The Opamp thread
Jul 29, 2015 at 3:11 PM Post #4,921 of 7,354
the Xonar HDAV 1.3
Probably the least of all Xonars right out of the box. After bypassing the output caps with wire, it opened up completely into something quite lovely. But, obviously, it wasn't good enough because I have been modding and swapping opamps from the beginning.
Only two mods sofar have had an appreciable effect.
1. bypassing output capacitors with wire.
2. adding a 10uf Silmic II to the opamp + -
 
If you have a pair of AD797B for your I/V, you must try adding 10uf Silmic to it. Perhaps other caps will also be as awesome. Ill let you know as I am now testing capacities and manufacturers to see what difference it makes.
 
Aug 1, 2015 at 7:05 AM Post #4,922 of 7,354
Hello all,
 
First of all, thank you for these topics about tube rolling, opamp rolling, etc. on which we can find a lot of information, awesome !
 
I'd like to ask a simple question : do you need to "burn in" an Opamp as we do for tubes ? And how to do it if necessary ?
 
Thanks :)
 
Aug 1, 2015 at 11:34 AM Post #4,923 of 7,354
Burn in for capacitors? Absolutely.
Burn in for Opamps... Well, I know that some think you need to. I personally don't know that I have ever heard a difference. I have listened for it but a new lme49720ha sounds the same as one I have used for years.
If you can hear the difference and want to burn it in, then open foobar or some similar player and put a track on repeat. Chose something that has deep bass and lots of treble. Let that play over night.
On my xonar, when im burning in capacitors on the opamps like i am right now, i turn off my headphone amp and turn the volume to 100. Let it do its thing for a while, come back, don't forget to turn the volume down and test with a familiar song.
 
Aug 1, 2015 at 2:26 PM Post #4,924 of 7,354
10uf silmic II on both I/V and the Buffer sound really good. Very tube like. Very warm. I would not mind a bit more definition in the treble though. So here are the experiments to see if this sound can be improved:
 
here are the test tracks I used:
 

1. Arianna Savall – Preghiera  This tests sibyllance, 3d and locality.
2. Gazpacho – Valeries Friend   A lot of cymbals, Prominent Vocals. Lesser Caps turn it into a screechy awfulness.
3. thePhantom – Freeze   Deep Bass, synth cymbals
4. Yosi Horikawa – Bubbles   Test coherence. Lesser capacitors become confused and it’s a mess.
 

Silmic II
 
By itself is good enough. It is so deep and rich, I cant get away from my computer. The sound is thick and rich and full and enveloping and powerful. I feel the bass in my chest. The soundstage is deep, 3 dimensional, every instrument is locked into place, rock solid and separate from each other.
 
Silmic II bypassed with 10nf MKP 1837
 

So I try the MKP 1837. Usually very good at cleaning up and “etching” the top end.
In this case it is just harsh. Just the Silmic leave natural sibilance natural sounding, just the SSSS that is produced with certain words. The MKP 1837 make it a grating CHCHCHCHCH. Arianna Savall is too sibilant and Gazpacho is intolerable. This is not a successful bypass. Also it made the sound stage feel much less 3D. So I had to take those off.

 
Silmic II bypassed with Silver Mica
 

My impression? I don’t know... tough to pinpoint. Only way i can describe it is that it sounds “lighter” in the treble area. Its not crisper, there is no sibilance, nothing etched but the top end sounds lighter in a soft way. Its not harming the soundstage much.  It is deep, with all the instruments and sounds floating in their proper location but the “softness” causes a slight loss of coherence. This becomes evident with songs like  “Bubbles” from Yosi Horikawa. Its as though there is a soft halo around the treble.
This is a very very nice sound. I could live with this.
The only sensible next step would be Teflon. So lets try those.
 
Silmic II bypassed with Teflon

The soundstage is absolutely correct. There is no sibilance. The teflons seem to have brought that very last 2% of clarity to everything. Could I reliably A-B test and pick it out though? I don’t know. It is not harming the feel of the silmics. There is warmth and body. It preserves everything that the silmics do right but add clarity to the whole picture. But this is a very subtle addition. It is just.. right. This is very very good.
All the micro-details are there, every shimmer from the cymbals is there. Gazpacho is great. The bass is fast. The voice is not screechy, The cymbals don't become a mess. Very dynamic. This is very very good.

