i'm having some other work done - the top plate, etc.
by the way, how do you change the op-amps. i opened up the amp (the top 4 screws) and it seems that you just could use a flat head screw driver to pry them loose and then replace them. is that right. do they just snap on and off. or is there more to it.
Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif by the way, how do you change the op-amps. i opened up the amp (the top 4 screws) and it seems that you just could use a flat head screw driver to pry them loose and then replace them. is that right. do they just snap on and off. or is there more to it.
thanks
I would not use a screwdriver. I used a regular chip puller that fits under each end of the opamp. Just lift straight up and presto it comes out.
Ray gave me advice on installing the new ones. The first thing you need to do is press the legs lightly against a flat surface, like a table to make the legs 90 degrees with the body. Normally they are shipped with a slight outward spread. Once they are 90 degrees, they line up perfectly with the socket and all you need to do is press straight down.
Originally Posted by Audio Addict /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would not use a screwdriver. I used a regular chip puller that fits under each end of the opamp. Just lift straight up and presto it comes out.
i just emailed/pm'ed ray and told him to give my Apache the FULL mod - new caps and op amps. why not. if ray feels it is a good configuration, then it probably is.
now the hard part ... the wait. just mailed it out yesterday (priority mail). i hope to have it back in about 2 weeks, will probably be longer though. usually at night, i listen to my apache for 2-4 hours. last night. nothing. watched 3 movies instead. i don't think i have enough movies to last. now i know why people have more than one amp.
Originally Posted by yuchengxx /img/forum/go_quote.gif I ordered my B-52 two weeks ago....still making...really expect how it will sound on my EMMLABS CDSA..
i expect it will sound amazing. the B52 is an impressive piece of work. if i ever upgrade, it will be for that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Heh, that's why you should keep around more than 1 amp! Why'd you sell the LD2++?
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnsonad /img/forum/go_quote.gif My WA6 hasn't got this much use in a long time! I'm glad that it is still around
yeah. i wish i had my LD2++ (or something) to get me by, but i don't like to keep gear that i don't use on a regular basis. and with my apache, nothing else would get used. would rather use the money for something else. still though a second amp does serve its purpose.
Originally Posted by electrathecat /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree with this finding. Perhaps on some hyper-technical level discrete designs are (or maybe were until the latest op-amps?) preferable to op-amp designs, but unless you're an electrical engineer what really matters is the sound. The build quality of the Apache is impeccable, so maybe it optimizes what op-amp designs are capable of. In any event, one should just listen to the Apache and decide for one's self. What really matters isn't validation from others, but simply how good it sounds to you.
Definitely what sounds good to you is good and stick with that.
But from what I understand the design of the Apache is hardly cutting edge so I am somewhat skeptical that it really takes the latest op amps to the limit. Though I agree a well implemented, properly chosen op amp based design can definitely out perform or equal a so-so implemented fully discrete design.
Of course a well executed and quality designed fully discrete amp will at the very least test better than pretty much any op amp based design out there. Can people actually hear the difference? Probably most can't even if the rest of their componentry can scale to keep up. And even amongst those that can... some will prefer the noisier, more distorted option as the right distortion will convey itself as musical/warm/pleasant. Nothing wrong with that as it can sound quite nice. My Wavelength Cosine DAC uses a Phillip 1543 chip which has something like a -75 dB THD+N/-96 dB SNR (Terrible) but I like it. It is fun and though it tests poorly it sounds "musical". Yet, I don't try and pretend its as resolving/accurate/detailed as my other source. Not that everyone loves resolution (Can be interpreted as grainy if over emphasized) or accuracy/detail (Can be too fatiguing especially in high-heavy music). That's cool.
