[Frank I]

I would think changing them does  something but me I dont like modding gear. i will also say this owning the original Matrix and the V2 the first amp is much better. it was way more dynamic and had great bass slam and it was super with my D7000 but the V2 I did not get that same feeling with thus I sold it.  Has anyone else owned both the original and the V2? If so what are your thoughts on the two units. I liked the massive power supply on the first amp.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

 
I usually listen at 10 dB gain.
I find with 0 dB gain, with some very dynamic CDs I have to crank the volume up to about 3 o'clock to get a reasonable volume out of my Q's.
Other than that, 0 dBs is very good.
 

 
I use 10dB.  Can you switch gain with the amp still on?  I thought the manual said to shut it off when switching gain...

 
Quote:

I don't hear difference in OP amps at all. I tried many varieties in my Cmoy and none of them changed the sound. So My verdict stands that OP amps don't do anything to the sound.

 
I noticed some differences after swapping opamps on my m-stage. 

 

[Zombie_X]

I don't know man. As long as the OP amp in question is within normal specifications then it should do nothing to the sound. I think it has to be a placebo as out of the 10 or so ones I tried there was no audible changes.
 
I have a friend who know this kind of stuff and he said that they should do nothing to sound as long as their specs are right on, but if they are under spec they can alter and distort the sound. Also if the OP amp is not designed for audio use it can alter the sound if palced in the signal path.
 
Quote:

I noticed some differences after swapping opamps on my m-stage. 

 

 

[Mad Max]

 
Quote:

I don't hear difference in OP amps at all. I tried many varieties in my Cmoy and none of them changed the sound. So My verdict stands that OP amps don't do anything to the sound.

I take it your cmoy's imaging is as good as your Auditor and Roc, no?
 

 

[chicolom]

 
Quote:

I don't know man. As long as the OP amp in question is within normal specifications then it should do nothing to the sound. I think it has to be a placebo as out of the 10 or so ones I tried there was no audible changes.
 
I have a friend who know this kind of stuff and he said that they should do nothing to sound as long as their specs are right on, but if they are under spec they can alter and distort the sound. Also if the OP amp is not designed for audio use it can alter the sound if palced in the signal path.

 

(NwAvGuy?)  Well, I was a little underwhelmed with the stock opamp (OPA2134) in the M-stage in the soundstage department.  I also thought the mids sounded a bit congested.  The detail sounded similar to my E9.  The impressions I got as soon as I put the OPA602BP were "Thats more like it" when I heard the soundstage open up.  It sounded more neutral the congestion in the mids was gone and the treble detail was better.
 
Those are my impressions.  I can't measure anything though.  I don't think you can measure soundstage and imaging anyways?
 
Does anyone know what would be the safest way to A-B compare opamps in the M-stage?  With the case apart: listen to one, shut the m-stage down, swap opamps and power it back up?  There were lots of static electricity warnings on the opamp packaging.   I wouldn't want to damage the amp or opamps anyway

 

[Zombie_X]

No, nowhere near the same. But if there were difference in sonics you would still hear them. It's just my opinion anyways. I was just stating I've heard no difference. I know DAC chips can sound different as Wolfson DAC chips tend to sound warmer. But a DAC chip and a OP amp are different.
 
I also don't appreciate the sarcasm. I can't tell if you're poking fun or not.
 
Quote:

I take it your cmoy's imaging is as good as your Auditor and Roc, no?

 
 
No, never even talked to the guy. The guy I spoke of is my friend Jacob. He's been in engineering and electronics for 7 years. I trust his word more than anyone on these types of things. Granted I do the same thing and praise gear but I can't see how a $2 OP amp will sound any better or worse than a $10, to give an example. Maybe I'm too closed minded but generally I'm pretty open minded. 
 
I'm sure they can have a different sound if the amp is designed around one type of OP amp or even how the whole layout of the circuit is. That is one possibility. It could also be how the amp interacts with said OP amp, such as how tubes sound different.
 
