[boodi]

so any more experience with the travagan and op amp rolling

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Not really - the OPA627AU soldered onto a small 2:1 works in the White really well, and that or the AD743 are my favorites in the Red. I never opened the Green to look for the opamp socket because it sounds good with the stock opamps. I use the Green in my basement rig with my laptop, to drive my Stax SR-Lambda and SR-5NB headphones via the speaker out into a Stax SRD-7 SB transformer.

At the Colorado Head-fi meet last weekend everyone loved the Red with my Edition 9 and D2000 and RS-1.

 

[boodi]

problem is the red , which is very nice price , have not built in dac

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

When paired with my Super Pro DAC 707 from Super Pro DAC707 I find the Red can beat the White and Green, so you might consider that DAC paired with the Red.

It was only $110 + shipping, runs on 12-24v but comes with a 24v power brick (so it puts off a little heat), and in addition to the USB it has optical and coax inputs. It uses the same DAC chips as the Headroom Micro DAC and iBasso D1, with LT1364 in the outputs. The Super Pro DAC 707 RCA out can go right into the Red's RCA inputs with any standard interconnect whether $10 or $100.

That would be my recommendation. Either that or the Blue Circle Thingee as DAC feeding the Red.

 

[DemonicLemming]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif When paired with my Super Pro DAC 707 from Super Pro DAC707 I find the Red can beat the White and Green, so you might consider that DAC paired with the Red. It was only $110 + shipping, runs on 12-24v but comes with a 24v power brick (so it puts off a little heat), and in addition to the USB it has optical and coax inputs. It uses the same DAC chips as the Headroom Micro DAC and iBasso D1, with LT1364 in the outputs. The Super Pro DAC 707 RCA out can go right into the Red's RCA inputs with any standard interconnect whether $10 or $100. That would be my recommendation. Either that or the Blue Circle Thingee as DAC feeding the Red.

What did you feel made that setup superior to the White?

Also, any thoughts on the Super Pro vs the FubarII, if you've used it?

 

[URZS]

I really don't feel that the white is doing many good things for my k271's.
Is one of these worth getting? or should i be trying something completely different.

also does "usb speakers" imply that information will be sent to the device to be processed or does it still go through my computers dac.

 

[rds]

Quote:

any thoughts on the Super Pro vs the FubarII, if you've used it?

I don't have experience with the FubarII, but I can tell you that the cs4398 (DAC chip) in the 707 Super Pro is very poorly implemented. It is not comparable to the headroom DAC, and if your budget is ~$100 I would recommend an Alien DAC with good output caps. Just my 2 cents of course.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rds /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't have experience with the FubarII, but I can tell you that the cs4398 (DAC chip) in the 707 Super Pro is very poorly implemented. It is not comparable to the headroom DAC, and if your budget is ~$100 I would recommend an Alien DAC with good output caps. Just my 2 cents of course.

I only suggested the Super Pro DAC 707 because of his budget and because of how well the Travagans Red performs but he needs a cheap DAC - and because a cheap DAC can always be upgraded later but the Red will be a favorite for a very long time. I can guarantee you that the Super Pro DAC 707 is much better than the Fubar III which I have also reviewed. Even the Green was also better than the Fubar III, and the Nuforce Icon and White is also better than the Fubar III. See here:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/rev...ar-iii-334293/

I agree the Super pro IS NOT as good as the Headroom Micro DAC but the HR is $399 now and so the DAC alone is double his budget. (the iBasso D1 with similar chips to those two is also better than the Super Pro but not as good as the HR). The biggest problem with the Super Pro is the background hiss, and then some thin bass in the D1 and Super Pro is my second gripe (which can be overcome by the amp).

The Micro DAC is actually quite good and fairly close to my Apogee mini-DAC and on par with the Pico when used a USB or Optical DAC. I have some good posts that discuss the Micro DAC. Again, it's not within his budget.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f77/mi...ml#post4549067

And further down in the 1st post of this thread I covered the Micro DAC with amp (Micro Stack): http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f105/m...ml#post4551299

One of the reasons I suggested the Blue Circle Thingee (if not the Super Pro) is that it gets great reviews and can be had for half the cost of the HR Micro DAC.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by URZS /img/forum/go_quote.gif I really don't feel that the white is doing many good things for my k271's. Is one of these worth getting? or should i be trying something completely different. also does "usb speakers" imply that information will be sent to the device to be processed or does it still go through my computers dac.

Those OPA627 on a 2:1 are exactly what you need to take the White to a whole new level.

USB Speakers will take the digital data and convert it to analog via "out board" DAC in the speakers.

 

[Eldo]

First off, Larry, thank you for the review of the Travagans amps! It led me to buying the Red about a month ago and I have been enjoying it.

