[robojack]

Larry, awesome review. Reading your reviews makes me want to invest in the product you're reviewing...You're really bad for my wallet, you know?

Regardless, I can see the Colors amp as being a great little gift for friends and family who are thinking of getting into higher quality sound.

 

[oicdn]

HOLY COW...REALLY great and well thought out review. A good and enjoyable read!!!!

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mimi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the comprehensive review Larry. One quick question: would it be possible to roll op-amps for the Green version as well, and is there space for a 2:1 adapter if so?

The amps are a little complicated to get into and close up - the white has that rectangular piece of aluminum in one of the photos above, that sandwiches some internal bits against the side of the amp, held by three screws, so then when trying to put it togther is it an ordeal, to say the least - especially with two circuit boards.

Even though the red was easier to deal with, having one PCB, I could only slide the PCB out part-way because the speaker leads were too difficult to disconnect from the PCB. I have a photo of this somewhere that I'll have to post. I had to use forceps to reach in and retrieve the opamp and install the new ones. There is a reason I went into pediatrics and not surgery when I finished medical school - I am not the most adept at using my hands (at least not after ruining my left hand's nerves in a motorcyle accident in my second year).

So, not seeing where the opamp was on the Green when viewing photos that I obtained from Travagans, I felt that I didn't want to mess with it right now. I KNOW it can be rolled, according to Travagans, but I just couldn't get around to it. I think the gains made in the White and Red with new opamps would be representative of how the Green would respond those same opamps.

Being disabled, I only have so much energy to put into this, and what would have taken anyone else a weekend to review still took me 2 weeks. With all the time I spent preparing the review, I was too tired to go trying to find which PCB the opamps reside on in the Green, and then trying to see if I could slide the PCB out far enough to reach it, and then trying to put it back together. Besides, the Green is good enough to live with while stock if need be, as even when limited by it's 16/48 DAC it is a fun and enjoyable amp. I may get around to emailing David Lin about the opamp location and accessibility in the Green, later.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mojolo /img/forum/go_quote.gif headphoneaddict, i saw you were debating whether to get an Octavart amp/dac in its thread. did you ever pull the trigger?

No, I didn't - when I went to the Head-Direct website, the webpage was messed up, and it had photos of the non-DAC version for $199, even though it said DAC in the listing.

So (1) I didn't want to pay $199 and get the wrong one since $199 was previously the normal price for the non-DAC version. (2) I have FOUR DAC's with optical, coax and USB already, and I needed another one like a hole in the head (Wai Wai Valve Co. Super Pro DAC, iBasso D1, Headroom Micro DAC portable, and Apogee mini-DAC with Sigma 11 PSU).

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harryo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the excellent review HeadphoneAddict. I have a Travagan Red already on its way from Taiwan which hopefuly should arrive in another few days. My favourite music is Jazz and especially saxaphone so look forward to trying some of the opamps you have mentioned, especially like the idea of a sound approaching the quality of a tube headphone amplifier. Will be trying the amp with my AKG501 and Roland RH-50 headphones. Harryo

It's already pretty good for Jazz and Sax when stock, so try it out that way first. You should get some sweet mids out of those K501, and the Red soundstage and transparency are wide open.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harryo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would like to order some OPA627 and AD743 opamps, when I check the Digi-key website there seems to be a number of variations of the opamps. Could someone possibly tell me what the correct manufacturers code is for the opamps that I require - thanks. Harryo

From what I can see from reading the opamps, the OPA627BP is the DIP version to plug into a 2:1 adpater, and the OPA627AU is the SOIC version for soldering onto Browndog adapters. I bought these from tube_buyer on eBay Burr Brown OPamp Op amp OPA627BP OPA627AP OPA627 2pcs - eBay (item 360041479063 end time Apr-15-08 07:41:22 PDT)

I bought my AD743 from souperman on head-fi, and since they are in the Red right now I can't read the number for them.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrew jc /img/forum/go_quote.gif Larry thank you for the review! Your hard work and honest opinion is much appreciated. However, I was hoping you would have more glowing comments for the White. I thought it would be the end of my quest for getting a AMP/DAC for approximately $300. It’s still on my list along with the Zero and Corda 2Move. Now you have me wondering should I get the Red and then find a DAC to match.

I spent more time with the White, and the AD8397, LT1364. I think I have settled on the AD8397 (same opamp as in Pico). It has a more present and powerful bass, and is very transparent and clean, and is very enjoyable. It is a small step up from stock, but an audible and appreciated one. The reason the improvements are mild is that it already sounds pretty great when stock. If I didn't have the Grado RS-1 and RS-2, I would have NEVER considered rolling opamps for more bass, as the White is great with the Denon, Sennheiser and Ultrasones.

