[Sharppain]

Any harm to leave the top off? I'd try it.

In theory no harm. But:
1/ you lose the shield - wifi, streamers and phones close by are disturbing the tubes; you may not hear it if not too much but still noise flow is worse;
2/ dust and dirt that would start sticking to the tubes will start doing bad; and than safeness is less - pets, children, you...
3/ aesthetics

 

[ksb643]

In theory no harm. But:
1/ you lose the shield - wifi, streamers and phones close by are disturbing the tubes; you may not hear it if not too much but still noise flow is worse;
2/ dust and dirt that would start sticking to the tubes will start doing bad; and than safeness is less - pets, children, you...
3/ aesthetics

All good points.... except 3. Could care less.

 

[mikeypas]

trying to decide Oriolus ba300s or tap-1s connected to shanling h5. I have massdrop x empire ears Zeus and Yanyin canon II iems, Hifiman he1000se, grado ps2000e and send hd800s.

I’m using 4.4mm balanced cables with my iem so the oriolus won’t be an issue. I also don’t mind controlling the volume from shanling h5.

Just trying to see which would be more synergistic with my existing components. The akm chip in the h5 is said to be neutral-warm so would the ba300 or tap-1 add too much warmth?

Oh and important to note that I would mostly be using the tap on battery power, so maybe compare ba300 to tap-1 on battery

 

[singleended5863]

Tap-1 has warm sound as I connected to my Cayin n8 II they give a more musical sound

 

[BowboyBeemboop]

Well, that's nice to know. I tried Burson V5i-D op-amps without any issues, sounded great. Of course, can't slide the boards back in due to height clearance which you already resolved. I also picked up a couple Analog Devices AD827SQ per a recommendation by our friend @WoodyLuvr, but they did not work at all. Those AD827SQ had a loud hiss. That's actually why I measured the op-amp supply rails because I could not figure out the cause of the loud hiss. Since we don't have a schematic, the only thing I could think of is that the op-amp circuit is optimized for MUSES02, though the AD827SQ should be compatible and has the same pinout.

I did try NE5532 and Burson 5i-D which both worked fine, but those AD827SQ did not. Having said that, the AD827SQ did work in my Little Bear B4-X which has a higher + / - supply rail then the Tap-1. It could also be that I got counterfeit AD827SQ op-amps since I got them on ebay. Reliable sources like mouser or digikey don't have them in stock and I'm not even sure if Analog Devices still manufactures the AD827SQ.

I just got a pair of Burson V5i-D as well, but when I plugged them in, I get a lot of noise when turning the volume knob as well as some distortion in the treble. The distortion becomes quite obvious when, in a couple of tracks, only the kick and bass are playing. It becomes less obvious when more elements in a track are playing, but it's still audible. Did yours ever do that? I'm running the amp through the battery.

However, when the distortion and volume knob noise stops, the op amps sound incredible. I'd use them but, for now, the noise and distortion issues + the fact they don't fit in the case (will design a new case for it in the future) means I gotta stick to the Muses02.

 

[mt877]

I just got a pair of Burson V5i-D as well, but when I plugged them in, I get a lot of noise when turning the volume knob as well as some distortion in the treble. The distortion becomes quite obvious when, in a couple of tracks, only the kick and bass are playing. It becomes less obvious when more elements in a track are playing, but it's still audible. Did yours ever do that? I'm running the amp through the battery.

However, when the distortion and volume knob noise stops, the op amps sound incredible. I'd use them but, for now, the noise and distortion issues + the fact they don't fit in the case (will design a new case for it in the future) means I gotta stick to the Muses02.

During my testing / messing around I didn't have a problem. I only had issues with the AD827SQ.

 

[BowboyBeemboop]

During my testing / messing around I didn't have a problem. I only had issues with the AD827SQ.

Running on the battery as well?

 

[mt877]

Running on the battery as well?

It's been almost a year since I did my testing, so I pulled the Burson V5i-D op-amps from my Little Bear B4X and put them in the Tap-1S.

