[Mysteek]

Just to add more to this, I found out a while ago that Ryan (manufacturer of the Mav D1 and A1) actually uses the HD650 as the reference headphones that he tests each individual unit with.  I think you'll like the sound.

 

[Ultrainferno]

You really should take those 3 days to read trough the D1 thread
In the FAQ thread different opamps are reviewed and I think there's also a how to in there, if you can't find it contact one of the D1 modders
The D1 has a great DAC and a very good Tube out, but the stock headphone out might be a bit bright, but the opamps will take care of that.
I'm not sure you will get sound if you remove the tube
 
If you don't like the D1 headphone out after the opamp switching, you can always get an A1 for xmas.
 
You can buy opamps online on ebay or from Digikey.com. I just get them at a local electronics store
 
Good luck!

 

[Lazerboy2000]

Is it possible to use the Tube-out on the D1 connected to a Bravo V2 tube amp or pa2v2, to headphones (MS1i)? Or is it stupid to connect two tubes to eachother?

 

[Ultrainferno]

Is it possible to use the Tube-out on the D1 connected to a Bravo V2 tube amp or pa2v2, to headphones (MS1i)? Or is it stupid to connect two tubes to eachother?

No that is no problem at all, in fact I used the D1 + bravo v2 for à few months.
Even Ryan from Maverick confirmed it is ok

 

[attenuated 3db]

Quote:

You really should take those 3 days to read trough the D1 thread
In the FAQ thread different opamps are reviewed and I think there's also a how to in there, if you can't find it contact one of the D1 modders
The D1 has a great DAC and a very good Tube out, but the stock headphone out might be a bit bright, but the opamps will take care of that.
I'm not sure you will get sound if you remove the tube
 
If you don't like the D1 headphone out after the opamp switching, you can always get an A1 for xmas.
 
You can buy opamps online on ebay or from Digikey.com. I just get them at a local electronics store
 
Good luck!

I think I pulled two old-style college "all nighters" reading the "consolidated" (thank goodness!) D1 thread, but I suffered from information overload, and forgot there was a lot of granular detail about modding contained in it when I asked my questions about swapping op-amps and the vitality of the headphone output section.  I can see from your own signature the most popular D1 replacement op-amps, and I've been to the DigiKey website, but eBay may be more familiar for me to navigate.
 
As for using the D1 headphone output with my new Sennheiser 650s, stock op-amp or LM4562, I guess I'll only be be doing that for about a week.  Last night, after spending probably another eight-hour day on this site (the alternative way of stating that is "after spending eight hours listening to beautifully reproduced recorded music while reading an online publication that has guided me back to that long-lost passion of an earlier life"), I went ahead and ordered an A1 with the matched pair of Raytheon 6AK5 tubes from Ryan (I already feel like I know him personally from e-mail).  So I'll be using the tube preamp output of the D1 into the A1 and not have to worry about the adequacy of its own headphone amp, but instead of wondering about removing its stock Chinese tube completely and leaving an empty socket, I'll be scouring eBay for Western Electric 396A tubes along with op-amps.  Sheesh, what a hobby!  If it weren't for the deep emotional satisfaction that listening to properly reproduced beautiful music brings to the human brain, this pursuit could  be viewed as an expensive form of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
 
Even with my tiny Nuforce uDAC-2 HP's volume potentiometer maxed out, the 650s are "opening up," especially on what initially seemed to be a very constrained low end, compared to the ATH-M50S.  Last night I was listening the Patricia Barber "Nightclub" album (it used to be Janis Joplin and Grace Slick, now it's Patricia Barber and Barb Jungr; I'm definitely getting old), and there is an extended upright string bass solo on the "Autumn Leaves" track that was stunning.  It was perfectly mic-ed, and on the 650s, it was exactly how an acoustic string bass sounds at close range as each string is being plucked: attack, decay and reverb.  And the 650s are severly underpowered right now, and just have a cumulative 10-15 hours on them.
 
