[haymaker18]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif "frighteningly warm and bright" ??

That was probably an exaggeration...but the sound from the 6241s to the move and my 650s just sounded a lot like the sound from an unamped Grado 125--when I first listened to them, it was eye-opening...then after 20 minutes I had a headache and my ears hurt.

I liked the detail, but I was forced to turn the crossfeed on to rest my ears and even that didn't help that much. Not used to my 650s being so bright is all...'twas a shocker! But again, they were bright because of the combination of the slightly warm Move amp and the (apparently) warm 6241 DAC in the D1. The 6241 sounds great by itself in the D1 DAC, don't get me wrong!

 

[captainbrendo]

I've looked through this thread, but I haven't seen anyone compare the new D1s LR opamps (1364) with the 797 or the 743. I'd like some more bass and weight in my sound on my 880s.

I'm thinking of just upgrading the LR opamp since the stock opamps in the new unit are 'supposed' to be pretty good.

So my question is how does the sound change when just switching the LR opamps with the above mentioned opamps (or any others).

 

[haymaker18]

Quote:

Originally Posted by captainbrendo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've looked through this thread, but I haven't seen anyone compare the new D1s LR opamps (1364) with the 797 or the 743. I'd like some more bass and weight in my sound on my 880s. I'm thinking of just upgrading the LR opamp since the stock opamps in the new unit are 'supposed' to be pretty good. So my question is how does the sound change when just switching the LR opamps with the above mentioned opamps (or any others).

I would call the 1364 'polite.' It sounds good, but isn't particularly aggressive or energetic. It has solid mids and highs, but not a ton of bass energy.

AD797 has tremendous bass. I find them lacking in the highs (at least when bypassed in the buffers). If you leave the stock buffers in, the 797 sound is a little more balanced (a little better highs and not quite so much bass) but it's still not quite right in my opinion. I did put the AD8397 buffers in with the AD797 and I liked the sound quite a bit. I probably would have left my setup like that except that with all the classical music I listen to, I wanted more soundstage. AD797 is a very nice choice for rock/pop I think.

AD743...didn't try it with the stock buffers. I have the LMH6655 with it. It has more distance/separation in the soundstage (which makes it easy to listen to for long periods of time). An airy energy that feels very realistic. Bass never seems overpowering--sometimes you don't notice it but then it comes out of nowhere and is awesome. I just find the sound quite realistic. I'm also understanding words and hearing very subtle instruments in songs that I never heard with the other opamp configurations. The separation and clarity is great! Go ahead and try it with the stock buffers, but it may not be anything special without the LMH6655.

 

[haymaker18]

With the 6234 in the DAC, I don't like AD743 and LMH6655 quite as much as when I had 6241 as DAC.

6234 isn't warm...it's very neutral
6241 is definitely a bit warm and it made AD743 and LMH6655 magical.

With 6234, it's not quite as magical. I think it's still great, but a bit on the uninteresting/cold side. I'm going to stick with AD743 and LMH6655 no matter what because I love the instrument separation and the detail in the sound.

The jury is still out on 6234 vs 6241 for me. 6234 is a little more listenable when used to feed my MOVE amp, but 6241 is my favorite when I'm just using the D1 for listening with AD743 as L/R and LMH6655 as buffers.

I would have tried the LME49720 as L/R, but when I did, it was either a bad opamp or my soldering wasn't great. I got intermittent crackle through the phones and decided that couldn't be good! I didn't want to ruin anything, so I gave up on it quickly. Anyone know what could cause a fairly constant crackly (while still getting some sound out of it)?

 

[brainsalad]

Seeing if you guys can help out a VERY newbie to this op amp rolling.

I have purchased some OPamps from Hiflight and Musicmaker and here is my inventory and what I understand they are used for:

LT6241 (stock),LT6234, AD8656 - Dac
LM6643 (stock), LM4562, bypass boards - buffers
LT1364 (stock), 5534, 4032, AD797 - L/R.

From Ron, he recommends the AD797's with either the buffers bypassed or using the LM6643 buffers (stock)


Ron and others really like the AD743/LM6655 combo, both of which I would need to buy.

Based on comments I am leaning toward the AD797's to try first. I prefer a warmer sound. The stock D1 is too dry in the bass and causes me listening fatigue, even with my HD650's. I had the K701's and returned them, they were to bright for me regardless of the DAC/Amp combo. I use the Headroom Desktop DAC/AMP unit and like the warm sound of the Headroom products.

What other combinations are recommended with this inventory or is there other OP Amps I need to buy?

Thanks!

 

[haymaker18]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brainsalad /img/forum/go_quote.gif Seeing if you guys can help out a VERY newbie to this op amp rolling. I have purchased some OPamps from Hiflight and Musicmaker and here is my inventory and what I understand they are used for: LT6241 (stock),LT6234, AD8656 - Dac LM6643 (stock), LM4562, bypass boards - buffers LT1364 (stock), 5534, 4032, AD797 - L/R. From Ron, he recommends the AD797's with either the buffers bypassed or using the LM6643 buffers (stock) Ron and others really like the AD743/LM6655 combo, both of which I would need to buy. Based on comments I am leaning toward the AD797's to try first. I prefer a warmer sound. The stock D1 is too dry in the bass and causes me listening fatigue, even with my HD650's. I had the K701's and returned them, they were to bright for me regardless of the DAC/Amp combo. I use the Headroom Desktop DAC/AMP unit and like the warm sound of the Headroom products. What other combinations are recommended with this inventory or is there other OP Amps I need to buy? Thanks!