I do have a pair of SOIC OPA627AU ($22 eBay) to be soldered onto a smaller 2:1 adapter that I have on order, since the DIP adapters that I have are too big to fit the White. Once I get my new 2:1 SOIC to DIP adapter and confirm it will fit, I will be installing the OPA627 in the 2:1 adapter and then putting that into the White.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I mentioned the stock opamps are not bad at all. Well, If I recall correctly, the LM4562 in these Travagans is the same opamp that Benchmark added to the latest DAC1 for the output stage.

Yep - here it is - "Features: State-of-the-art LM4562 high-current, low-
distortion opamps for all analog circuits." http://www.benchmarkmedia.com/dac1pr...E_cutsheet.pdf

 

[Harryo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's already pretty good for Jazz and Sax when stock, so try it out that way first. You should get some sweet mids out of those K501, and the Red soundstage and transparency are wide open.

Will try the Travagan Red whilst stock with some of my Jazz CDs for the time being, but would like to achieve the 'near tube' experience of this amp if possible by changing the opamps.

So far I have had a lot of trouble trying to source some opamps so it looks liket I will be using the Travagan Red with stock opamp for sometime.

After searching on eBay I located some OPA627BP (pair) selling for 28.99 US dollars plus 12.30 US dollars for shipping to UK (total:- 41.29 US dollars - £20.79) which I thought was a good price. (An European eBayer is selling one OPA627 for 50.24 US dollars plus shipping charge).

Cannot find the AD743JN on eBay although a UK stockist is listing the AD743JNZ at £9.55 each (18.97 US dollars) so might buy a couple from them.

In addition to the Travagan Red I also have a Little Dot MK1, Derek Shek h1 (USB/DAC headphone amp) and a PA2V2 enroute to me, so will be able to try opamps in them before trying them with the Travagan Red.

Once again many thanks for a superb review.

Cheers - Harryo

 

[Harryo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif From what I can see from reading the opamps, the OPA627BP is the DIP version to plug into a 2:1 adpater, and the OPA627AU is the SOIC version for soldering onto Browndog adapters. I bought these from tube_buyer on eBay Burr Brown OPamp Op amp OPA627BP OPA627AP OPA627 2pcs - eBay (item 360041479063 end time Apr-15-08 07:41:22 PDT) I bought my AD743 from souperman on head-fi, and since they are in the Red right now I can't read the number for them.

Thanks for the info on the opamps.

When searching eBay in the early hours I only came across one eBayer selling the OPA627BP and it was a different seller from the one in the link that you kindly posted (have made a note of that link for future reference)!

Spent sometime reading through a Digi-Key catalogue that I have trying to make sense of the codings used on the opamps.

Will keep checking eBay from time to time for the AD743 and also on Head-Fi to see if any appear in the For 'Sale/Trade Forums'.

Harryo

 

[andrew jc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif I spent more time with the White, and the AD8397, LT1364. I think I have settled on the AD8397 (same opamp as in Pico). It has a more present and powerful bass, and is very transparent and clean, and is very enjoyable. It is a small step up from stock, but an audible and appreciated one. The reason the improvements are mild is that it already sounds pretty great when stock. If I didn't have the Grado RS-1 and RS-2, I would have NEVER considered rolling opamps for more bass, as the White is great with the Denon, Sennheiser and Ultrasones. I do have a pair of SOIC OPA627AU ($22 eBay) to be soldered onto a smaller 2:1 adapter that I have on order, since the DIP adapters that I have are too big to fit the White. Once I get my new 2:1 SOIC to DIP adapter and confirm it will fit, I will be installing the OPA627 in the 2:1 adapter and then putting that into the White.

Larry thank you for addressing my post. I look forward to your insights when the parts arrive. So please keep me posted and keep up the good work!

 

[mrarroyo]

Very nice review Larry, now go and buy a bigger house to keep all the new toys.

 

[souperman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harryo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the info on the opamps. When searching eBay in the early hours I only came across one eBayer selling the OPA627BP and it was a different seller from the one in the link that you kindly posted (have made a note of that link for future reference)! Spent sometime reading through a Digi-Key catalogue that I have trying to make sense of the codings used on the opamps. Will keep checking eBay from time to time for the AD743 and also on Head-Fi to see if any appear in the For 'Sale/Trade Forums'. Harryo

The AD743 has been discontinued by Analog Devices.

 

[Harryo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by souperman /img/forum/go_quote.gif The AD743 has been discontinued by Analog Devices.

No wonder nothing shows up on eBay when I do a search for the AD743!

There is a UK electronics store that has 456 of the AD743JNZ on stock so if I cannot find any reasonably priced ones on eBay will most probably buy from them.

Harryo

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by souperman /img/forum/go_quote.gif The AD743 has been discontinued by Analog Devices.

Why would they discontinue such a fine sounding opamp - makes no sense to me?