Anyways I don't want to start a debate or anything, was just stating my opinion and I think it's best to drop it here. I have some pretty strict views on components and the last thing I want to do is open that can of worms.
 
Quote:

(NwAvGuy?)  Well, I was a little underwhelmed with the stock opamp (OPA2134) in the M-stage in the soundstage department.  I also thought the mids sounded a bit congested.  The detail sounded similar to my E9.  The impressions I got as soon as I put the OPA602BP were "Thats more like it" when I heard the soundstage open up.  It sounded more neutral the congestion in the mids was gone and the treble detail was better.
 
Those are my impressions.  I can't measure anything though.  I don't think you can measure soundstage and imaging anyways?
 
Does anyone know what would be the safest way to A-B compare opamps in the M-stage?  With the case apart: listen to one, shut the m-stage down, swap opamps and power it back up?  There were lots of static electricity warnings on the opamp packaging.   I wouldn't want to damage the amp or opamps anyway

 

 

[chicolom]

Fair enough.
 
Zombie, while your here, do you think the M-stage is sufficient enough for T1s?

 

[Zombie_X]

Yes most definitely. Since the T1's are much higher in sensitivity they require much less power than a normal 600Ohm headphone would require. I would estimate them as needing the same amount of power as the 250Ohm DT models would. They are easily driven much louder than the other 600Ohm headphones at the same volume. They also get louder than the 250Ohm beyers do a the same volume. 
 
Quote:

Fair enough.
 
Zombie, while your here, do you think the M-stage is sufficient enough for T1s?

 

 

[genclaymore]

The problem is that not all people have the same ears, just because you don't notice it. Do not mean every one doesn't. What one person doesn't notice, another person does. Its not placebo, it just you simply cant hear the differences between the op-amps, I not making a insult or any thing. I have no problems with hearing the difference between op-amps,I don't have to think about it. I just hear it right away and swap it out,Maybe my ears are sensitivity to changes in sound more then those who's aren't.  If I didn't notice it, I wouldn't have started rolling op-amps all those many years ago.
 
I tried too many op-amp combination's to say that my brain is tricking me because it Def not.

 

[Zombie_X]

True true the brain and ears do play a part in this. And no insult was taken at all.
 
Quote:

The problem is that not all people have the same ears, just because you don't notice it. Do not mean every one doesn't. What one person doesn't notice, another person does. Its not placebo, it just you simply cant hear the differences between the op-amps, I not making a insult or any thing. I have no problems with hearing the difference between op-amps,I don't have to think about it. I just hear it right away and swap it out,Maybe my ears are sensitivity to changes in sound more then those who's aren't.  If I didn't notice it, I wouldn't have started rolling op-amps all those many years ago.
 
I tried too many op-amp combination's to say that my brain is tricking me because it Def not.

 

 

[Derrik86]

Hi,
 
I received my M-STAGE USB DAC yesterday..I have connect it with usb on my Mac Book and when I listen music from youtube...I have on a fastidious white Noise high-volume! WHY???
 
When I listen mp3 on Macbook, Audio CD or when I work In DAW I don't have problems!!
 
Thanks
 
 

 

[Chris J]

Try setting gain to 0 dB.
 
I know that some of these YouTube videos have awful sound.  Have you tried diferent videos?

 

[Derrik86]

Yes, but 240p don't have problems!! 360p - 480p - 760p have noise!! I think that it's a connection problem...

 

[Chris J]

 
Just my opinion, but I usually listen to YouTube on cheap headphones..........Sennheiser PX 100 ii because they roll off the nasty treble.   Sometimes I use the PX 100 ii bad sounding MP3 files and bad sounding iTunes files.
 
I'll have to try 240P - 360P - 480P and 720P tonight to see if I have the same troubles in Canada! 

 

[Tribbs]

When I watch YouTube at high-res (usually 720p or higher here) I almost always must pause the video and let the entire video load up into the computer's memory/buffer.  Then I'll press play and enjoy perfectly streamed video/audio.
 
Those Sennheiser PX-100's are excellent portable/pocket cans