[upstateguy]

Is there any reason to prefer the O2 over the Magni 2 at this point?

 
Well if it measures as well as an O2 what's the point of Schitt's other amps?  Different flavor offerings?

 

[riverlethe]

Well if it measures as well as an O2 what's the point of Schitt's other amps?  Different flavor offerings?

Fair question. Bigger knobs?

I don't know if it measures as well, but I haven't seen anything to suggest that it fails to be "transparent," and it has significantly more power.

 

[upstateguy]

 

Well if it measures as well as an O2 what's the point of Schitt's other amps?  Different flavor offerings?

Fair question. Bigger knobs?

I don't know if it measures as well, but I haven't seen anything to suggest that it fails to be "transparent," and it has significantly more power.

 
I suppose, if you have really hard to drive headphones... but that's probably the exception rather than the rule.
 
I suppose another reason could be more features like an additional input and a preamp line out.

 

[MrMateoHead]

   
Right, so why buy the more expensive and/or uglier one with less features?

You mean you don't want selectable gain, and you don't mind the sight of a 3.5 mm to RCA adapter hanging off the back?
 
If I put the O2 into an aluminum case and stuck an Apple logo on it, would you think it was the end-all be-all of amps?
 
Just sayin'

 

[riverlethe]

You mean you don't want selectable gain, and you don't mind the sight of a 3.5 mm to RCA adapter hanging off the back?

If I put the O2 into an aluminum case and stuck an Apple logo on it, would you think it was the end-all be-all of amps?

Just sayin'

Magni 2 has had selectable gain for over a year now. Do you mean a hideous adapter like this (assuming your source has 3.5mm outputs)?

http://www.amazon.com/Mediabridge-3-5mm-Male-2-Male-Adapter/dp/B004YDUZ22/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1458913012&sr=8-15&keywords=3.5mm+rca

O2 would still be lacking volume-controlled preamp outputs.

 

[MrMateoHead]

Magni 2 has had selectable gain for over a year now. Do you mean a hideous adapter like this (assuming your source has 3.5mm outputs)?

http://www.amazon.com/Mediabridge-3-5mm-Male-2-Male-Adapter/dp/B004YDUZ22/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1458913012&sr=8-15&keywords=3.5mm+rca

O2 would still be lacking volume-controlled preamp outputs.

I still don't like the volume knob, or the power and gain switches on the back. RCA inputs are just wrong considering the purpose of the device and the likelihood of being connected to a phone, computer, etc.
 
But that's just me - I drank the O2 koolaid a long time ago, and it was gooooood. The Magni offers nothing really other than more power, and the SQ has been deemed different, and it didn't seem to be different in a good way. Plus the O2 can now be quite extensively customized - not too shabby.

 

[riverlethe]

I still don't like the volume knob, or the power and gain switches on the back. RCA inputs are just wrong considering the purpose of the device and the likelihood of being connected to a phone, computer, etc.

But that's just me - I drank the O2 koolaid a long time ago, and it was gooooood. The Magni offers nothing really other than more power, and the SQ has been deemed different, and it didn't seem to be different in a good way. Plus the O2 can now be quite extensively customized - not too shabby.

The 1/4" headphone jack and RCA I/O on the Magni suggest to me that it is meant more for desktop use. I personally don't see the point of something as powerful as an O2 for portable use. I just carry IEM's, which don't require an external amp. Apple fixed their output-coupling capacitor bass roll-off issue a long time ago.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the O2/ODAC - it's just getting a bit long in the tooth and seems overpriced (ODAC especially) given the current marketplace.

I share your annoyance with the volume knob placement on Schiit's amps.

 

[Bruch]

I too have been using the Burson V5-D in the Voltage Amplification Stage of the JDS Labs O2 Amp on Raul recommendations and can verify that it does indeed make a significant and noticeable improvement to the sound quality. Music is less veiled, more detailed without sacrificing any bass.
 