 
 
Elna Cerafine
 
not as good as silmic. There is magic missing. The clarity is nice, the tone seems correct. It’s just not as awesome. Its more fatiguing than the Silmics. The cerafines are not producing details that the silmics are not. It just seems accentuated. This is not better and I am missing the Silmics. Don't get me wrong, these are excellent sounding caps but just missing some weight and "magic"
The difference can be described as a 60 lb kid on a trampoline jumping 5 feet in the air. He goes up and comes down and up and down. Now imagine a 300 lb dude jumping 5 feet in the air on the trampoline. They both move the same distance but the impact felt by the trampoline is different. That is how this feels. The notes are there but its not taking you and forcing you to rock and tap to the rhythm.... it's optional.
 
 
Panasonic SEPF 390uf
 

So I thought it would be good to find out at what voltage the sockets were running at before using a 20V capacitor. My Xonar is at 16.7v from – to + so I am ok with these caps.
There is more information in the music than with Silmic II. It is almost sibilant but it isn’t. It is just very very fast. You can hear every shimmer of cymbals. You can hear where on the cymbal the drum stick hits. All the micro detail is there. The bass is full and taught. It does not become confused.
But.. that fat, warm, luscious bass from the Silmic.. I miss it. Perhaps it is colored but I want it.
A perfectly cooked steak is delicious, but adding seasoned butter is good too.
It is so clean it is addictive. It sounds like the silmic when bypassed with the teflons.
Impression: Very clear, very clean, wide open, neutral. This is very very good.

 
 
How about the buffer?
 

Current Setup
AD797BRZ I/V with Panasonic SEPF
LME49990 Buffer with Silmic II
Fantastic. Amazing. I cant turn it off to test anything else. The bass is right. The mids are right. The treble is right. It is soooo fast but not etched. You are retrieving all the information there is to be had in a recording.
 

 
SEPF on the I/V and the Buffer.
This presentation is missing magic. Ariana sounds correct, but im not melting into the music, im not marveling. It is more 2D. It is slightly sibilant.  This combo is not as good.
also, the LME49990 was definitely getting warmer.
 
 

Next up, SEPF on lme49990 buffer and Silmic on the AD797 I/V:
Not sibilant. Warm and musical. But I feel like im missing the extra detail from the SEPF on the I/V stage:
 
Next up: SEPF back on the AD797 and a bigger silmic on the LME49990 buffer.
390 uf for the I/V is not hurting anything. Lets see if 470uf on the buffer is ok.
Result: it makes no difference except that it is huge and looks stupid. No benefit over 10uf.

 
 

Next up LT1028A in buffer. No Cap: Bass is overblown, slightly flabby. It does not sound as liquid as the LME49990.
There are resonances that are not quite right. Good detail retrieval. Chips are warm. need to add the Silmic

 
With Silmic: Brings it all together. Bass is tighter. Smooths it out. Does not have the same sound stage as the LME49990. Seems more fatiguing. Not better.
 
Next up: LME49720HA with Silmic. Really good bass. Not sibilant. Treble is well defined. Actually a very good opamp but not as good as LME49990.
 

Current setup:
going back to Silmic with Teflon bypass on AD797 in I/V and Silmic on the LME49990 in the buffer.
This is very very good. The sound stage is phenomenal. The musicality is phenomenal, the prat is phenomenal.
 
my current recommendation:
if you have a xonar, put AD797B in the I/V stage and bypass it with 10uf Silmic II and a little Teflon. Alternatively, use a Panasonic SEPF. I have some 22uf ordered and will let you know if the smaller capacity makes a difference. Based on my experiment with the 470uf Silmic, I am guessing not.
 
Put a LME49990 in the buffer stage and bypass it with 10uf Silmic II.
 
This combo is really very very good.
 