Shanling M3X 4.4mm Bal. output > Tap-1S 4.4mm Bal. input > Tap-1S 4.4mm Bal. output > 4.4mm Bal. 500Ω DIY earbuds. I did 2 tests: 1. Tap-1S volume knob to max and control volume with M3X to louder than comfortable listening level. 2. M3X line level output mode and adjust Tap-1S volume knob to louder than comfortable listening level. No problems, no noise at all, just nice sounding music.

 

[BowboyBeemboop]

It's been almost a year since I did my testing, so I pulled the Burson V5i-D op-amps from my Little Bear B4X and put them in the Tap-1S.

Shanling M3X 4.4mm Bal. output > Tap-1S 4.4mm Bal. input > Tap-1S 4.4mm Bal. output > 4.4mm Bal. 500Ω DIY earbuds. I did 2 tests: 1. Tap-1S volume knob to max and control volume with M3X to louder than comfortable listening level. 2. M3X line level output mode and adjust Tap-1S volume knob to louder than comfortable listening level. No problems, no noise at all, just nice sounding music.

Oh. Your Tap-1 actually looks different from mine. Yours seems to be V11.2. Mine's V11.7. That could be it. Different circuits. Ah, well. Thanks for the help and sorry for the trouble.

 

[mt877]

Oh. Your Tap-1 actually looks different from mine. Yours seems to be V11.2. Mine's V11.7. That could be it. Different circuits. Ah, well. Thanks for the help and sorry for the trouble.

No problem, please post a picture of your board for reference. It could help others in the future. Is your version with built in DAC?

 

[BowboyBeemboop]

No problem, please post a picture of your board for reference. It could help others in the future. Is your version with built in DAC?

Yeah, but I think it's the "no decode" version. So the DAC is in there, but not connected, I believe. There is a white header on the top PCB (top left near the switches) that looks like it connects to a similar header on the PCB underneath. Maybe connecting them would enable the DAC?

If someone's got the "with decode" version, you could open it up and see if that header is connected.

 

[Monkeyk2010]

Yeah, but I think it's the "no decode" version. So the DAC is in there, but not connected, I believe. There is a white header on the top PCB (top left near the switches) that looks like it connects to a similar header on the PCB underneath. Maybe connecting them would enable the DAC?

If someone's got the "with decode" version, you could open it up and see if that header is connected.

I have the same version as you, if it's just a cable... I would like to know too

 

[mt877]

Yeah, but I think it's the "no decode" version. So the DAC is in there, but not connected, I believe. There is a white header on the top PCB (top left near the switches) that looks like it connects to a similar header on the PCB underneath. Maybe connecting them would enable the DAC?

If someone's got the "with decode" version, you could open it up and see if that header is connected.

Thanks for posting your board. I combined our pictures to make a comparison pic. The areas in the green boxes are the visual differences. They obscured the top of the U5 chip, wonder if that's the DAC(?).

 

[RONJA MESCO]

trying to decide Oriolus ba300s or tap-1s connected to shanling h5. I have massdrop x empire ears Zeus and Yanyin canon II iems, Hifiman he1000se, grado ps2000e and send hd800s.

I’m using 4.4mm balanced cables with my iem so the oriolus won’t be an issue. I also don’t mind controlling the volume from shanling h5.

Just trying to see which would be more synergistic with my existing components. The akm chip in the h5 is said to be neutral-warm so would the ba300 or tap-1 add too much warmth?

Oh and important to note that I would mostly be using the tap on battery power, so maybe compare ba300 to tap-1 on battery

Oriolus all day...but im biased tho

 

[Monkeyk2010]

Thanks for posting your board. I combined our pictures to make a comparison pic. The areas in the green boxes are the visual differences. They obscured the top of the U5 chip, wonder if that's the DAC(?).

I ordered a micro jst 1.25mm 5pin female to female cable today, the two motherboards on top of eachother have the same 5pin connector so let's see of connedting these two will give me the dac option