The only problem is that I had to drill a hole in the case of the O2 through which the V5 rises, declaring its presence for all to see. Personally I quite like it!

 

[raoultrifan]

I'm glad you love the sound of SS V5-dual, thanks!
 
There's no need for drilling holes, you could try taking out the batteries and use something like this: http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?mpart=299-93-308-10-001000&v=54 or you can just replace existing O2 case with a taller version like this one: http://www.boxenclosures.com/category/product_details.html?product__id=240050. Just double check the size before ordering, just in case I might be wrong (I don't have the time to do this "mod" right now, so my O2 is still open case. ).
 
To be honest I didn't expected to sound so good this V5, especially that in the past I rolled the original JRC2608 with JRC2114, LME49720, OPA2134, OPA1652, MUSES01, MUSES8820 etc. and I couldn't really say there was a definitely improvement in sound output (it was something, but nothing to be able to write on papers/forums). But when I used SS V5-dual I noticed the details and musicality coming out from these little BURSONs, quite an improvement for my small O2 I'd say. 
 
Also, in case you have a very sensitive headset you can use (carefully) O2's highest gain and max. volume (nothing connected on inputs!) and you'll realize that background noise is even lower with BURSON V5 than when using other op-amps like for example LME49720.

 

[Schmidter]

What is the difference between a digital an analog version?

 

[riverlethe]

Oh dear, Nwavguy must be spinning in his virtual grave. Care to post some measurements?

 

[raoultrifan]

riverlethe, I know the feeling, trust me. I usually don't trust people when tell me that changing op-amps will change the sound, but sometimes A/B tests and also scope's measurements tells the contrary.
 
I've also read nwavguy's entire blog myself for several times (even the comments sections) and I totally understand how O2 works and what a great job nwavguy did. Also, if you look at my previous posts about what I've did to my O2 you'll realize that I did a couple of more improvements in the past, not only op-amp rolling (of course, who looks for real O2 upgrades will need to check AGDR's work from diyaudio forum).
 
I was only using my PicoScope to check for any possible oscillations and to measure voltage output for several audio signals taken from audiocheck.net (at least 10 wave forms at around -3dB each, between 20-20.000Hz, dummy load resistive & capacitive was used). Output signal is completely flat and no strange FFT harmonics could be seen no matter of the op-amp used (well, with some op-amps I could see an increase in THD but only when output voltage gets close to 7V RMS, but that's another story).
 
Two things I need to point out here:
- most op-amps have been created for "general use" and only few of them are really created "for audio use"
- V5 is completely solid-state with perfectly matched transistors and 0.5% film resistors and has been created with VAS and LPF stages in mind
- VoltageAmplificationStage and LowPassFilter are the stages where the sound could and will get changed inside an amplifier; adding I/V stage for a DAC as well. Output buffers might also the influence sound as well, but usually LM4562/LME49720 if correctly decoupled should be OK for most audiophiles, even in A/B tests, though some people found real differences when rolling output buffers (I'm not the one of them yet).
 
In O2 sound is created inside the first op-amp, because the output buffer is acting like a blind audio repeater. We all know the limitations of NJM4556, still sound is not changed there, actually the sound could be changed in the voltage amplification stage, so NJM2068 is the op-amp from where the sound actually comes from. So, replacing this one with a real solid-state device like V5-dual from BURSON might be a real upgrade for some of us, especially for mod-ers and DIY-ers.

 

[upstateguy]

<snip>  
So, replacing this one with a real solid-state device like V5-dual from BURSON might  be a real upgrade for some of us, especially for mod-ers and DIY-ers.

 
Sounds cool, time for some measurement comparisons.

 

[adydula]

AGDR's work on the booster board, ODA, and recently the non-inverting format has taken this concept forward to be sure. I have built all three and they all are stellar.
 
Alex

 

[riverlethe]

Can someone explain the difference between "general use" and "audio use?"