If anyone tries this out, let us know your impressions.
 
Aug 3, 2015 at 4:55 AM Post #4,925 of 7,354
  Burn in for capacitors? Absolutely.
Burn in for Opamps... Well, I know that some think you need to. I personally don't know that I have ever heard a difference. I have listened for it but a new lme49720ha sounds the same as one I have used for years.
If you can hear the difference and want to burn it in, then open foobar or some similar player and put a track on repeat. Chose something that has deep bass and lots of treble. Let that play over night.
On my xonar, when im burning in capacitors on the opamps like i am right now, i turn off my headphone amp and turn the volume to 100. Let it do its thing for a while, come back, don't forget to turn the volume down and test with a familiar song.

 
Thanks for your answer :)
 
Aug 5, 2015 at 9:04 PM Post #4,926 of 7,354
  Burn in for capacitors? Absolutely.
Burn in for Opamps... Well, I know that some think you need to. I personally don't know that I have ever heard a difference. I have listened for it but a new lme49720ha sounds the same as one I have used for years.
If you can hear the difference and want to burn it in, then open foobar or some similar player and put a track on repeat. Chose something that has deep bass and lots of treble. Let that play over night.
On my xonar, when im burning in capacitors on the opamps like i am right now, i turn off my headphone amp and turn the volume to 100. Let it do its thing for a while, come back, don't forget to turn the volume down and test with a familiar song.

 
x2
Same thing I used to do.
 
 
 
 
  10uf silmic II on both I/V and the Buffer sound really good. Very tube like. Very warm. I would not mind a bit more definition in the treble though. So here are the experiments to see if this sound can be improved:
 
here are the test tracks I used:
 

1. Arianna Savall – Preghiera  This tests sibyllance, 3d and locality.
2. Gazpacho – Valeries Friend   A lot of cymbals, Prominent Vocals. Lesser Caps turn it into a screechy awfulness.
3. thePhantom – Freeze   Deep Bass, synth cymbals
4. Yosi Horikawa – Bubbles   Test coherence. Lesser capacitors become confused and it’s a mess.
 

Silmic II
 
By itself is good enough. It is so deep and rich, I cant get away from my computer. The sound is thick and rich and full and enveloping and powerful. I feel the bass in my chest. The soundstage is deep, 3 dimensional, every instrument is locked into place, rock solid and separate from each other.
 
Silmic II bypassed with 10nf MKP 1837
 

So I try the MKP 1837. Usually very good at cleaning up and “etching” the top end.
In this case it is just harsh. Just the Silmic leave natural sibilance natural sounding, just the SSSS that is produced with certain words. The MKP 1837 make it a grating CHCHCHCHCH. Arianna Savall is too sibilant and Gazpacho is intolerable. This is not a successful bypass. Also it made the sound stage feel much less 3D. So I had to take those off.
 
 
Silmic II bypassed with Silver Mica
 

My impression? I don’t know... tough to pinpoint. Only way i can describe it is that it sounds “lighter” in the treble area. Its not crisper, there is no sibilance, nothing etched but the top end sounds lighter in a soft way. Its not harming the soundstage much.  It is deep, with all the instruments and sounds floating in their proper location but the “softness” causes a slight loss of coherence. This becomes evident with songs like  “Bubbles” from Yosi Horikawa. Its as though there is a soft halo around the treble.
This is a very very nice sound. I could live with this.
The only sensible next step would be Teflon. So lets try those.
 
Silmic II bypassed with Teflon

The soundstage is absolutely correct. There is no sibilance. The teflons seem to have brought that very last 2% of clarity to everything. Could I reliably A-B test and pick it out though? I don’t know. It is not harming the feel of the silmics. There is warmth and body. It preserves everything that the silmics do right but add clarity to the whole picture. But this is a very subtle addition. It is just.. right. This is very very good.
All the micro-details are there, every shimmer from the cymbals is there. Gazpacho is great. The bass is fast. The voice is not screechy, The cymbals don't become a mess. Very dynamic. This is very very good.
 
