkly. BUT with a small bit of EQ on nicely produced flac stuff I'm in heaven. I'm hearing things I've never picked up on in tracks before. The volume is super smooth and with these IEMs incrfeases are very listenable i.e. the separation is retained. I'm still waiting for the AD8620ARZ with BrownDog Adapter but after some acclimatisation to the sound sig the 18v BSG is a thing of beauty. I guess I can't compare it with the JDS due to the voltage diff. Other than that some minor issues are the 18v is heavy (obviously but noticeably) and the components are pretty cramped in the tin.
I contacted BSG to ask him about the BrownDog Adapter and he said "...the resistors adjacent to the IC socket may make it difficult to fully seat a brown dog adapter, but you can install one. ". Fingers crossed it should be ok. The JDS accepts this adapter but maybe there's more space on his pcb?
If anyone has any specific questions I'd be happy to try and answer them - noob that I am but I'll give a report back on how I get on with the adapter.
ClieOS, if you read this can I ask you if you think this is a worthwhile mod with an iPod 5.5 and Westone 3s?
Thanks.
Edit:
Just some additional views on the BSG Cmoy. I've been using it now for a few days with my iPod 5.5/Westone 3 combo, and compared to my 9v JDS the BSG seems really open up the soundstage. However, poorly recorded stuff (and I mean anything under 320kbps MP3s) really isn't great to listen to. The amp and IEM combination can be a bit tiring since, to me, it seems to make things very sparkly. BUT with a small bit of EQ on nicely produced flac stuff I'm in heaven. I'm hearing things I've never picked up on in tracks before. The volume is super smooth and with these IEMs incrfeases are very listenable i.e. the separation is retained. I'm still waiting for the AD8620ARZ with BrownDog Adapter but after some acclimatisation to the sound sig the 18v BSG is a thing of beauty. I guess I can't compare it with the JDS due to the voltage diff. Other than that some minor issues are the 18v is heavy (obviously but noticeably) and the components are pretty cramped in the tin.
I contacted BSG to ask him about the BrownDog Adapter and he said "...the resistors adjacent to the IC socket may make it difficult to fully seat a brown dog adapter, but you can install one. ". Fingers crossed it should be ok. The JDS accepts this adapter but maybe there's more space on his pcb?
If anyone has any specific questions I'd be happy to try and answer them - noob that I am but I'll give a report back on how I get on with the adapter.
