[neongod]

Hi all,

I want to better understand what is best to do for my audio:

Actually I got Audiotrak Prodigy HD2: AUDIOTRAK - Prodigy HD2

a nice audio card, with Rubycon caps, AKM AK4396 DACs and Fairchild NE5532 OpAmps. The OpAmps are swappable.

My first question is:

I read that Asus is working on the Xonar Essence, a sound card with Nichicon Fine Gold caps, Texas Instruments Burr Brown PCM1796 DACs and National Semiconductor LM4652 OpAmps. Excluding OpAmps that are swappable in both sound cards, do you think it's better a sound card with Rubycon and AK4396 or with Nichicon Fine Gold and PCM1796?

Then the OpAmps:

After choosing one of the above sound cards I would like to change the OpAmps with better ones. I read that almost everyone think the best OpAmps are the Analog Devices AD8620BR and the Texas Instruments THS4032 but...which one is better?

And finally:

I use the KRK Rokit Powered 5 G2 series speakers. The inside amplifier use JRC4580 OpAmps and anonimous caps. Do you think it might be useful to upgrade also those OpAmps and caps or upgrading the soundcard is enough?

 

[majkel]

I think the AD8599 is better than the AD8620 unless you need FET inputs. I guess you don't. Regarding Nichicon caps - my friend, experienced modder and headphone junkie, says they've never produced good capacitors for audio. Rubycon - I'll just remind the Black Gate series. ZL are decent, too.

 

[1UP]

Re: this card or that card, it's not just the general elcos and DACs that will really make a big difference, rather than the power supply regulation and DC output caps. The opamps will definitely voice the sound, but which is best depends also on what kind of sound you like and how they'll mate with your speakers.

You should mod one step at a time, and leave the KRKs for last.

 

[neongod]

So, you think that DACs and caps don't characterize sound that much?

by the way: I like an analytical sound, open, rich, punchy, with a lot of details. Definitely solid state, never liked tube sound, I don't care about musicality or pleasant sound, I care about listeting to what musicians are doing, altough that doesn't means that sound have to be harsh or unbearable... I like the reproduction of the stage and the articulation of all tones, strong and defined basses, transparent highs, but with no harshness and powerful and defined mids.

So: AD8620BR or THS4032?