[chicolom]

So I did some more A-B testing with my 2xOPA602BP vs OPA2134 and I don't think I can tell the difference.  I tried to pick out differences, but they seem so small they could very well be placebo.  I figured all the extra adapters on the OPA602 probably wouldn't help the sound so I've been running the stock opamp in my m-stage for the past week.  It sounds fine to my ears...
 
I now have a LM4562 I got for a couple bucks off ebay so I will try that, but I wouldn't be surprised if it sounded the same as well.  Luckily I love the way my headphones (Q701) sound already so I don't need to tune the sound anyways.  I'm just always looking for ways to improve soundstage.  I think the stock M-stage already has a nice soundstage for the price.  I'm not sure if opamp rolling can increase that.
 
I imagine the class A biasing would change they sound more...

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

So I did some more A-B testing with my 2xOPA602BP vs OPA2134 and I don't think I can tell the difference.  I tried to pick out differences, but they seem so small they could very well be placebo.  I figured all the extra adapters on the OPA602 probably wouldn't help the sound so I've been running the stock opamp in my m-stage for the past week.  It sounds fine to my ears...
 
I now have a LM4562 I got for a couple bucks off ebay so I will try that, but I wouldn't be surprised if it sounded the same as well.  Luckily I love the way my headphones (Q701) sound already so I don't need to tune the sound anyways.  I'm just always looking for ways to improve soundstage.  I think the stock M-stage already has a nice soundstage for the price.  I'm not sure if opamp rolling can increase that.
 
I imagine the class A biasing would change they sound more...

If you think they sound very, very similar then you won't hear much difference with the Class A mod.
It is very subtle.
Same goes for the LM4562.  Maybe, maybe, maybe a touch more clarity?
They all sound so similar that I am off Op Amp rolling!  LOL!  But it s fun.
I'm sticking with the LM4562............YMMV.
 
 

 

[GamerOne]

Does anyone know how well the M-stage does with a pair of AH-D2000/D5000?

 

[fishbulb95]

 
Quote:

Does anyone know how well the M-stage does with a pair of AH-D2000/D5000?

Yesterday I went to my friends house to test out his various headphones, and he wanted to test my M-Stage.  Every headphone we threw at it worked amazingly.  I got to test drive the D7000 It was nothing short of an unstoppable force of excellence.  Now the specs for the M-Stage says output impedance is 5ohms, and using the rule of eights, on paper it should not be the most ideal match.  But from what I heard, the D7000 was amazing. I kept going back to that headphone, if it can perform well with the M-Stage I expect the D2000/D5000 should as well. I just switched the gain settings to 0dB, nothing more of 12o'clock was necessary.
 
 
I currently own the Q701 and the DT990/600 (returning) I am going to buy the D5000 to replace it.  It will be running through the M-Stage.   
 
 
DT990: I just had a week to play with the DT990, all I had before was the Q701.  The punch of the bass was very nice to have, but those boosted highs created way too much sibilance.  The only type of music that really shined through the DT990 was death metal (Graveworm), or any song that I missed that impact that a 701 just won't provide.  Any song that already boosts the highs (Sssssssss and Fffffff) became way too much for these headphones to handle. For $100 more I am getting the feeling the D5000 will be a much better match for my genres.
 
As far as running through the M-Stage, if there are any people on the fence about the DT770/880/990 600ohm, the M-Stage performs very well.
 
Edit: My friend didn't mention any issues with the D7000 and the M-Stage.

 

[Han Bao Quan]

Quote:

Does anyone know how well the M-stage does with a pair of AH-D2000/D5000?

Most of the Denon, and especially D7000/D5000, are very efficient. You can drive them with pretty much anything. My D7000 worked wonderfully with the M-stage that fishbulb95 brought over yesterday. My Asgard came today and I will be testing it with all my headphones. But back to the M-stage, it would work excellently with D5000

 

[spongeworthy]

Has anyone purchased anything off Tamaudio lately? I ordered an M-stage on Monday, and I was told I would receive a tracking number/ shipping notifcation on Tuesday, but it's now Friday, and I haven't heard anything, My e-mails go unreplied too.

