New Leckerton UHA-6S MKII Portable Headphone Amplifier Announced (Update User Impressions Added July 20th 2012)
Jan 18, 2013 at 6:11 PM Post #1,261 of 2,354
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what would happened? 
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If anything you'd be more familiar with that Op Amps sound and when switching it may help you notice that difference even more. I could tell the difference between Op Amps 8610, 209 and 627 AP. Actually it wasn't that hard at all. Especially on your current IEMs it should be a shoe-in :wink:.
 
Jan 18, 2013 at 6:25 PM Post #1,262 of 2,354
Quote:
If anything you'd be more familiar with that Op Amps sound and when switching it may help you notice that difference even more. I could tell the difference between Op Amps 8610, 209 and 627 AP. Actually it wasn't that hard at all. Especially on your current IEMs it should be a shoe-in :wink:.


Exactly, I was used to the 8610 on my UHA-4 and when my UHA-6S arrived with op amp 627 AP installed I noticed the difference immediately. When I rolled 209 in again I noticed the difference. On first listen my brain kept falling back to the 8610 I had listened to for almost a year.
 
Jan 18, 2013 at 6:26 PM Post #1,263 of 2,354
I thought my comment might be ambiguous.  What I was trying to get at is that quick A-B tests can be misleading, and more so when there are differences between A and B where each one shows the other's shortcomings.  If ''C' is in-between it wins because it removes the discrepancy between the other 2 choices.
 
What I am saying is enjoy it with the 5534 for a week or so, then try one of the other op amps again, just to see how you react to it.  If the 5534 is your best option, this will let you know.  If the replacement strikes you as an improvement.....   then go with it.  
 
Hope that makes a bit more sense.  More importantly, hope you find your favorite.
 
Jan 18, 2013 at 6:38 PM Post #1,264 of 2,354
Yea we understand . You are saying get fully accustomed to the sound and then switch back and see if you still end up appreciating the other Op Amps over the one you got accustomed to for a week. That makes sense as well. Just in my case with 627AP and 209 I could not get accustomed to them for the long term. I'd listen for a couple hours and would tire of their sound. So in the end I knew 8610 was my ideal choice.
 
 
Jan 18, 2013 at 8:56 PM Post #1,265 of 2,354
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Comparing it to AD8610/AD797, my ears actually preferred 5534 as more musical sound... 
Price wise, both AD8610/AD797 are at least 4x more expensive than cheap, low spec JRC 5534.
I don't understand this. It's irony.

 
It's not irony. Your headphones and IEMs are likely to do better or worse with different op-amps.
 
One of my IEMs works very well with the OPA627 ($50) and not as well with the 8610 ($10).
Another IEM works much better with the 8610 than the OPA627.
 
You listen to music after it has gone through all the components in the signal chain; you can't listen to your amp without headphones. So you have to build a system that all works together, and that requires more consideration than simply buying the most expensive pieces you can find.
 
Jan 18, 2013 at 9:07 PM Post #1,266 of 2,354
If the opamp works well depends on different factors, headphones, players, etc...
 
Check this out - I took out the 8610 and tried the 627AP with my imod and Heir 3.Ai - ahh not such a great match - a bit too much bass emphasis leaning towards the muddy end. I have my imod set up right now so that I can quickly change out the capacitors, so I switched the film caps for electrolytics and the 627's sound awesome! There are a lot of variables at play, it does ultimately come down to preference. 
 
I've got a pair of LME49710 to play with next...
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Jan 18, 2013 at 10:14 PM Post #1,267 of 2,354
Quote:
If the opamp works well depends on different factors, headphones, players, etc...
 
Check this out - I took out the 8610 and tried the 627AP with my imod and Heir 3.Ai - ahh not such a great match - a bit too much bass emphasis leaning towards the muddy end. I have my imod set up right now so that I can quickly change out the capacitors, so I switched the film caps for electrolytics and the 627's sound awesome! There are a lot of variables at play, it does ultimately come down to preference. 
 
