[Andrea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NelsonVandal /img/forum/go_quote.gif I picked out the OPA2134 today and was going to try LM4562

You too...? Well I have the LM4562 in the Xtra right now. And I didn't even try and listen with the OPA2134 first

Do you maybe happen to know why the amp doesn't power on with the external supply? Perhaps it can't be used while it is charging the battery (the led on the back is red at the moment). I ask because my instructions sheet is in chinese

P.S. I can easily see why the standard Xtra is better than the standard Xenos: the LMH6642 output drivers are battery friendly, but not that good sound wise (though Xin uses them too), certainly not as good as some discrete buffers... If you want the perfect partner to the LM4562 btw, try the AD9631, it'll leave you impressed (it's a lot different from the AD8397, much better) ...

 

[thekid22]

what is the battery life on the X1 with all of the original, stock components?

 

[jamato8]

The XTRA can be used with the charger in place or on batteries.

What type of charger did you receive? European prongs (round)or the flat type?

 

[billybob_jcv]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The XTRA is small. It is the same length as a SM but about 1 cm less in width and about 3 mm less in height. The XTRA has 3 gain settings and so far it has driven from 16 ohms to my HD650's with no problem on the low setting.

Ahh - OK, I must have missed the mention of the 0, 6, 18 gain settings in the previous posts the first read through. So, I assume that with IEMs like the UM1 it would be used on the "0" gain setting?

 

[jamato8]

That's where I would use them.

 

[NelsonVandal]

This thing sounds unbelievably good without the OPA2134. Black between the notes. No sibilance. Fast transients. Perfect soundstage. Neutral tonality. When the recordings shine, this one shines, and when they're gray, thins one's gray. Everything I ever wanted from a portable. Until there's a decent opamp for 7,4V supply on the market, I'm gonna do without (if I don't buy an iMod). The gain is just about enogh using H/K CD-player and iRiver portable. Why should there be so many amplifying stages? I can tell you this, the OPA2134 definitely degrades the sound quality.

I still use the volume control and bypassing the rest, see picture.

 

[jamato8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NelsonVandal /img/forum/go_quote.gif This thing sounds unbelievably good without the OPA2134. Black between the notes. No sibilance. Fast transients. Perfect soundstage. Neutral tonality. When the recordings shine, this one shines, and when they're gray, thins one's gray. Everything I ever wanted from a portable. Until there's a decent opamp for 7,4V supply on the market, I'm gonna do without (if I don't buy an iMod). The gain is just about enogh using H/K CD-player and iRiver portable. Why should there be so many amplifying stages? I can tell you this, the OPA2134 definitely degrades the sound quality. I still use the volume control and bypassing the rest, see picture.

Ok, so you have bypassed the first opamp and gone from the volume control to the next in line. Right? How is the bass response? Since I have two of these amps it would be a nice comparison = with and without. I always try to have as little in the signal path in my tube designs. I think in the LD M Tube there is too much in the signal path.

How many hours do you have on the amp and did you get rid of the input caps?

 

[NelsonVandal]

I didn't remove anything exept the OPA2134. The caps are bypassed. I didn't want to mess with things too much. I'm not shure this is permanent. I don't know if it matters that the signal still runs to the caps, if it's causing some interferance. First i soldered an input connector straight to pins 1 and 7. I didn't listen that much, but I don't think it sounded better.

Nice to be able to carry it with you. I bought a really cheap carryingcase for cellphones on sale

.

 

[jamato8]

Do you mean that you first tried this without removing the opamp and just jumpered to the 1 and 7 pin? This would effectively bypasses it.

I want to see somone load it up with Black Gates.

 

[NelsonVandal]

And BTW, it was a real pleasure doing business with the chineese seller on Ebay, and I got it very cheap. 350 RMB + 90 RMB shipping.

 

[NelsonVandal]

No I removed the opamp and the soldered in the inut cables. There's a picturelink above of how it looks now. Sorry I didn't answer you about bass performance. It's not as thick sounding as with OPA2134, but I think this is more neutral. Still I haven't listened enough to be really sure though. I don't find it lacking in bass. The bass is fast and detailed I think, not fat and boomy, not thin and flat. The overall sound is still warm (if the recording is warm that is).

 

[jamato8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NelsonVandal /img/forum/go_quote.gif And BTW, it was a real pleasure doing business with the chineese seller on Ebay, and I got it very cheap. 350 RMB + 90 RMB shipping.

Yes, they are nice to work with. In China the cost is 350RMB including EMS.

What adapter did you get? I have the 220 and told them I needed the 100-220 so they sent the one with prongs for Europe even though I told them I needed the one for the US with the flat prongs.

 

[NelsonVandal]

I got a 100 - 240 V adapter with european plug.

 

[Andrea]

The LM4562 was very transparent in the Xtra, but not the most musical sound that I've heard. So I picked it out and put in an AD8620, and it's there to stay.

 

[jamato8]

So did you do any bypassing or did you swap out the opamps?