 
 
Elna Cerafine
 
not as good as silmic. There is magic missing. The clarity is nice, the tone seems correct. It’s just not as awesome. Its more fatiguing than the Silmics. The cerafines are not producing details that the silmics are not. It just seems accentuated. This is not better and I am missing the Silmics. Don't get me wrong, these are excellent sounding caps but just missing some weight and "magic"
The difference can be described as a 60 lb kid on a trampoline jumping 5 feet in the air. He goes up and comes down and up and down. Now imagine a 300 lb dude jumping 5 feet in the air on the trampoline. They both move the same distance but the impact felt by the trampoline is different. That is how this feels. The notes are there but its not taking you and forcing you to rock and tap to the rhythm.... it's optional.
 
 
Panasonic SEPF 390uf
 

So I thought it would be good to find out at what voltage the sockets were running at before using a 20V capacitor. My Xonar is at 16.7v from – to + so I am ok with these caps.
There is more information in the music than with Silmic II. It is almost sibilant but it isn’t. It is just very very fast. You can hear every shimmer of cymbals. You can hear where on the cymbal the drum stick hits. All the micro detail is there. The bass is full and taught. It does not become confused.
But.. that fat, warm, luscious bass from the Silmic.. I miss it. Perhaps it is colored but I want it.
A perfectly cooked steak is delicious, but adding seasoned butter is good too.
It is so clean it is addictive. It sounds like the silmic when bypassed with the teflons.
Impression: Very clear, very clean, wide open, neutral. This is very very good.
 
 
 
How about the buffer?
 

Current Setup
AD797BRZ I/V with Panasonic SEPF
LME49990 Buffer with Silmic II
Fantastic. Amazing. I cant turn it off to test anything else. The bass is right. The mids are right. The treble is right. It is soooo fast but not etched. You are retrieving all the information there is to be had in a recording.
 

 
SEPF on the I/V and the Buffer.
This presentation is missing magic. Ariana sounds correct, but im not melting into the music, im not marveling. It is more 2D. It is slightly sibilant.  This combo is not as good.
also, the LME49990 was definitely getting warmer.
 
 

Next up, SEPF on lme49990 buffer and Silmic on the AD797 I/V:
Not sibilant. Warm and musical. But I feel like im missing the extra detail from the SEPF on the I/V stage:
 
Next up: SEPF back on the AD797 and a bigger silmic on the LME49990 buffer.
390 uf for the I/V is not hurting anything. Lets see if 470uf on the buffer is ok.
Result: it makes no difference except that it is huge and looks stupid. No benefit over 10uf.
 
 
 

Next up LT1028A in buffer. No Cap: Bass is overblown, slightly flabby. It does not sound as liquid as the LME49990.
There are resonances that are not quite right. Good detail retrieval. Chips are warm. need to add the Silmic
 
 
With Silmic: Brings it all together. Bass is tighter. Smooths it out. Does not have the same sound stage as the LME49990. Seems more fatiguing. Not better.
 
Next up: LME49720HA with Silmic. Really good bass. Not sibilant. Treble is well defined. Actually a very good opamp but not as good as LME49990.
 

Current setup:
going back to Silmic with Teflon bypass on AD797 in I/V and Silmic on the LME49990 in the buffer.
This is very very good. The sound stage is phenomenal. The musicality is phenomenal, the prat is phenomenal.
 
my current recommendation:
if you have a xonar, put AD797B in the I/V stage and bypass it with 10uf Silmic II and a little Teflon. Alternatively, use a Panasonic SEPF. I have some 22uf ordered and will let you know if the smaller capacity makes a difference. Based on my experiment with the 470uf Silmic, I am guessing not.
 
Put a LME49990 in the buffer stage and bypass it with 10uf Silmic II.
 
This combo is really very very good.
 
If anyone tries this out, let us know your impressions.

 
Teflon is that good, eh?  I never thought of trying some out.
 