I am completely new to op-amp rolling, but I thought I'd try it out. I recently picked up a 2:1 adapter and two OPA627s. After I put them in, I am only getting very faint sound in the right channel (with high volume).

Is there anything special to rolling op-amps? Do they have to be in a specific configuration, or as long as they are all in and seated properly they will work?

Thanks!

 

[arirug]

I just received the Travagan`s Red. I pulled out the opamp, and put in the 627Bp`s with the text the same way as showed in one of the pictures from HeadphoneAddict on the first page. I pulled out the white clip where the cables led into. Then I could open the Travagan completely, and not just half the way. When I should close it, I managed to fasten the white clip with the cables by using a little fork. I connected an imod to the Red, and a pair of Denon D5000. and I was really amazed how good this little amplifier drove this Denons. It sure is a keeper. Thank you HeadphoneAddict for your great pictures of the inside of the Red, and for your great rewiew. These helped me in the process of changing the opamps. I had to pay 60 dollars in customcharges, but still the Red is a bargain!

 

[Eldo]

Hmm, so I set the configuration of the OPAs to the same as the picture on the first page and no luck.

Then I put the original op-amp back in and it is not working. If I turn the volume up to at least 3 or higher, I can faintly hear tiny bits of what is playing, but it is very quiet and static.

So......what does it sound like I have done here?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eldo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmm, so I set the configuration of the OPAs to the same as the picture on the first page and no luck. Then I put the original op-amp back in and it is not working. If I turn the volume up to at least 3 or higher, I can faintly hear tiny bits of what is playing, but it is very quiet and static. So......what does it sound like I have done here?

Hmmm... I am not sure how to help you out via long distance.

Can you post a photo of how you have the opamps installed? Are you sure you have the pin #1 of the opamp (or adapter) oriented correctly?

If the opamps really are installed right - Did a pin get bent under the opamp and not make it into the socket? Is it possible you shorted an opamp and fried the opamp (usually that will happen before it hurts the PCB)?

Could there be a tiny brass sleeve missing in one of the holes in the opamp socket on the main board, so that it is making poor contact with the opamp (I had this happen in my iBasso D1, and I stuck some conductive wire inside the hole to let it make better contact with the legs of the opamp)?

 

[Eldo]

Thanks for the reply.

My camera doesn't do close ups very well, but I now have the original op-amp configured just like the photo at the travagans shop here:

http://shop.travagans.com/upload/sys...184E63A%7D.jpg

As far as the opamps getting fried, if I put them in the wrong way, with the notch facing the wrong direction (so pin 1 and 5 swapped positions), would that fry them? Maybe that is what happened. How do you go about handling opamps typically? Before I started I grounded myself by touching my metal PC case, is it ok to then touch the pins and the top of the opamp?

I am pretty sure the 8 pins are in the sockets securely. And from what I could tell, everything was fine with the brass sleeves, however, I will pull the whole PCB out and double check if it isn't a fried opamp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmmm... I am not sure how to help you out via long distance. Can you post a photo of how you have the opamps installed? Are you sure you have the pin #1 of the opamp (or adapter) oriented correctly? If the opamps really are installed right - Did a pin get bent under the opamp and not make it into the socket? Is it possible you shorted an opamp and fried the opamp (usually that will happen before it hurts the PCB)? Could there be a tiny brass sleeve missing in one of the holes in the opamp socket on the main board, so that it is making poor contact with the opamp (I had this happen in my iBasso D1, and I stuck some conductive wire inside the hole to let it make better contact with the legs of the opamp)?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eldo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the reply. My camera doesn't do close ups very well, but I now have the original op-amp configured just like the photo at the travagans shop here: http://shop.travagans.com/upload/sys...184E63A%7D.jpg As far as the opamps getting fried, if I put them in the wrong way, with the notch facing the wrong direction (so pin 1 and 5 swapped positions), would that fry them? Maybe that is what happened. How do you go about handling opamps typically? Before I started I grounded myself by touching my metal PC case, is it ok to then touch the pins and the top of the opamp? I am pretty sure the 8 pins are in the sockets securely. And from what I could tell, everything was fine with the brass sleeves, however, I will pull the whole PCB out and double check if it isn't a fried opamp.

Usually that wont fry the opamp, but I suppose it might.

The weird thing is, when I look at my photo with the dual adapter installed, it looks like that is installed 180 degree rotated, putting pin #1 at the front left instead of right rear. I may be mistaken and will have to grab my other 2:1 to look at where pin #1 is, or open my Red to look. I do know that my Red works with the 2:1 installed the way I have it in the photo.

Nope, it looks like pin one is the one to the right rear, and mine and the factory photo is correct too.