My D1 has traversed the Pacific and is now in DHLs Cincinnati facility, so it will definitely be here for XMAS; maybe its brother A1 will be here by 2011. Now, all (note to self: refer back to his post in the event of future temptations) that is left is to someday get one of the custom Sennhesier cables Head-Fi-er "Lil Knight" sells on eBay.  No way I could ever afford (or justify to myself, even if I could afford them) some of the ALO or 6Moons cables I've read about.  I briefly held off on buying the A1, thinking I might try to wait and save up my pennies for a year or so and buy a balanced output amplifier and rewire the 650s with a Cardas or other balanced cable, but then I decided that was just permanently out of financial reach, even long-term, and that if I went ahead and bought the A1 now, I would get that notion out of my head immediately.  Talk about rationalizations!
 
Anyway, thanks for the feedback (rhetorically, not electronically or acoustically). 

 

[Ultrainferno]

I'm sure you'll love the D1 and A1 combo. Personally I didn't really like the 396a in the D1, the Raytheons in the A1 are great, and so are the M8100.
I only want to try the Tung sol tubes now and the 408a, but they're both getting hard to find. If you have anymore questions when you have the D1/A1, just pm

 

[Dynobot]

Out of all the tubes I have for the D1, GE/Jan, RCA, Ratheon, and Tung-Sol, I must say the Tung-Sol tube is the best.
 
Tung-Sol - Nice bottom end, good air, clear mids, just a tad rolled off in the very top
Ratheon - Nice bottom just slightly leaner in the bass, mids are up front, good air
GE - Lean on the bass but tight, much more airy than the rest may seem hard to some, leaner than the Tung-Sol or the Raytheon
RCA - Thick sounding, less air than the rest, bottom end seems less controlled a bit murky, mids are slightly dull, highs slightly rolled off.
 

 

[Ultrainferno]

Quote:

Out of all the tubes I have for the D1, GE/Jan, RCA, Ratheon, and Tung-Sol, I must say the Tung-Sol tube is the best.
 
Tung-Sol - Nice bottom end, good air, clear mids, just a tad rolled off in the very top
Ratheon - Nice bottom just slightly leaner in the bass, mids are up front, good air
GE - Lean on the bass but tight, much more airy than the rest may seem hard to some, leaner than the Tung-Sol or the Raytheon
RCA - Thick sounding, less air than the rest, bottom end seems less controlled a bit murky, mids are slightly dull, highs slightly rolled off.
 

 
You should share that in the DA thread

 

 

[attenuated 3db]

Quote:

I'm sure you'll love the D1 and A1 combo. Personally I didn't really like the 396a in the D1, the Raytheons in the A1 are great, and so are the M8100.
I only want to try the Tung sol tubes now and the 408a, but they're both getting hard to find. If you have anymore questions when you have the D1/A1, just pm

I was typing an e-mail to Ryan this morning to ask him when the A1 might ship (I ordered it late on Saturday night, and that is at least sometime in the Chinese weekend when they are closed), and just after I finished composing it and was about to click "send," the doorbell rang and it was DHL with my new D1 box.  I'm not much for digital photography, but they have refined their shipping boxes from the unboxing photos I had previously seen; the new one is much more compact and small, perfectly accomodating the unit with its foam offsets, and no extra space to make the box dimensions larger and shipping more expensive.  Since the A1 is the exact same size, I suspect they got a custom box supplier to make them.  And not a single dent or tiny rip anywhere on the outer carton.
 
Initial hookup to my USB port (a Toslink cable is in the mail and should be here anytime, possibly today) was baffling and very disappointing.  I am proud that I didn't have to e-mail Ryan or make a plea for help here, but I think Maverick should include at least a link (if not a print-out) of this page: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/head-fi/mav_condensed/usb_driver/driver.html in their own packaging.  Or even burn the modified driver to a CD-ROM and include it in the box.  Whatever.  Once I followed ninjikiran's excellent instructions, everything was groovy, and I can put the tiny Nuforce uDAC-2 in my Asus netbook bag with the Etymotic MC-5s as a permanent travelling companion.  The headphone output of the D1 provides a lot more gain than the Nuforce  (given that it plugs into an AC outlet rather than a 5-volt 500-milliamp USB port, this only stands to reason, so now turning the Sennheiser 650s volume up as loud as is appropriate to the music is no problem.  The sound is a little "bright" as you said it would be, but I'm not sure if I will bother chasing down the op-amp for the headphone amp with the A1 on its way.  Replacing the DAC op-amp would be more logical to play with first.  And I would like to know what specific Tung-Sol tube I should be looking for to replace the stock D1 tube with. Is this it?
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/Tung-Sol-2C51-5670-396a-1-NOS-tube-Amplitrex-tested_W0QQitemZ330504249821QQcategoryZ67816QQcmdZViewItem#ht_600wt_1145
 