I swear by 160V 0.1uF MKP1837, unless there's not enough room for it, then WIMA MKP2 0.1uF 100V.
As a last resort, MKS4 0.1uF 63V, damn tiny caps, but not as good as MKP4 which are not as good as MKP1837/MKP1839.  However, note that I am talking about external gear, I've only ever used WIMAs on a soundcard, and that was years ago when I used soundcards at all.
The results aren't quite the same with external gear.  MKP1837 beats anything in every way, sonically to me, except Soviet K42-Y2 PIO film caps.
 
Try combing a Nichicon KZ with a Silmic II along with a film cap of your choice.  I put off combining electrolytics a long time ago and never got around to experimenting with them.  KZ has the best treble, and you love the bass of Silmic, so some combination of the two should make you quite happy.  Perhaps a 50V 100uF KZ with little 35V 10uF silmic?  Or maybe a 10uF KZ with a 100uF Silmic?  Making one cap 10x smaller than the other one helps with avoiding overlapping self-resonant frequencies, something like that.  If each capacitor's self-resonant frequency overlaps with the other, you get resonance at the opamp output or it oscillates or something, I forgot now.  The result is bad and should be avoided, basically.
 
So far, Vishay 515D caps have given me the best bass I've heard from electrolytics, but the midrange and treble is unnatural.  Maybe you may like this one yourself.
 
On external equipment, I've only liked those Panasonic Oscon caps on digital PSU rails, not analogue PSU rails.
 
Nichicon KW is another one worth trying, though its bass sucks.
 
Aug 6, 2015 at 2:14 PM Post #4,927 of 7,354
Update
the 22uf SEPF arrived and I have had a chance to play around with them on the DAC as well as the amp.
 

 
Left is the buffer from my "2 penny" amp. On the right is the 49990 with its SEPF tophat. 
In I/V stage the 22uf SEPF is as good as the Silmic with teflon bypass. It is totally clean, clear, detailed, spacial, harmonically correct and not sibilant. The Silmic/teflon actually sounded too smooth. Don't get me wrong, it is a phenomenally good sound but Im not sure it is better than just a 1$ 22uf SEPF, plus the size is ridiculous.
 
Here is another interesting find. The SEPF is ideal for I/V but its not the best thing for the buffer. The buffer looses what I can only describe as microdynamics. This is true for the DAC as well as the amp. In the above picture I tried a 470uf silmic and that also is not the right capacitor for this position.
The amp benefits from having a Cerafine on it. This lets all the bass trough while being beautifully clear on the top end. It also preserves the microdynamics.
 
 I swear by 160V 0.1uF MKP1837, unless there's not enough room for it, then WIMA MKP2 0.1uF 100V.

 
I did try the MKP1837 and was surprised that it sounded so strident and ear piercing. Perhaps I was being too impatient, and perhaps they need to burn in more. I will test them again and let them burn in for 100 hrs.
 
The final flow that I am happy with (currently) is:
DAC I/V AD797 w/ 22uf SEPF  ---> Buffer LME49990 w/ 10uf Silmic II  -------//-----> AMP I/V LME49990 w/ 10uf Cerafine ---> Buffer LME49600 w/ 10uf Cerafine
 
Aug 7, 2015 at 6:21 PM Post #4,928 of 7,354
  10uf silmic II on both I/V and the Buffer sound really good. Very tube like. Very warm. I would not mind a bit more definition in the treble though. So here are the experiments to see if this sound can be improved:
EyuiOL-8ff.jpg
Akwpa-Skj2.jpg
 
here are the test tracks I used:
 

1. Arianna Savall – Preghiera  This tests sibyllance, 3d and locality.
2. Gazpacho – Valeries Friend   A lot of cymbals, Prominent Vocals. Lesser Caps turn it into a screechy awfulness.
3. thePhantom – Freeze   Deep Bass, synth cymbals
4. Yosi Horikawa – Bubbles   Test coherence. Lesser capacitors become confused and it’s a mess.
 

Silmic II
 
By itself is good enough. It is so deep and rich, I cant get away from my computer. The sound is thick and rich and full and enveloping and powerful. I feel the bass in my chest. The soundstage is deep, 3 dimensional, every instrument is locked into place, rock solid and separate from each other.
 