I let my AKG K701s with their relatively recent Moon Black Dragon (SE) cable break in a bit with my Apache, and I have a new appreciation of these phones. The forwardness I had heard has completely recessed now, and everything sounds like it is in the right place now. They now sound more natural and less distant than the 650s and do not have the GS1000s sometimes searing highs. For now at least, they may be my headphone of choice. Even the bass, while not as fundamental as the GS1000s,
is full, evident, but not plump or slow at all. All musical images have nice just-soft-enough boundaries (no hard edges or glare). Again, they seem to be a very nice match with the Apache after all.
And comfort is a real strong point with the 701's thick round pillows.
One other finding about the Apache--I prefer the Gain switch set to Low for best bass response (and overall sound). I keep the volume at about 1:30-2:00 and use my preamp
volume control for adjustment. I am back to my McIntosh C46 preamp driving the Apache, using Stealth Indra interconnects at every link in the chain.
With the Apache in this configuration,
driven by the EMM DCC2 dac and the McIntosh,
the sound is really glorious. Images are dense with out any "film" or white noise around them and the bass has no extra annoying artificial vibration or hangover or humming sound (with either the Senns, Grados, or AKGs). And there is even a kind of tube-like humidity in the background.
Just de-briefing my thougths here in case anyone is interested...
Originally Posted by yuchengxx /img/forum/go_quote.gif I ordered my B-52 two weeks ago....still making...
really expect how it will sound on my EMMLABS CDSA..
Heck, I am LOVING my B-52 with a Benchmark DAC1 USB, I imagine your EMMLABS CDP will sound even more outstanding.
Originally Posted by rgs9200m /img/forum/go_quote.gif One other finding about the Apache--I prefer the Gain switch set to Low for best bass response (and overall sound).
I recently switched to the Low Gain setting and find it much better also. I have better control of the settings. On medium, it seemed like what I really wanted was right between two clicks on the volume.
My Apache gets dropped off at Ray's tomorrow for the modification.
Yep, as far as CDPs go, I'm still in awe of the EMM sound, especially with headphones. It just seems to have no character I can get a handle on, just complete transparency with no veil, and no veil needed. I used to have an Accuphase DP75V that I really loved with my 650s and 701s, but when I got the EMM I found I couldn't even listen to the Accuphase any more, like the sound was frozen in amber. And the Accuphase was way sweeter and less digital and had much firmer, natural bass than my old Meridian 508.24 before that. So time marches on...
As for the gain setting on the Apache,
I find the Low gain setting actually improves the sound a bit--firmer bass
and a more open soundstage. It's really subtle, but I just felt more comfortable with it after lots of A-B testing.
One more thing. The Apache sounds superb through the single-ended inputs.
A-B'd the same cable type in SE and Balanced mode and really could hear no difference, no matter how hard I tried. I have my Indras on the SE inputs an I am really happy with them there. (The Indras remove that last bit of haze around voices and other images and remove some bass distortion.) So I would tell Apache users not to obsess over balanced input just to please the Apache.
Originally Posted by rgs9200m /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yep, as far as CDPs go, I'm still in awe of the EMM sound, especially with headphones. It just seems to have no character I can get a handle on, just complete transparency with no veil, and no veil needed.
One more thing. The Apache sounds superb through the single-ended inputs.
A-B'd the same cable type in SE and Balanced mode and really could hear no difference, no matter how hard I tried. I have my Indras on the SE inputs an I am really happy with them there. (The Indras remove that last bit of haze around voices and other images and remove some bass distortion.) So I would tell Apache users not to obsess over balanced input just to please the Apache.
I hope to listen to an EMM CDP some day but will need to leave my wallet in the hands of a less susceptible spender during the listen.
As for single ended versus balanced: I tend to listen to both and enjoy both for different reasons. I just love the depth and improved separation with classical, jazz music and vocal with balanced 701s and balanced D2000s and I feel balancing does very little to improve rock/techno. For me, the more critical the black background, the more improvement I hear with a balanced set up. I know this doesn't make sense because technically any lack of blackness should be more pronounced with a balanced set up but perhaps RSA's ability to design such a quiet noise floor has enabled my contrast in experience.
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