If you like warm and dark, I think AD797 will be a strong choice. I recommend bypassed or AD8397 with them (per headphoneaddict's recommendation). I think you will want to keep 6241 as your DAC as I can confirm it is a warm sounding DAC opamp. I would say, wait until you find the AD797 lacking in some department before moving to something else. The only thing I didn't like about AD797 was I felt it lacked in clear highs and high extension. But it was warm and gorgeously thick on the bottom and mids. Lots of energy, too.

I think I ran THS4032 with LMH6643 and enjoyed the sound quite a bit. Though, i remember it being good on clarity, but not particularly great on bass or warmth.

AD743 and LMH6655 is still my favorite, basically because it doesn't sound anything like the other combinations I tried. It's airy, energetic, and abundantly natural sounding. Not thick or forced...the other combinations often sound like they just amplify certain frequency bands (i.e. what some people say about Grado headphones being overly bright because they push mids/highs a little harder than other frequencies). I feel the AD797 pushes the bottom and low-mids hard (which sounds really exciting). The 743/6655 doesn't sound like that. It sounds like it gives you whatever is there on the recording--the entire recorded sound from the breathing to the finger lifting off of the guitar string. At least that's what I hear (again, 6241 is great with 743/6655 because the warmth really adds to the sound).

 

[brainsalad]

My initial impression of my first D1 op amp rolling.

I put in the bypass adapters for the buffers and installed the AD797's. I am listening to it now and I really like it. Definitely warmer than the factory (lm6643 & lt1364). After 2 hours, virtually no listening fatigue. I can't say if it's more natural, more relaxed, better highs, worse highs, etc.. but I can state two facts.

1) Warmer, more like the Headroom products
2) Highs are blended well enough that I am not getting listening fatigue.

I have lived with my ESL's now for 15+ years and I am very, very used to the sound and when I listen to speakers that don't sonically have the same/similar signature, I get fatigued. I know that my ESL's are +- 2db 20hz - 18k in my listening room (measured on a 24 step/octave RTA) so I think they are a good point of reference.

I do want to try the AD743/LMH6655 combo.

 

[haymaker18]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brainsalad /img/forum/go_quote.gif My initial impression of my first D1 op amp rolling. I put in the bypass adapters for the buffers and installed the AD797's. I am listening to it now and I really like it. Definitely warmer than the factory (lm6643 & lt1364). After 2 hours, virtually no listening fatigue. I can't say if it's more natural, more relaxed, better highs, worse highs, etc.. but I can state two facts. 1) Warmer, more like the Headroom products 2) Highs are blended well enough that I am not getting listening fatigue. I have lived with my ESL's now for 15+ years and I am very, very used to the sound and when I listen to speakers that don't sonically have the same/similar signature, I get fatigued. I know that my ESL's are +- 2db 20hz - 18k in my listening room (measured on a 24 step/octave RTA) so I think they are a good point of reference. I do want to try the AD743/LMH6655 combo.

Glad to hear you like the sound! For most listening purposes (and your warm-ish sound preference) I think those AD797s are great! The AD743 would be easy to try b/c you won't have to solder the AD743. You can just pull out the AD797s from the single-to-dual browndog and replace with AD743 . Only have to solder the LMH6655s...

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

In my high-end Grado headphone review, I broke out a few amps after I was done, to see which had the best synergy with Grado. My results were surprising. REVIEW: Grado HF-1 and RS-2 both re-cabled with APureSound v3 cable, with stock HP-2 sprinkled in for good measure...

While I initially did the Grado review with my Predator (because that's the amp I have been burning-in and focusing on lately), the D1 with my usual set of opamps beats several other amps for synergy, falling behind only the DarkVoice 336i for energy and punch and control and Zing!

The Predator and HeadFive have been excellent with all my other headphones, but don't seem to supply enough current to make The Grados as happy as the D1 or 336i.

 

[brainsalad]

Where are some places I can buy the AD743? Newark doesn't have any.

 

[brainsalad]

I have been playing with my new toys and indeed this is a kick. I was reading, trying to make sense of some of the spec sheets on my opamps and I came to the AD8656. AD recommends this amp for pre-amps, mixing consoles, etc.. and so I thought, what the heck, and plugged it into the L/R. I turned it on and WOW - I really like the sound of it. The AD797 seemed to smeeer the extreme highs to me. When I tried the AD8656, the smeeer was gone. Good bass extension to with some of that slam affect that I get out of my headroom desktop but was missing from the stock LT1364's.

I started searching this thread for references to the AD8656 and came across hiflights warning that the voltage limits would cause the AD8656's to pop. So far, I have not had that problem but I am running on the internal battery.

The AD8656 has a voltage limit of 5v with a drop dead of 6v. Does the voltage of the D1 exceed this? the LT1464's are up to 15v. Can I damage the D1 or do I just have to worry about the AD8656 itself?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I think you only have to worry about the opamp itself, not the D1, when trying the AD8656 in LR.

 

[PPkiller]

the voltage for L/R is 10 v on power supply. it will fray your ad8656 when you plug ur power supply in.

 

[brainsalad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PPkiller /img/forum/go_quote.gif the voltage for L/R is 10 v on power supply. it will fray your ad8656 when you plug ur power supply in.

Cr%$ . Works great on battery. If I plug in the power, I get hiss, pops, buzz, and no audio. F%$^. I really liked the sound.

 

[Pete7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allure /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why has no one tried the AD8620 and the AD8599 both in LR and buffer? They're pretty suitable I think.

I don't know, Andrea. Why don't you give them a shot?