Silmic II bypassed with 10nf MKP 1837
 

So I try the MKP 1837. Usually very good at cleaning up and “etching” the top end.
In this case it is just harsh. Just the Silmic leave natural sibilance natural sounding, just the SSSS that is produced with certain words. The MKP 1837 make it a grating CHCHCHCHCH. Arianna Savall is too sibilant and Gazpacho is intolerable. This is not a successful bypass. Also it made the sound stage feel much less 3D. So I had to take those off.

 
Silmic II bypassed with Silver Mica
 

My impression? I don’t know... tough to pinpoint. Only way i can describe it is that it sounds “lighter” in the treble area. Its not crisper, there is no sibilance, nothing etched but the top end sounds lighter in a soft way. Its not harming the soundstage much.  It is deep, with all the instruments and sounds floating in their proper location but the “softness” causes a slight loss of coherence. This becomes evident with songs like  “Bubbles” from Yosi Horikawa. Its as though there is a soft halo around the treble.
This is a very very nice sound. I could live with this.
The only sensible next step would be Teflon. So lets try those.
 
Silmic II bypassed with Teflon

The soundstage is absolutely correct. There is no sibilance. The teflons seem to have brought that very last 2% of clarity to everything. Could I reliably A-B test and pick it out though? I don’t know. It is not harming the feel of the silmics. There is warmth and body. It preserves everything that the silmics do right but add clarity to the whole picture. But this is a very subtle addition. It is just.. right. This is very very good.
All the micro-details are there, every shimmer from the cymbals is there. Gazpacho is great. The bass is fast. The voice is not screechy, The cymbals don't become a mess. Very dynamic. This is very very good.

 
 
Elna Cerafine
 
not as good as silmic. There is magic missing. The clarity is nice, the tone seems correct. It’s just not as awesome. Its more fatiguing than the Silmics. The cerafines are not producing details that the silmics are not. It just seems accentuated. This is not better and I am missing the Silmics. Don't get me wrong, these are excellent sounding caps but just missing some weight and "magic"
The difference can be described as a 60 lb kid on a trampoline jumping 5 feet in the air. He goes up and comes down and up and down. Now imagine a 300 lb dude jumping 5 feet in the air on the trampoline. They both move the same distance but the impact felt by the trampoline is different. That is how this feels. The notes are there but its not taking you and forcing you to rock and tap to the rhythm.... it's optional.
 
 
Panasonic SEPF 390uf
 

So I thought it would be good to find out at what voltage the sockets were running at before using a 20V capacitor. My Xonar is at 16.7v from – to + so I am ok with these caps.
There is more information in the music than with Silmic II. It is almost sibilant but it isn’t. It is just very very fast. You can hear every shimmer of cymbals. You can hear where on the cymbal the drum stick hits. All the micro detail is there. The bass is full and taught. It does not become confused.
But.. that fat, warm, luscious bass from the Silmic.. I miss it. Perhaps it is colored but I want it.
A perfectly cooked steak is delicious, but adding seasoned butter is good too.
It is so clean it is addictive. It sounds like the silmic when bypassed with the teflons.
Impression: Very clear, very clean, wide open, neutral. This is very very good.

 
 
How about the buffer?
 

Current Setup
AD797BRZ I/V with Panasonic SEPF
LME49990 Buffer with Silmic II
Fantastic. Amazing. I cant turn it off to test anything else. The bass is right. The mids are right. The treble is right. It is soooo fast but not etched. You are retrieving all the information there is to be had in a recording.
 

 
SEPF on the I/V and the Buffer.
This presentation is missing magic. Ariana sounds correct, but im not melting into the music, im not marveling. It is more 2D. It is slightly sibilant.  This combo is not as good.
also, the LME49990 was definitely getting warmer.
 
 

Next up, SEPF on lme49990 buffer and Silmic on the AD797 I/V:
Not sibilant. Warm and musical. But I feel like im missing the extra detail from the SEPF on the I/V stage:
 
Next up: SEPF back on the AD797 and a bigger silmic on the LME49990 buffer.
390 uf for the I/V is not hurting anything. Lets see if 470uf on the buffer is ok.
Result: it makes no difference except that it is huge and looks stupid. No benefit over 10uf.

