[Ghoostknight]

thoughts of replacing JRC 5532 in a DAC output with something else that's easily available? if yes, what would you recommend. nothing too exotic. Thanks

probably the best/most individual way of doing this is reading the described sound signatures and pick one you may like from the description

OPA1656/OPA627/OPA1612/OPA1692 (OPA828 would be a upgraded OPA627 which i still need to try out) would be my picks in this order if we are speaking chip-opamps

tho i was surprised how good the 5532 sounded that came as the default opamp in my aune x8 (but it also has some weaknesses, i was specially surprised about the topend (but it can be annoying) if i remember right)

 

[mrjayviper]

I think I may have enough OPA627BP to make 6 pairs. I just need to look for them.

 

[Lobarkaine]

thoughts of replacing JRC 5532 in a DAC output with something else that's easily available? if yes, what would you recommend. nothing too exotic. Thanks

If you are looking for something not exotic you may try the TI NE5532P or the Philips NE5532N or take a look at the LM4562NA/LME49720NA/LME49860NA as a straight 5532 replacement.
If it may help you I have done a comparative test you may found at this link:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/dual-op-amps-audio-test-on-dap-and-usb-dac.966422/

 

[zachgraz]

An update from me.
I have settled on 4x OPA1656 in my Burson headphone amp and 4x OPA1655 in my Ayon DAC. The OPA1655 is the single channel version of the OPA1656.
Amazing value and no more urge to upgrade. In my case the OPA828 has been a clear upgrade to the OPA627 but the OPA1656 is an upgrade to the OPA828.
I used 4 Burson V6 Vivid in my Burson headphone amp but I have replaced them all with OPA1656. Same resolution but simply more drive.
The Burson V6 Classic and V6 Vivid single neither did the trick in my Ayon DAC. The OPA1655s are amazing!
I am selling off my OPA828s 4x single and 2x in dual configuration if anyone is interested (EU).

 

[Ghoostknight]

An update from me.
I have settled on 4x OPA1656 in my Burson headphone amp and 4x OPA1655 in my Ayon DAC. The OPA1655 is the single channel version of the OPA1656.
Amazing value and no more urge to upgrade. In my case the OPA828 has been a clear upgrade to the OPA627 but the OPA1656 is an upgrade to the OPA828.
I used 4 Burson V6 Vivid in my Burson headphone amp but I have replaced them all with OPA1656. Same resolution but simply more drive.
The Burson V6 Classic and V6 Vivid single neither did the trick in my Ayon DAC. The OPA1655s are amazing!
I am selling off my OPA828s 4x single and 2x in dual configuration if anyone is interested (EU).

oh kinda surprises me you exchanged V6 Vivids with the OPA1656, while i also think the OPA1656 is a very good chip opamp (actually the best chip opamp i heared), i think the V6 Vivid is a somewhat clear upgrade, atleast for the most part

the one/two things i noticed with the OPA1656 is it has really good (but maybe overemphasized) bass and probably the least sibilance at all but the V6 Vivid shines at other things (mostly "overall" i would easly describe it) i really like old records with the V6 for example and with the OPA1656 i was mostly listening to new stuff

How much you want for a 828 dual (shipped to germany)? while i dont have the urge to try it i still miss it in my collection

 

[Voxata]

probably the best/most individual way of doing this is reading the described sound signatures and pick one you may like from the description

OPA1656/OPA627/OPA1612/OPA1692 (OPA828 would be a upgraded OPA627 which i still need to try out) would be my picks in this order if we are speaking chip-opamps

tho i was surprised how good the 5532 sounded that came as the default opamp in my aune x8 (but it also has some weaknesses, i was specially surprised about the topend (but it can be annoying) if i remember right)

I REALLY enjoy the OPA1652 as well, a fantastic chip!

 

[Ghoostknight]

I REALLY enjoy the OPA1652 as well, a fantastic chip!

do you think its better than the OPA1656? i did not try the OPA1652 yet, but the OPA1656 "clearly" sounded better than the OPA2156

one thing that gets my kinda curious about the CMOS design of the OPA1656, are there any "true upgrades" to the OPA1656 yet? since its already a few years old, atleast i havnt heard of any succesors

from what i read the CMOS design has a clear advantage in high impedance loads (for example compared to the famous OPA1612) and im wondering if this is the reason it sounds so good with my 10k ohm input impedance studio monitors/speakers

i will compare the following days the Burson V6 Vivid with the OPA1656

 

