Rockhopper M^3 - The Review
Apr 26, 2009 at 11:29 PM Post #451 of 523
The Havana is very nice and musical sounding, also the output tube gives you a lot of flexibility with fine tuning its sound. It feels more powerful than my old Moodlab, which was straining a little with its passive output stage. However, it's not as night and day of a change as when I first got a DAC to begin with, the Havana was a lot of money, and the Moodlab is very good for the money. I'd only buy one if you can afford it.
 
Apr 26, 2009 at 11:49 PM Post #452 of 523
@ New M3 users: Grats on the new purchases. My M3 never fails to remind me that it is not the weak link in my system. I think the weak link now is not owning HD800 :frowning2:

I wouldn't sweat the op amps too hard since I probably blew $70 on those OPA627/637s despite lots of really experienced people on here insisting that 8610s sound identical. It was probably placebo, but at the time I thought I heard a difference.
 
Apr 28, 2009 at 6:01 PM Post #454 of 523
Quote:

Originally Posted by scootermafia /img/forum/go_quote.gif
@ New M3 users: Grats on the new purchases. My M3 never fails to remind me that it is not the weak link in my system. I think the weak link now is not owning HD800 :frowning2:

I wouldn't sweat the op amps too hard since I probably blew $70 on those OPA627/637s despite lots of really experienced people on here insisting that 8610s sound identical. It was probably placebo, but at the time I thought I heard a difference.



The chips may sound the same, but.......

Never-the-less, I couldn't shake the placebo effected initial impression I had of the 637/627s as sounding "laid back" and reinstalled the 8610s.

USG
 
Apr 28, 2009 at 6:16 PM Post #455 of 523
Quote:

Originally Posted by upstateguy /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The chips may sound the same, but.......

Never-the-less, I couldn't shake the placebo effected initial impression I had of the 637/627s as sounding "laid back" and reinstalled the 8610s.

USG



I'm not so sure it's placebo. There are a few others who have outlined those same differences. Also, I used to have the AD8620 and they were very bright opamps so I can see the AD8610 being brighter than the OPAs as well.
 
Apr 28, 2009 at 10:44 PM Post #456 of 523
Quote:

Originally Posted by Shahrose /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I'm not so sure it's placebo. There are a few others who have outlined those same differences.


Confirmation bias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ????

wink.gif
 
Apr 28, 2009 at 10:51 PM Post #457 of 523
See, that's why I distrust myself. I want to think that the 627/637s are higher fidelity instruments, and perhaps by their official specs they are, and I've heard before that the 8610s are a bit bright and rough, so...confirmation bias. Oh well, I'm happy with my 627s.

The Havana is really tube dependent, when I rolled in the slightly fresher tube of the matched pair its sound cleaned way up, none of the oppressively massive bass that was before, just a good tight bass quality.

Putting the Hifi Tuning fuses in when it comes tomorrow.
 
Apr 28, 2009 at 10:55 PM Post #459 of 523
Quote:

Originally Posted by Beefy /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Confirmation bias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ????

wink.gif



I agree the effect is very real. I'm not going to claim that the 637/627 sound different from the 8610 in the M^3 (since I haven't compared them myself). However, I know for sure the AD8610/8620 are bright opamps since I've used those extensively.
 
Apr 29, 2009 at 1:08 AM Post #460 of 523
Quote:

Originally Posted by Shahrose /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I agree the effect is very real. I'm not going to claim that the 637/627 sound different from the 8610 in the M^3 (since I haven't compared them myself). However, I know for sure the AD8610/8620 are bright opamps since I've used those extensively.


However as you know, opamps are not the end of the story.
Audio equipment can have the same opmaps yet sound different e.g. X-fi Prelude and the Asus Essence STX both use a LM4562 opamp, known to be a bassy opamp yet the STX is more balanced sounding.
 
Apr 29, 2009 at 2:58 AM Post #461 of 523
Quote:

Originally Posted by chinesekiwi /img/forum/go_quote.gif
However as you know, opamps are not the end of the story.
Audio equipment can have the same opmaps yet sound different e.g. X-fi Prelude and the Asus Essence STX both use a LM4562 opamp, known to be a bassy opamp yet the STX is more balanced sounding.



I agree, but I'm not sure if that's really relevant to what I was trying to say
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Apr 29, 2009 at 7:26 PM Post #462 of 523
I spoke to Ying at YBM Audio this morning. He priced me a M^3 with Sigma11 and 627s and gain switch. He replied to my original email inquiry very quickly and mentioned that he wanted to call and ask a few questions about my needs. I definitely appreciated the one-on-one service.

I've got a pair of D5000 coming back from Lawton Audio soon. I want to see if the mods (paired with my Gilmore Lite + DPS) tame the shrill highs and intense detailing of the stock phones.

If not, I suspect I'll be heading over to M^3 Country.
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Apr 29, 2009 at 9:08 PM Post #463 of 523
You getting a DAC next Shahrose?
Moodlab is a good fit and a way better value than the Havana which is nice but slightly overrated.
 
Apr 29, 2009 at 9:16 PM Post #464 of 523
It seems the OPA227's don't get any love with respect to the M3. I used the 2 channel version for my CMoys and liked them so chose the single channel for my M3 and have been pretty happy with them. They're also pretty inexpensive and don't require adapters. Maybe ignorance is bliss?
 
Apr 29, 2009 at 9:39 PM Post #465 of 523
Quote:

Originally Posted by scootermafia /img/forum/go_quote.gif
You getting a DAC next Shahrose?
Moodlab is a good fit and a way better value than the Havana which is nice but slightly overrated.



Actually scooter, I found my STX sounds superb (line-out) so I won't be needing a DAC. Instead I'm going to go for a Beta or Dynahi.
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