[HiFlight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by itsborken /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, it's a shame they aren't fully cooked out of the box no vendors do that. Jamato8 and HiFlight have the in connection with the vendor and the experience so I'm not about to second guess their wisdom.

I have no "in" with either the Move manufacturer or the iBasso folks.

Bought them both from the websites with no further correspondence!

 

[jamato8]

No "in" here but I do like to correspond with iBasso, from time to time, and find out about their products, often my questions are from other people and I just like to help. I have done the same with Woo audio, Xin and others.

I do know that Audio Note UK (the owner whom I have corresponded with) states that Blackgates take at least 400 hours to form. That is just a cap but other items also take some time. The solder in the D1 is hard and I think this takes longer. Xin recently had to go to a different solder and noted that at first even the specs of the amp went down until some conditioning and all that had changed was the solder.

I never used to believe in any type of break-in/burn-in as it seemed a bit much but as I started understanding more of what was/is going on the more I could understand the actual physical reasons for this.

 

[Blueiz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I never used to believe in any type of break-in/burn-in as it seemed a bit much but as I started understanding more of what was/is going on the more I could understand the actual physical reasons for this.

Could you elaborate on this.... true interest from an electronics noob... Thanks.

 

[jamato8]

There have been papers written on the dialetric changing on wires from a capacitive effect (very small but there) to a more neutral performance. At first this will exhibit in a way to affect the sound and can also be at work to a greater degree on printed circuit boards (pcb). Capacitors form due to the metal contruction and the chemical material used in the contruction. There is a flow of electrons and a polarization of material, an alligning property. Resistors go through changes do to heat and many have wire leads, which also undergo changes. Many new surface mount caps get around the lead problem so inductance is reduced, which is a positive. There are many other much more detailed aspects but I would have to refer to the papers to offer detailed terminology. Solder can have a diode affect and poor solder joints can have more of this effect.

 

[itsborken]

jamato8 & HiFlight, sorry for the misstatement. I remembered at least one of you had corresponded directly and my choice of words was poor. I was not implying anything negative, rather, that the pair of you appear to have the most knowledge/experience with this amp and what can be gotten out of it. If offense was given, it was not my intention.

 

[jamato8]

No offense taken. Life is too short. :^)

Enjoying some Ultrasone PROline 750's right now. Not bad headphones at all, even after only 24 hours of use.

 

[Dexdexter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Enjoying some Ultrasone ProLine 750's right now. Not bad headphones at all, even after only 24 hours of use.

John, if you think that you've heard changes in the D1 with burn-in (as no doubt you have), just wait'll you get 200 hours into those PROlines!

 

[HiFlight]

I got one of the D1s shortly after they became available, mainly due to the flexibility of the various input/output combinations. As I had lots of opamps from several years of rolling opamps in my Xin amps, I was just curious as to what effect they would have with the D1.

It is probably easier and quicker to swap opamps and/or buffers in this amp than any I have owned, so I sort of worked thru my supply of suitable opamps. Some made very slight changes, some made no noticeable changes, and some made significant changes.

It is important to note that I started trying different opamps with only a few hours on the D1. As other have noted, the sound does improve considerably as additional time accrues, not only with the stock configuration, but also with the opamps that I have found (to my ears!) to further add to the 3-dimensional soundstage of the amp. That is where the changes seem to be most apparent. I would best describe it as a very increased sense of presence.

I am just an inveterate tinkerer at heart with lots of idle opamps in my parts drawer!

 

[itsborken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif No offense taken. Life is too short. :^) Enjoying some Ultrasone PROline 750's right now. Not bad headphones at all, even after only 24 hours of use.

Yeah, I love them; they are great HPs.

 

[bpfiguer]

My iBasso D1 arrived today (ordered on 8/26/07). The manufacture quality (case, volume knob, connectors, labeling) is better than I was expecting, and similar to the SR-71/Hornet/Tomahawk quality (outside, I can't comment about inside). The volume knob feels similar to the SR-71, which I like a lot. One thing can improve is the "USB link" light, which should be recessive for protection. Now I'm playing ALAC files from my Rockboxed iRiver H160 optical line-out and using the Equinox Sennheiser HD650 (1 o'clock volume knob) or Grado RS-1 (11 o'clock ). The Grado stereo mini-plug to stereo plug adapter fits well in the recessive iBasso D1 mini jack.

 

[Sisyphos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif You need experience to solder this correctly. You need a low wattage (25-30) small tipped soldering iron and the right technique and you need adapters that do not have something already soldered on them. While opamps that are already soldered in place can be taken off this requires experience or you will mess up the board. Practice is needed first with soldering and using the correct method. We all start somewhere but reading about soldering and then practicing is highly recommended. Brown Dog adapters are one of the adapters you can use and solder the new opamp to.

Ok, this sounds a bit more challenging than I expected.
And I don't have the time to start practicing this so it looks like I gotta focus my op amp rolling on DIP8 ...

 

[Sisyphos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by globiboulga /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sisyphos (?), I managed to by my 8066 from a company that sells two versions: the opamp itself, and the opamp soldered to a Brown Dog. It's slightly expensive, but then you don't have to buy the soldering equipment (lol)... And then, it's plug and play (remove, verify orientation, put new one, reverify orientation...)...

Oh, I just saw your reply, that's good to know.
Are you still using them with the stock buffers (NE5532)?
How does it sound so far compared to the AD823?
And where did you order the readily soldered Brown Dog 8066?

 

[globiboulga]

Sound is slightly better. Highs are still too harsh for me (better though). Biggest improvement comes from the overall musicality of the amp that has improved quite a bit.

I have not changed the buffers. Will try to find them as well as the 2111 if I can get my hand on one that's soldered.

I ordered mine from the following company, in Australia. I am sure you can find a seller that would do the soldering for a fee though:

http://www.soundlabsgroup.com.au/p/I...+Module+AD8065

Note that I linked to the AD8065 cause it seems I bought the last mounted AD8066. You can search this website and you'll notice they sell most opamps either by themselves or mounted. Hope you can find that kind of services where you need it.

 

[ehlarson]

For those who don't drink Gates' or Jobs' Koolaid, the iBasso D1 seems to work fine with the generic Linux USB sound drivers. I'm running mine off an HP laptop under SuSE 10.x as I type this.

 

[jamato8]

That is the great thing about tubes or the ability to roll opamp, it is all up to you and your ears. Also sometimes in certain circuits opamps are going to sound different than they will in others, right? So everyone that wants to do some opamp rolling should report their findings the sound changes of the D1.