If so, PM me so I can snatch one up if it looks like a good price and reputable seller to your more experienced eyes.  Thanks again for all of the help.

 

[Dynobot]

Quote:

 The sound is a little "bright" as you said it would be,

I posted in the main D1 thread about bypassing the fuse.  This totally gets rid of ALL the brightness and really lets you hear the true Dac and Tube.  So far one other person has tried it and absolutely loves the difference in sound.  Also the Tung-Sol would be 2C51

 

[attenuated 3db]

Quote:

Quote:

 The sound is a little "bright" as you said it would be,

I posted in the main D1 thread about bypassing the fuse.  This totally gets rid of ALL the brightness and really lets you hear the true Dac and Tube.  So far one other person has tried it and absolutely loves the difference in sound.  Also the Tung-Sol would be 2C51

I read your post about the fuse being an audible limitation, and some of the skeptical responses it drew.  Not from me; I used to custom-build David Hafler amplifier kits back 30 years ago, and the fuse was a major bottleneck in the power supply.  My only concern is voiding the warranty.  I am sure the inclusion of fuses in all mains-powered electronic equipment is mandated by the Chinese equivalent of Underwriters Laboratory.  I don't foresee the unit developing any internal shorts that would cause it to draw an inordinate amount of current, but then I don't have as much experience with tube amplifier circuits as solid state.  Did you completely remove the fuse from the circuit, or just replace it with a wire that could handle more current?  I think that is in your post(s), so don't answer the same question twice.  I'll look it up.

 

[_Spanky_]

Quote:

I think Maverick should include at least a link (if not a print-out) of this page: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/head-fi/mav_condensed/usb_driver/driver.html in their own packaging.  Or even burn the modified driver to a CD-ROM and include it in the box.

I was the one that made that guide and it used to be included in the D1 condensed faq (see my sig) but the general concensus that the sample rate is locked at a hardware level either due to the circuit or limitation of the chip itself. With that hacked driver, it just allows you to send other sample rates but it doesn't seem to do anything. My personal reasoning for this (now I'm unsure) was that the digital output on my old X-Fi card would made the D1 DAC "click" whenever the sample rate changed. USB input never caused this, even with the hacked driver. I figured that if it didn't "click", it wasn't bit-perfect. Although, now, I'm using a Teralink X2 with the D1 and the Teralink doesn't make the D1's DAC click. So now what I'm thinking is that the X-Fi stopped and started the data stream whenever you changed sample rates and that stopping/starting would cause the D1 to click, just like unplugging a SPDIF source. I'm not sure what exactly is going on but it is a very basic USB chip and you're much better off with another transport.

 

[attenuated 3db]

Quote:

Quote:

I think Maverick should include at least a link (if not a print-out) of this page: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/head-fi/mav_condensed/usb_driver/driver.html in their own packaging.  Or even burn the modified driver to a CD-ROM and include it in the box.

I was the one that made that guide and it used to be included in the D1 condensed faq (see my sig) but the general concensus that the sample rate is locked at a hardware level either due to the circuit or limitation of the chip itself. With that hacked driver, it just allows you to send other sample rates but it doesn't seem to do anything. My personal reasoning for this (now I'm unsure) was that the digital output on my old X-Fi card would made the D1 DAC "click" whenever the sample rate changed. USB input never caused this, even with the hacked driver. I figured that if it didn't "click", it wasn't bit-perfect. Although, now, I'm using a Teralink X2 with the D1 and the Teralink doesn't make the D1's DAC click. So now what I'm thinking is that the X-Fi stopped and started the data stream whenever you changed sample rates and that stopping/starting would cause the D1 to click, just like unplugging a SPDIF source. I'm not sure what exactly is going on but it is a very basic USB chip and you're much better off with another transport.