[zachgraz]

oh kinda surprises me you exchanged V6 Vivids with the OPA1656, while i also think the OPA1656 is a very good chip opamp (actually the best chip opamp i heared), i think the V6 Vivid is a somewhat clear upgrade, atleast for the most part

the one/two things i noticed with the OPA1656 is it has really good (but maybe overemphasized) bass and probably the least sibilance at all but the V6 Vivid shines at other things (mostly "overall" i would easly describe it) i really like old records with the V6 for example and with the OPA1656 i was mostly listening to new stuff

How much you want for a 828 dual (shipped to germany)? while i dont have the urge to try it i still miss it in my collection

Hi, I am not too excited about Burson OP amps - in my setups they have really great resolution and soundstage but they lack "drive" - they sound somewhat restrained and for whatever reason all af them seem to cause slight channel imbalances. With 4 Burson V6 Vivid in my Burson headphone amp the bass was not precise - it sounded all kind of muddy.

 

[Ghoostknight]

Hi, I am not too excited about Burson OP amps - in my setups they have really great resolution and soundstage but they lack "drive" - they sound somewhat restrained and for whatever reason all af them seem to cause slight channel imbalances. With 4 Burson V6 Vivid in my Burson headphone amp the bass was not precise - it sounded all kind of muddy.

oh this kind of surprises me, tho maybe the remaining system plays a big role here too

for me (atleast from memory, but i will compare the OPA1656 and V6 Vivid against eachother in the coming days) the OPA1656 had maybe a bit more bass (specially deep bass, probably under 40-50hz) but the V6 has very accurate bass

maybe the channel imbalance comes from the fact you have to use 4x V6, so i would guess they run in mono ? atleast burson says the level match the transistors on each V6 but im not sure how the device to device difference is
i just use one V6 Vivid on my Aune X8 and have not notice any imbalance

i specially really like the V6 with older recordings (like 70s/80s or older, or newer ones with "retro mics") they do some kind of magic in this case and i have not heard this with any chip op amp
the only thing that annoys me a bit with the V6 Vivid is that it sounds a bit sibilant, specially on bad recordings, good recordings have a somewhat natural kind of sibilance i would say, here the OPA1656 really shines and shows nearly no sibilance at all even with less than good recordings

 

[Voxata]

do you think its better than the OPA1656? i did not try the OPA1652 yet, but the OPA1656 "clearly" sounded better than the OPA2156

one thing that gets my kinda curious about the CMOS design of the OPA1656, are there any "true upgrades" to the OPA1656 yet? since its already a few years old, atleast i havnt heard of any succesors

from what i read the CMOS design has a clear advantage in high impedance loads (for example compared to the famous OPA1612) and im wondering if this is the reason it sounds so good with my 10k ohm input impedance studio monitors/speakers

i will compare the following days the Burson V6 Vivid with the OPA1656

Depends on your gear and how it sounds as to which will be better. I liked 2156 in a servo spot and even worked great in I/V of a Bifrost OG. The OPA1656 was a bit more on the linear side, while still great. The 1652 is like the 1656 but warmer, so I rather liked it. Love it in my Freya S nexus gain stage. Each circuit reacts to swaps different so, as with everything best to test and decide.

 

[AJCxZ0]

I plan to listen to more tracks of varying quality and type, occasionally twiddling the bass and treble knobs, listening with the Robin and my other headphones before switching back to the NE5532Ps to get another impression.

So I did, mostly my big planar Thieaudio Phantom with NULLKEAI Replacement Thicken Earpads For Monolith M1060 Headphones Earmuff Cover Cushion Cups. My initial impression that "the sound became more intense, revealing and dynamically expanded" remained consistent while not being especially pronounced - almost certainly due to the fact that they are installed a tube pre-amp.
After much casual listening, I got serious and put on some Awdee O'File 24 bit 96 kHz FLAC tracks from Yosi Horikawa. While proper A/B testing remained unavailable, the experience with the Burson op-amps was more [I've got this far without saying it, so...] vivid.

Convinced that the improvement was real with no audible detriments, I went about the task of trying to use the extension sockets with the case (almost) closed. As usual, a little cleverness combined with a not-so-little amount of force lead to a qualified success.

Since I took no photos of the clever part and hesitate to open the case to take some, the method involved holding the bottom of the plastic sheaths over each set of pins and bending them almost ninety degrees to get the cables to go sideways from the DIP 8 sockets and not block the case, then interleaving the wires so they they could be guided through the smallest possible gap between the case and the front panel. Tightening the hex nuts through the front panel into the case brought it within a squished wire of closed, leaving sufficient room for the tubes to fit through their holes.