 
 

Next up LT1028A in buffer. No Cap: Bass is overblown, slightly flabby. It does not sound as liquid as the LME49990.
There are resonances that are not quite right. Good detail retrieval. Chips are warm. need to add the Silmic

 
With Silmic: Brings it all together. Bass is tighter. Smooths it out. Does not have the same sound stage as the LME49990. Seems more fatiguing. Not better.
 
Next up: LME49720HA with Silmic. Really good bass. Not sibilant. Treble is well defined. Actually a very good opamp but not as good as LME49990.
 

Current setup:
going back to Silmic with Teflon bypass on AD797 in I/V and Silmic on the LME49990 in the buffer.
This is very very good. The sound stage is phenomenal. The musicality is phenomenal, the prat is phenomenal.
 
my current recommendation:
if you have a xonar, put AD797B in the I/V stage and bypass it with 10uf Silmic II and a little Teflon. Alternatively, use a Panasonic SEPF. I have some 22uf ordered and will let you know if the smaller capacity makes a difference. Based on my experiment with the 470uf Silmic, I am guessing not.
 
Put a LME49990 in the buffer stage and bypass it with 10uf Silmic II.
 
This combo is really very very good.
 
If anyone tries this out, let us know your impressions.

 
Super details! Thanks for the detailled informationo
 
Aug 8, 2015 at 12:23 PM Post #4,931 of 7,354
Hi Spud!
 
I am using the dual 49990 as well. Throw one of those caps on there. Be patient. This is my biggest problem. As you can see from my previous posts, I jumped around quite a bit and its not the right approach.
I could call it an update, but I am back to all Silmic on the Xonar. Silmic on AD797 in I/V and Silmic on the 49990 buffer. I thought it would be good to go back to my original baseline and see what my opinion of it is now, compared to all the recent changed I heard.
What I found out is the recommended 100 hour burn in for Silmic is a real thing. I thought, perhaps because these are so small it will go faster. Nope.
Here is what happens with Silmic II:  first 4 hours are phenomenal, and then suddenly you wonder if there is enough treble. Was it missing it all along? 5-85 hours.. its pretty good but not what you remember. Bypass mania ensues... how to fix it.. to get it to what it was.. pass the 100 hrs mark and all is well again. Sparkly, sweet top end. Deep deep and tight bass. So much air. All instruments are perfectly placed in space. Basically what I said in my first post.
So now I cant get myself to pull out the Silmics again.
 
Please let me know your impressions of those muse bipolars. I was actually curious about those and would love to know what you think. Also, you need to try a Silmic II.
 
What are you using it in? Amp? DAC?
 
Aug 8, 2015 at 2:27 PM Post #4,932 of 7,354
Those bipolars contribute to a muted sound.  Bad idea, in my opinion.
 
Aug 8, 2015 at 7:16 PM Post #4,933 of 7,354
Thanks for the input guys, not tried anything tonight as we had a movie night with the kids :grinning:

I have stumbled across various MK Wima polypropylene in my stash (from when I was building cmoys). Using Opamps and buffers in my Ibasso built Fi-quest....




 
Aug 10, 2015 at 10:36 AM Post #4,934 of 7,354
Hey Spud,
 
nice opamp collection! I see you already have the LME49600 buffers in place.
Do you have any AD797 in your collection? If so, why don't you try putting a Silmic II on those and a Cerafine on the buffers. Let it burn in for 100 hrs. I would really love to know what your opinion is on that combo.
 
Aug 10, 2015 at 4:30 PM Post #4,935 of 7,354
Hey Spud,

nice opamp collection! I see you already have the LME49600 buffers in place.
Do you have any AD797 in your collection? If so, why don't you try putting a Silmic II on those and a Cerafine on the buffers. Let it burn in for 100 hrs. I would really love to know what your opinion is on that combo.


Thanks pelopidas... Yes I have a few AD797's. I will get on it and report back.


 

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