Windows is not my strong suit, OS-wise.  I have this Sony Core-i7 desktop-replacement 17" laptop with an SSD that I got with the intent to make it into another Linux platform (like my HP Core-2 Duo notebook and the Asus Atom 280N netbook), but there were too many unresolvable deficiencies in the latest Linux kernels to reconcile with all of Sony's weird VAIO hardware, so I just finally gave up and figured I'd have to forget my PTSD flashbacks to Vista (what originally came on the HP) and XP (what the Asus shipped with right before Win 7 was released), and learn another OS from a company whose former anticompetitive ruthlessness finally seems to be being rewarded with diminished influence, if not complete corporate irrelevance.  So all the stuff about drivers and .DLL files is a world I left behind several years ago and presumed I'd never revisit.  But now that I've found out computers can be a platform for really high-quality audio reproduction, I've discovered how woeful Linux is in that department, application software-wise, and the Sony will stay a Win7 machine, and not even dual-boot Linux when it catches up to the hardware in a few more months.  It really is Microsoft's best effort at an OS yet.  There's a saying that no Microsoft product works until version 3.0, and this appears to be true at the OS level, too.
 
Anyway, I digressed.  All I remember from this morning's early DHL delivery was I unboxed the unit, plugged it into my powered USB hub in place of the Nuforce uDAC-2 (which was plug-and-play, and automatically loaded its own driver from the 'Net back when I first got it), and tried to play some hi-res files, and Foobar balked at the output device somehow.  Then I did get some standard 44.1/16-bit rips to make noise in my Senn 650s, but they sounded awful compared to the Nuforce.  That's when I remembered your consolidated FAQ and got the modded driver and things sounded like they were working like they should.  In all honesty, just using the D1's headphone output with the stock op-amp (I've ordered LM4562NA and LT1364CN op-amps and a G.E. JAN 5670W tube from eBay) has made me realize how good that little tiny Nuforce uDAC-2 HP was/is sonically.  It just didn't have enough "juice" for a 300-ohm set of phones, but it was very clean and detailed.  My interim arrangement until the A1 with matched Raytheon tubes pre-installed comes, along with the replacement DAC op-amp and 5670 tube for the D1 is OK, but only really improves on the Nuforce in the area of volume, IMHO.  But then, some sonic details can't emerge unless you can make the headphone drivers just move sufficiently to reproduce them.  But the stock D1 sound through the headphone output is kind of "thin" as well as "bright" compared to the Nuforce.  Oh well, it's just temporary, and it's plenty loud enough now. 
 
Really enjoyed reading all of your work bringing all of the D1 resources together in one place here (Ryan links to it from his own business website), and even visited your computer-repair website several times just to poke around out of curiosity.  Look forward to sharing further Maverick Audio related experiences in the future.

 

[attenuated 3db]

Quote:

... My interim arrangement until the A1 with matched Raytheon tubes pre-installed comes, along with the replacement DAC op-amp and 5670 tube for the D1 is OK, but only really improves on the Nuforce in the area of volume, IMHO.  But then, some sonic details can't emerge unless you can make the headphone drivers just move sufficiently to reproduce them.  But the stock D1 sound through the headphone output is kind of "thin" as well as "bright" compared to the Nuforce.  Oh well, it's just temporary, and it's plenty loud enough now. 

 
I'm revising my initial stock, out-of-the-box D1 headphone-output impressions way upwards on Day Two of listening.  Maybe the D1 is burning itself in, or maybe the 650s are getting much more thoroughly broken in themselves (acoustic "break-in" of transducers seems a little easier to understand, document and quantify to me than electronic "burn-in") now that they are being adequately driven rather than being constrained my the maxed-out gain of the Nuforce uDAC-2 HP.  Or maybe some of both.  Anyway, the combination sounds much better than it did just yesterday, for those genuinely concerned with the initial topic of this thread, namely the adequacy of the built-in headphone amplifier with all-stock op-amps and the tube not being in play.  Still can't wait for my A1 to arrive, and then my GE 5670W tube and the op-amps that other D1 owners seem to agree are the best.