 

[Lobarkaine]

So I did, mostly my big planar Thieaudio Phantom with NULLKEAI Replacement Thicken Earpads For Monolith M1060 Headphones Earmuff Cover Cushion Cups. My initial impression that "the sound became more intense, revealing and dynamically expanded" remained consistent while not being especially pronounced - almost certainly due to the fact that they are installed a tube pre-amp.
After much casual listening, I got serious and put on some Awdee O'File 24 bit 96 kHz FLAC tracks from Yosi Horikawa. While proper A/B testing remained unavailable, the experience with the Burson op-amps was more [I've got this far without saying it, so...] vivid.

Convinced that the improvement was real with no audible detriments, I went about the task of trying to use the extension sockets with the case (almost) closed. As usual, a little cleverness combined with a not-so-little amount of force lead to a qualified success.

Since I took no photos of the clever part and hesitate to open the case to take some, the method involved holding the bottom of the plastic sheaths over each set of pins and bending them almost ninety degrees to get the cables to go sideways from the DIP 8 sockets and not block the case, then interleaving the wires so they they could be guided through the smallest possible gap between the case and the front panel. Tightening the hex nuts through the front panel into the case brought it within a squished wire of closed, leaving sufficient room for the tubes to fit through their holes.

I've not experience with the Burson opamps, in my Aiyima A3 Iìm testing the Muses 01 in the I/V stage and works fine velvety and detailed, since the huge dimension of the Burson V6i I imagine them used in a more big enclosures, if I have the possibility I will try in the future the V5i-d. Has anyone experience with this opamp?

 

[Voxata]

So I did, mostly my big planar Thieaudio Phantom with NULLKEAI Replacement Thicken Earpads For Monolith M1060 Headphones Earmuff Cover Cushion Cups. My initial impression that "the sound became more intense, revealing and dynamically expanded" remained consistent while not being especially pronounced - almost certainly due to the fact that they are installed a tube pre-amp.
After much casual listening, I got serious and put on some Awdee O'File 24 bit 96 kHz FLAC tracks from Yosi Horikawa. While proper A/B testing remained unavailable, the experience with the Burson op-amps was more [I've got this far without saying it, so...] vivid.

Convinced that the improvement was real with no audible detriments, I went about the task of trying to use the extension sockets with the case (almost) closed. As usual, a little cleverness combined with a not-so-little amount of force lead to a qualified success.

Since I took no photos of the clever part and hesitate to open the case to take some, the method involved holding the bottom of the plastic sheaths over each set of pins and bending them almost ninety degrees to get the cables to go sideways from the DIP 8 sockets and not block the case, then interleaving the wires so they they could be guided through the smallest possible gap between the case and the front panel. Tightening the hex nuts through the front panel into the case brought it within a squished wire of closed, leaving sufficient room for the tubes to fit through their holes.

This is incredibly interesting!

 

[Ghoostknight]

Here is my comparision between the OPA1656 and V6 Vivid

Differences of the OPA1656 compared to the V6 Vivid:
- a little less gain (or more dynamic, but im pretty sure its less gain)
- less seperation
- more (or maybe "better detailed") sub-bass (40-50hz and down) (tho for me the overall picture on the V6 sounds more "cohesive" even with less sub-bass)
- voices sound less natural and i would say it sounds more "flat/boring" beside the somewhat exciting sub-bass
- less (emotional) engaging
- the V6 Vivid sounds "fuller" and a little more retro/natural, which i specially like on older or less good recordings
- the V6 sounds better overall, the only good thing in comparision seems to be the sub-bass of the OPA1656 (atleast for me)

maybe the V6 has more harmonics which makes it sounds so much better than the flat sounding OPA1656? tho i really like it overall!

i should also say that this comparision just trys to quantify the changes between the OPA1656 and V6 Vivid, the OPA1656 in comparision to other chip opamps sounds very good and not "bad" at all

---

one other thing:
i just switched my Nichicon KZ 10uF bypass capacitor against a Nichicon KZ 47uF and while i tested them before, the 47uF sounds much better now (overall smoother and deeper bass) which wasnt really "obvious" before

(the comparision i made was with 47uf)

im wondering if some of you played around with bypass capacitors like me
right now im thinking about trying 3x 22uF Nichicon KZ + 0,01uF MKP
3x22uF for less ESR and the MKP as high frequency bypass (and maybe it does something to the sound too (maybe better transients?))
i can try to fit 3x 47uF too, i read that smaller values act like a highpass which makes kinda sense in depper/louder bass i heared with the 47uF one

Can you maybe help here or have any ideas @Thorsten Loesch ?

one other note: if you are into opamp rolling, TRY bypass capacitors!! they make a great difference imo

 

[Lobarkaine]

I've finish my my personal sonic sintetic reviews of all the opamps I've. For who that could be interest:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/dual-op-amps-sound-test-on-dap-and-usb-dac.966422/

This is my last post on this forum.

Have fun and good music to all.