[ShrikeT]

Hmmmm OK, odd that he would even leave it on there in the first place then. Are these things really that fragile? I hope not because I intend on hauling back and forth between work and home regularly.

 

[Chodi]

Probably just put that on to protect it during shipping. I am very surprised there would not have been a warning on the amp, maybe a sticker, that says to open and remove tape. I can think of many bad things that could happen if you used it with that tape in there. Glad you put me on notice as mine arrives tomorrow so I will immediately crack it open and check for tape.

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

I'd love to give you a wedding invitation, because that would mean I'm the luckiest guy in the world. But first I gotta get a little closer with her, closer than being her former coworker's former husband's former friend 

 lol
 
Where's Tarana? Isn't that like an Indian dance or something?
 
Glad it all worked out for you! Where do they sit in your collection? Not as good as the W1000x I would imagine?

 
Sounds like you have to get A LOT closer to her!
I live in Tarana, Ontario.
I'm Canay-jun.

 

[blueangel2323]

Quote:

 
Sounds like you have to get A LOT closer to her!
I live in Tarana, Ontario.
I'm Canay-jun.

lol wut joo say?
 
Quote:

So I took the top off my newly purchased M-Stage w/OPA627 to take a peak at the op amp mod. There were two strips of yellow making tape on it, I guess put there so it didn't come dislodged during shipping. Should I leave it there or better to take it off? Here's a pic after a peeled them back a bit to check out the op amps.

Weird, they probably left it in there by mistake. I don't think they would expect everyone to open up the case.

 

[Chodi]

Quote:

lol wut joo say?
 
Weird, they probably left it in there by mistake. I don't think they would expect everyone to open up the case.

No it wasn't a mistake. I got my M Stage today and it had the exact same tape over the class A mod. They obviously do this for shipping but they should never do this without a large clear notice in the box or taped to the top of the unit saying to take this tape out. I can imagine what might happen if someone operates this for hours with that tape on. 
 
I have only just set it up and started to listen. I was very surprised at how small it really is. I used to own the Audio gd C2.2 and it was easily four times the size. Still, on first listen fresh out of the box with my T1's it sound promising. I immediately noticed that it does a very good job of separating instruments within the soundstage. I can't say much for the tonality I think I will give it a few days before further thoughts. I am not a great believer in burn in for solid state equipment but the first few hours can bring some changes. I can say that it drives my T1's with no problem. I have it set to +10db just to see what that brings then I will try higher settings but I am getting enough volume for average listening with the pot at 12 o'clock.

 

[Chodi]

I just switched my new M Stage to +18db and found that it changes far more than the volume gain. I was quite surprised at the difference which is why I came back quickly to post. It not only changed the volume it gives the sound a much warmer presentation overall. I don't know if this is just some synergy issue with the T1's or it is the same with all headphones but the sound between the two gain settings is very different. I would be curious to know if others have experienced this? I do have the class A mod installed so perhaps that is a factor.
 
Edit: I wasn't overjoyed with the extremely warm presentation on the other two so I switched over to 0 gain and the sound got less warm and more neutral but still not transparent enough for my taste. I have some other opamps coming on Wednesday I am hoping one of them does it for me. I was not expecting the sound to change this much with the gain settings. It is really a large difference. On 0 gain I have just enough room on the volume pot to get a reasonable listening level. At +10 things start to get unpleasant. 

 

[Chris J]

lol wut joo say?

Your girlfirend is on the front cover of this month's Cosmopolitan!
Yummy!

BTW,
The whole tape thing is kind of strange.
To 18 dB T1 guy:

Try the LM4562.

 

[Chodi]

Quote:

Your girlfirend is on the front cover of this month's Cosmopolitan!
Yummy!

BTW,
The whole tape thing is kind of strange.
To 18 dB T1 guy:

Try the LM4562.

Thanks for the tip but I think that class A mod is just not for me. I was ready to put this back in the box then I remembered that it came with the original opamp in the box. I switched to the standard opamp and things are fine on any gain setting (I keep it on +10). I have some opamps coming on Wednesday to try but I could live just fine with the original. Something is not right with that Class A mod 627. Frankly it sounds very dark and very bad. The little 30cent opamp that was used in the review works just fine for me.