I've got a pair of LME49710 to play with next...
size]

Nice. LME49710 is fairly cheap comparing to ad8610/op627, but the specs are pretty decent. ( does it matter?? )
The interference problem does exist on LME49710, but it is manufactured for audio usage according to the TI.
op-amps are tricky 
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Jan 18, 2013 at 10:26 PM Post #1,268 of 2,354
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With my UERM, the gain on the 6s-II is definitely too high at the minimum channel-balanced level.  I emailed Nick to see whether it's possible to lower the gain, because I love the sound coming out of this amp.  I got the OPA627, and the amp is much more musical and has a wider soundstage than my Pico Slim--although the Slim has amazing low volume range.

 
Directly from the iPod Classic line out it is a little too loud for CIEMs. I find that when using the UHA6SMKII as a DAC + Amp (USB and Coaxial input), the overall gain level is just nice. It seems like the output level from the DAC chip to its headamp section is pretty low. Coupled with its black background, this unit actually makes a very good match when using CIEMs out of a laptop/desktop.
 
I am not sure if lowering the gain further may render it unusable as a DAC. Hmm.
 
Jan 18, 2013 at 11:00 PM Post #1,269 of 2,354
Quote:
 
Directly from the iPod Classic line out it is a little too loud for CIEMs. I find that when using the UHA6SMKII as a DAC + Amp (USB and Coaxial input), the overall gain level is just nice. It seems like the output level from the DAC chip to its headamp section is pretty low. Coupled with its black background, this unit actually makes a very good match when using CIEMs out of a laptop/desktop.
 
I am not sure if lowering the gain further may render it unusable as a DAC. Hmm.

I feel the same way. It drives louder when used as an amp for ipod line out. 
 
Jan 21, 2013 at 10:32 PM Post #1,273 of 2,354
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Yeah, my gain is obviously set to low.  What is your source?  
 
I'm resorting to the gain limiters in FLAC Player (iPhone) and Rockbox (WhipMOD) to get a suitably low volume with my UERMs.  Not sure if those have any serious effect on resolution, but it's either that or pain and tinnitus.  And I don't have sensitive hearing by any means, I've been to my share of concerts and clubs.


 Sorry for the delay in answering.

I'm using through the pc via usb or spdif, and with a sansa fize via LOD cable. With the W4r, I get just past the threshold to have a pleasant listening experience. I belive it's not too loud because when I take one of the phones off my ear, the ventilator seems to have about the same volume as the other channel.

Sometimes I realy wanted to have a SPLmeter, sometimes I think that I use the headphones too loud, but when I try to compare to the safety guide I read (things like the above, or if you can hear someone near speaking), I appear to be always on the safe zone, but I realy wanted to be sure about it. I don't go too much to nightclubs, but I'm going more now than I have ever gone and for that I just bought a pair os ER20 earplugs, I realy don't want to loose my hearing just yet, I'm only 22....
 
Maybe the UERMs are more sensitive than the W4r?
 
Edit:
 
Some random thoughts:
 
My first experience with the 6s-mkii was when they arrived together with the Mad Dogs, and since I was abroad, I had only that and the HF5 I had brought with me. After comming back home and casualy switching between the SGP 4.0 and the 6s-mkii, I realy started to understand what I belive is to need a good amp.
 
Even for (queit) classical music, the SGP 4.0 had enough juice to make the mad dogs sound loud enough, but when I went to the leckerton, I heard that a lot of thing seemed to be missing or dislocated in the SGP, and that's something I didn't experienced with the fiio e7.
 
I'm realy happy with the 6S-mkii, and I didn't quite knew what to expect, but it's certanly very different and possibly better than what I hoped before.
 
And, well, a picture of the baby:
 

 
Jan 21, 2013 at 10:53 PM Post #1,274 of 2,354
SPAM warning.  I am selling MKII and mention here because they are sold out from Nick on his website.
 
Color silver. Factory installed standard OPA209 Op Amps and I am including extra AD8610 Op Amps worth $32.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/647429/leckerton-audio-uha-6s-mkii-plus-extra-unused-ad8610-op-amps
 
Jan 22, 2013 at 8:19 AM Post #1,275 of 2,354
Just quick note that the Leckteron is working as a DAC/amp via USB audio on my HTC Butterfly, seems the number of Android manufacturers supporting USB audio is increasing...
 

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