 

[fishbulb95]

Quote:

Has anyone purchased anything off Tamaudio lately? I ordered an M-stage on Monday, and I was told I would receive a tracking number/ shipping notifcation on Tuesday, but it's now Friday, and I haven't heard anything, My e-mails go unreplied too.

I ordered mine on a Tuesday about a month ago, I didn't get any tracking information till Sunday, which didn't start updating till the following Monday, then arrived to California and my home on Thursday.  Hmm. usually they're pretty good at responding to emails, I emailed Saturday night, and received a response Sunday Morning. Since I ordered via Amazon I wanted to confirm that they were shipping me the 120V version.

 

[headhog]

Quote:

Has anyone purchased anything off Tamaudio lately? I ordered an M-stage on Monday, and I was told I would receive a tracking number/ shipping notifcation on Tuesday, but it's now Friday, and I haven't heard anything, My e-mails go unreplied too.

I got my tracking number a day before my amp arrived useless but i got it.Other then that i think Tam Audio has good customer service you shouldn't worry your amp is probably already in your town.

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

 
 
As far as running through the M-Stage, if there are any people on the fence about the DT770/880/990 600ohm, the M-Stage performs very well.
 

I agree, the M does a great job of driving my DT880/600 ohm 'phones, the amp drives the phones to levels far louder than you would want to listen to.
 
BTW, the DT880s are very neutral and are worth listening to if you think DT990 are too bright.

 

[bala]

Has anybody tried a high-quality power cable with the Mstage  and noticed any observable difference?

Looking to replace my generic power cable with a copper line alpha and would like to know if anyone has tried something similar with the mstage.

 

[kyoshiro]

Quote:

Has anybody tried a high-quality power cable with the Mstage  and noticed any observable difference?

Looking to replace my generic power cable with a copper line alpha and would like to know if anyone has tried something similar with the mstage.

i've been using my Furutech cable with Oyaide Rhodium IEC and a MS UK Plug but man I think I need to change the fuse in order to bring out the potential of this set up lol
I havent used the generic power cable long enough to be able to tell you if it really makes a difference but I need a dedicated wall socket to really test its potential which I will soon have once I move... 
I'll prolly bring my MStage down to Jaben HK to try out their power socket sometime anyhow lol

 

[clams]

Quote:

Has anybody tried a high-quality power cable with the Mstage  and noticed any observable difference?

Looking to replace my generic power cable with a copper line alpha and would like to know if anyone has tried something similar with the mstage.

I've just been using a cheap iron lung jellyfish and it still sounds a little better. The amp is overall pretty responsive to changes in the system. 

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

I'm sticking with the LM4562............YMMV.

LM4562 is safe to use in the M-stage right?  I read about the BJT vs. FET inputs and how BJT can have DC offset.  It won't slowly melt my headphones will it?

 

[Zombie_X]

I really wouldn't bother with a power cable upgrade, the generic Monoprice cables are more than enough. I can't see how 6ft of these special cables will correct any issues with the thousand of miles of crappy wire underground. There's no way they can fix anything like that. Maybe the only way to fix it is to use a Power Plant or something.
 
I used to think there were differences but after testing quite a few after market power cables  I came to the conclusion that there is no difference.
 
Quote:

Has anybody tried a high-quality power cable with the Mstage  and noticed any observable difference?

Looking to replace my generic power cable with a copper line alpha and would like to know if anyone has tried something similar with the mstage.

 

 

[Guess?]

I also think it's not worth my while to upgrade the power cables with something >$10, it might give me some subtle improvement, but I don't think it will be justified, or noticed. I got to change the whole power grid on this old flat, maybe then... well since your cable is not the cheapest I think you're OK.