 

[_Spanky_]

Quote:

Windows is not my strong suit, OS-wise.  I have this Sony Core-i7 desktop-replacement 17" laptop with an SSD that I got with the intent to make it into another Linux platform (like my HP Core-2 Duo notebook and the Asus Atom 280N netbook), but there were too many unresolvable deficiencies in the latest Linux kernels to reconcile with all of Sony's weird VAIO hardware, so I just finally gave up and figured I'd have to forget my PTSD flashbacks to Vista (what originally came on the HP) and XP (what the Asus shipped with right before Win 7 was released), and learn another OS from a company whose former anticompetitive ruthlessness finally seems to be being rewarded with diminished influence, if not complete corporate irrelevance.  So all the stuff about drivers and .DLL files is a world I left behind several years ago and presumed I'd never revisit.  But now that I've found out computers can be a platform for really high-quality audio reproduction, I've discovered how woeful Linux is in that department, application software-wise, and the Sony will stay a Win7 machine, and not even dual-boot Linux when it catches up to the hardware in a few more months.  It really is Microsoft's best effort at an OS yet.  There's a saying that no Microsoft product works until version 3.0, and this appears to be true at the OS level, too.
 
Anyway, I digressed.  All I remember from this morning's early DHL delivery was I unboxed the unit, plugged it into my powered USB hub in place of the Nuforce uDAC-2 (which was plug-and-play, and automatically loaded its own driver from the 'Net back when I first got it), and tried to play some hi-res files, and Foobar balked at the output device somehow.  Then I did get some standard 44.1/16-bit rips to make noise in my Senn 650s, but they sounded awful compared to the Nuforce.  That's when I remembered your consolidated FAQ and got the modded driver and things sounded like they were working like they should.  In all honesty, just using the D1's headphone output with the stock op-amp (I've ordered LM4562NA and LT1364CN op-amps and a G.E. JAN 5670W tube from eBay) has made me realize how good that little tiny Nuforce uDAC-2 HP was/is sonically.  It just didn't have enough "juice" for a 300-ohm set of phones, but it was very clean and detailed.  My interim arrangement until the A1 with matched Raytheon tubes pre-installed comes, along with the replacement DAC op-amp and 5670 tube for the D1 is OK, but only really improves on the Nuforce in the area of volume, IMHO.  But then, some sonic details can't emerge unless you can make the headphone drivers just move sufficiently to reproduce them.  But the stock D1 sound through the headphone output is kind of "thin" as well as "bright" compared to the Nuforce.  Oh well, it's just temporary, and it's plenty loud enough now. 
 
Really enjoyed reading all of your work bringing all of the D1 resources together in one place here (Ryan links to it from his own business website), and even visited your computer-repair website several times just to poke around out of curiosity.  Look forward to sharing further Maverick Audio related experiences in the future.

 
To your first paragraph, I'm an avid Windows fanboy but don't worry, I'm the good kind. I'm not gonna say that Mac or Linux sucks because they obviously don't (they're still around after all this time, that's a good indication that someone likes them). Just... neither are for me and I have used both a fair amount in the past. Windows just suits me and does everything I need it to. Everything takes maintenance, even Ubuntu won't change that, that's why guys like me are around
 
I'm not saying the modified driver is bad, it's just... mysterious. I've spent too much time trying to figure out if the D1 resamples or what really happens at a hardware level. But this is why I like the D1. You can buy it and it alone and it's an easy introduction setup to quality audio. From there, you can get a different transport, you can get another headphone/speaker amp, you can swap opamps. It just great that way. I will admit that the D1's opamps that it uses in stock form absolutely suck. But they're cheap (in cost) so that makes the units cheap (in cost). Replacing them with LM4562 or something, makes it a decent amp.
 
I'm glad you like the thread and thanks for visiting my site My main goal with both audio and computers is to teach other people through what I've learned and through my experiences and while that may just be basic info, some people don't even have that. Here's a shameless plug; since you were poking around my site, did you see PostQuote?