Alright here are my findings about a couple of OPAMPs.
The OPA2460 is definitely an improvement over the stock one. It improves clarity and gives it a punchy bass. Sounds really nice however I found the LME49720NA to have even better clarity and a less boomy bass then the stock one and than the OPA2460. I kept the LME49720NA in mine and I'm gonna do a side by side comparison with my Oppo HA-2 this weekend.
btw, after all the hype about the VE Monks+ I have to say I find them good, certainly for 5$ earbuds, but overall they're okay... Just not as "hifi, audiophile" whatever as some people describe it.
I just got the Lme49720ha today and will test it out tomorrow. But....I've been running a Sparkos Labs dual op amp today, and it is pretty fantastic. I'll give you my impressions when I'm done with my observations....
My initial comparison between the NA and the HA were done very early. Now that the Z1 has burned in, the difference is significant. I'd have to agree with @lecky.
Have you swapped out anything in the Z1, other than the opamp?
Once I've put my Walnut v2 back together again, I'm going to begin working on my Z1 (other than just swapping opamps) - first removing the volume control, and changing the circuit etches so that Clockwise = Volume Up; and then possibly trying some capacitor upgrades.
The Sparkos Lab opamp does not lack. It's clearer, bigger, more robust, more competent sounding than all the rest of the Op-amps I've tried (including the Burson V5i and Muse02, both which I like). That's my initial impressions, and I've been listening to the others this past hour including the LME49720HA.
Drawbacks to the Sparkos though, it's expensive (as much as a Burson with shipping). It's about 1/2 millimeter too tall to shut the lid on the Z1 (really, it's that close to fitting). It'd be worth it to cut a hole out for me and put a little "turbo" hood on there though, haha. It sounds like Hi-Fi and even my Beyerdynamic T-90 headphones are a good match with it. Sounds the best of all opamps with IEMs and Full sized headphones. I think it draws more power because I got about 6 hrs running it constantly all day long (I'll have to run it again to make sure against the other opamps). You might lose a little max volume. Those are some initial observations and thoughts...
Have you swapped out anything in the Z1, other than the opamp?
Once I've put my Walnut v2 back together again, I'm going to begin working on my Z1 (other than just swapping opamps) - first removing the volume control, and changing the circuit etches so that Clockwise = Volume Up; and then possibly trying some capacitor upgrades.
The Sparkos Lab opamp does not lack. It's clearer, bigger, more robust, more competent sounding than all the rest of the Op-amps I've tried (including the Burson V5i and Muse02, both which I like). That's my initial impressions, and I've been listening to the others this past hour including the LME49720HA.
Drawbacks to the Sparkos though, it's expensive (as much as a Burson with shipping). It's about 1/2 millimeter too tall to shut the lid on the Z1 (really, it's that close to fitting). It'd be worth it to cut a hole out for me and put a little "turbo" hood on there though, haha. It sounds like Hi-Fi and even my Beyerdynamic T-90 headphones are a good match with it. Sounds the best of all opamps with IEMs and Full sized headphones. I think it draws more power because I got about 6 hrs running it constantly all day long (I'll have to run it again to make sure against the other opamps). You might lose a little max volume. Those are some initial observations and thoughts...
What sample rates are you guys getting when using the Z1 as a DAC? When using Amarra It locks at 48 and a couple of my hi res files won't play higher than 48.
I know you say it's bigger, but people use the same adjective for the V5i and I find the V5i to be very linear in a bad way lacking dynamics and thick but in a muddy kinda way.
What sample rates are you guys getting when using the Z1 as a DAC? When using Amarra It locks at 48 and a couple of my hi res files won't play higher than 48.
When using Audinirvana, it states 16/48 as DAC. Something is funky with the DAC operations because I tried using it as a DAC with my Shanling M1 as transport (it only lasted a few minutes because it sucked power from the M1) and the only files it could play were my 24/48 files. Not my 16/44 or 24/96 or anything else...just 24/48. Yeah, I don't know...
When using Audinirvana, it states 16/48 as DAC. Something is funky with the DAC operations because I tried using it as a DAC with my Shanling M1 as transport (it only lasted a few minutes because it sucked power from the M1) and the only files it could play were my 24/48 files. Not my 16/44 or 24/96 or anything else...just 24/48. Yeah, I don't know...
When I run Itunes into it it plays my hi res files, of which most are 24/96, just fine. As soon as I activate Amarra, it locks at 48K and plays the 44.1K files at 48K. This makes everyone sound like they are hitting puberty.
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