 

[blueangel2323]

I just switched my new M Stage to +18db and found that it changes far more than the volume gain. I was quite surprised at the difference which is why I came back quickly to post. It not only changed the volume it gives the sound a much warmer presentation overall. I don't know if this is just some synergy issue with the T1's or it is the same with all headphones but the sound between the two gain settings is very different. I would be curious to know if others have experienced this? I do have the class A mod installed so perhaps that is a factor.

 
Nope it's not just the T1's, I find that +18db sounds very different too with my headphones. I posted my impressions a few pages back. Others have had a similar experience too.  
The tape is probably common to all units with the class A 627 then. The ones with the stock op amp don't have any tape inside.
 

Your girlfirend is on the front cover of this month's Cosmopolitan!
Yummy!

 
She is indeed! Maybe I should buy a copy lol. TBH I find fashion magazines to be a bit overdone. I prefer a more realistic, down to earth look  

Thanks for the tip but I think that class A mod is just not for me. I was ready to put this back in the box then I remembered that it came with the original opamp in the box. I switched to the standard opamp and things are fine on any gain setting (I keep it on +10). I have some opamps coming on Wednesday to try but I could live just fine with the original. Something is not right with that Class A mod 627. Frankly it sounds very dark and very bad. The little 30cent opamp that was used in the review works just fine for me.

 
Yeah that class A mod is known for being quite warm. The LM4562 is good though. It's not a class A mod, just a normal dual op amp like the stock one that you can just pop in. It has crisper, better defined treble than the stock. Not sure how else they're different as I can't A-B them.

 

[Chodi]

Quote:

 
Nope it's not just the T1's, I find that +18db sounds very different too with my headphones. I posted my impressions a few pages back. Others have had a similar experience too.  
The tape is probably common to all units with the class A 627 then. The ones with the stock op amp don't have any tape inside.
 
 
She is indeed! Maybe I should buy a copy lol. TBH I find fashion magazines to be a bit overdone. I prefer a more realistic, down to earth look  
 
Yeah that class A mod is known for being quite warm. The LM4562 is good though. It's not a class A mod, just a normal dual op amp like the stock one that you can just pop in. It has crisper, better defined treble than the stock. Not sure how else they're different as I can't A-B them.

I have the LME49710HAX2 coming on Wednesday and I think that might be just the ticket. If that doesn't work I will try the LM4562. Here is a link to the one that's coming in:
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LME49710HA-X2-Adaptor-/180872434827?
 
Frankly the stock opamp sounds pretty good to me. It's not going to compete with my Woo WA-2 but it is able to compete with my 332C tube amp. Not better, but in the same general class as the 332C.

 

[GaToMaLaCo]

 
Off topic warning: 
 
Yummyyyy indeed

 

[Chris J]

 
Off topic warning: 
 
Yummyyyy indeed

 
Wrong issue, but that's OK. Rachel is absolutely gorgeous too! Mmmmmm, yummy.

 

[Chris J]

Thanks for the tip but I think that class A mod is just not for me. I was ready to put this back in the box then I remembered that it came with the original opamp in the box. I switched to the standard opamp and things are fine on any gain setting (I keep it on +10). I have some opamps coming on Wednesday to try but I could live just fine with the original. Something is not right with that Class A mod 627. Frankly it sounds very dark and very bad. The little 30cent opamp that was used in the review works just fine for me.

 
Hey man, I'm not a big fan of the Class A OP627 either. I have one but I never use it. I agree, it's too warm or dark or too something. I prefer the stock Op Amp over the Class A OP627 too. Sorry, forgot to use the "Multi" button!

 

[blueangel2323]

I don't even have a Multi button, nor rich text editing, because I don't have Java and/or a newer version of IE. It's annoying - I have to use HTML to do line breaks or add images.  
Here's the right issue

 

[Chris J]

Ummmmmmmmmmm.............I was going to post something and now I can't remember was it was?