[Andrea]

No bypassing. I swapped op-amps.

This amp has great transparency and bass dynamics with the HD650, btw. My only complaint is that the volume knob is a bit difficult to turn, for "desktop use".

All in all, I like it a lot. It's even more transparent than the Xenos.

 

[jamato8]

That is why my black one got the most use and got burned in first. The volume turns silks smooth while the blue one is stiff. I am glad you like it. For me the amp is a lot of fun because it just seems to do the music right and it feels good when I pick it up. Also when you look inside it doesn't look like a piece of junk.

Hey Andrea, you're a day or two from hitting 5000 posts. :^)

I have a bunch of opamps with me here in China but almost no dual opamps. I think I left those back in the states. I wonder if Analog D delivers to China?

This LD Micro Tube is going through more changes than I can keep up with and if I didn't have couple of other amps to check my sanity I would think it was all in my head. A few hours ago it was a little closed in and too warm. Now it is open, transparent and so dynamic it is scary. I have not had anything go through so many changes in such a short time. It has around 250 hours running time now. I did bypass the input caps. I can't stand having those there and my source has decoupling caps out so not much chance of any dc.

 

[NelsonVandal]

I think this little cheap SOB is going to rule the world. I doubt those expensive Xin's, RSA's etc would do better using the same input opamp (though I've never heard them). Excellent sound, excellent portability, excellent battery life. Not the same build quality, but you can by 10 of those (if you order them directly from Chinese Ebay) for the price of 1 Hornet.

 

[billybob_jcv]

So the seller wants over 2X the China price plus US$18 shipping on the US ebay ad? That's still a decent price (about the same as the GV5) even with the healthy penalty for being an ugly American.

 

[jamato8]

Yeah, and I got two here in China for about 88 dollars for both with shipping but even that price for one would be more than worth it.

 

[jinp6301]

anyone tried the best offer option on ebay for the amp? or did most of you buy it with the buy it now option?

I just want to know if I can knock off a few bucks being a poor college student and all

 

[Proton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by billybob_jcv /img/forum/go_quote.gif How would the Xtra do with low-impedance IEMs like the UM1? Would I need to raise the impedance on the 'phones? As a side note, I think any builder selling a portable amp should have pictures of the amp together with an easily recognized DAP, like a nano or video. This would allow buyers to immediately get a real world visual of the size and how it will integrate with their portable rig. Even if you hate the ipod, I'll bet you know how big it is! Just my 2 cents...

I tried the amp out (already burnt in by a friend of mine who had it before I did) with my previous pair of UM1 when I still had them, and with my DIY pure silver interconnects, the bass sounded great. The tightness and definition of the bass was a lot improved when I was still using LDM+. Low-Z IEMs work great on the XTRA, I tried the ER4P and SuperFi 5 Pros on them, and found that SuperFi 5 Pro's bass become a little too overwhelming, while the ER4P sounded more forward sounding.

The amp itself is slightly shorter than the iPod Nano, a little wider, and a lot thicker, but I must say, coming from LDM+, the amp is smaller and has a better design/finish that can potentially impress onlookers. Its design is far superior than LDM+, apart from the significant sound quality improvement. This amp matches well with the KSC75, you got to try it to believe it.

I'll take a couple of photos of my setup later today or early tomorrow and post them up here. Featuring my black iPod Nano and my KSC75. I'm still waiting for my ER4P to be shipped over from Amazon, but will probably get it before the New Year hopefully.

 

[Proton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrea /img/forum/go_quote.gif No bypassing. I swapped op-amps. This amp has great transparency and bass dynamics with the HD650, btw. My only complaint is that the volume knob is a bit difficult to turn, for "desktop use". All in all, I like it a lot. It's even more transparent than the Xenos.

Care to show us how you do it? The op-amp is not soldered permanently?

 

[Proton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by billybob_jcv /img/forum/go_quote.gif 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?

Accordingly to some of my friends who have tweaked the gain setting, setting it to 0, 6, or 15 doesn't really affect the actual "gain" of the output, but provided slightly different sound to suit various setup. 6 for some cans, and 15 for some others. Personally I am still on the default 6db and found it ok. Many of them has told me to avoid 0, since it was not good at all.

 

[pegasus21]

The gain does affect loudness. Just that the human ear doesn't percieve the sound to have increased by the same amout that the signal has increased.

For example, if you increase the loudness by 2 times, our ear thinks the loudness has been increased less than 2 times. Hence most people think the gain setting has little to no effect on loudness. Try 0dB and the 18dB settings. You will surely notice that the knob would be turned less for the 18dB as compared to the 0dB setting.

As for the bass being louder, I've noticed that the bass becomes quite apparent when it reaches a certain volume. Below that, you can't really feel it. Probably related to the human ear again.

I think the opamp was unsoldered in an earlier case. If you leave it there, it use more power than with it removed.

 

[Andrea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Proton /img/forum/go_quote.gif Care to show us how you do it? The op-amp is not soldered permanently?

It's quite easy to explain: you just have to desolder (or unsolder?

) the OPA2134 and solder the new op-amp in. BUT, I wouldn't recommend doing it to anyone who doesn't have a good experience at soldering SMD chips... And IMO the OPA2134 is already one pretty good op-amp.

 

[Andrea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif For me the amp is a lot of fun because it just seems to do the music right and it feels good when I pick it up. Also when you look inside it doesn't look like a piece of junk.

Agreed.

Quote:

Hey Andrea, you're a day or two from hitting 5000 posts. :^)

I don't pay much attention to that post counter - so thanks for bringing the achievement to my attention

 

[robert1325]

Hi,
I'm not able to find the chinese seller on ebay... what's the name?

Does anyone know where I can order OVC headphones?
I'm in the Netherlands...

EDIT: found the chinese seller on ebay

Thank you

Robert

 

[Proton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robert1325 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi, I'm not able to find the chinese seller on ebay... what's the name? Does anyone know where I can order OVC headphones? I'm in the Netherlands... EDIT: found the chinese seller on ebay Thank you Robert

A direct link to ebay china: http://cgi.ebay.com.cn/ws/eBayISAPI....Name=WDVW&rd=1

Caution: You must be able to read Chinese in order to understand.

 

[Proton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrea /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's quite easy to explain: you just have to desolder (or unsolder? ) the OPA2134 and solder the new op-amp in. BUT, I wouldn't recommend doing it to anyone who doesn't have a good experience at soldering SMD chips... And IMO the OPA2134 is already one pretty good op-amp.

Thanks for the info, what other chips have you tried on it and how well do they fare?