[smengy1]

 Hello,
   I have a Auzentech X-Meridien 2g.  I made a dual lme49710ha module for it.  I complained on the board that the sound from them
while detailed,  was way too harsh.   So I ordered a OPA2111AM and a lme49720ha. 
 
Well the opa2111am,  I don't know if I fried it while soldering but one channel was weak.   As a matter of fact,
the good channel was weak as well.  So bah no real opinion of it sonically.
 
The lme49720 was great!!!  While it lasted.  The bass was booming!  The mids and Highs were juicy!!
I could blissfully punch the equalizer levels all the way up in the high band and the hissiness was not
bad at all.  It behaved and sounded like the old automobile equalizer I used to use to amp up
my Panasonic Platinum box that had a tape machine hooked to it.  
 
But after like 40 minutes as I was playing with the bass bands on equalizer,  and switching between
44, 48, 96 and the 19? sampling,  the left channel dropped like 40 decibels and started popping.
 
I took it out and put it back, still popped and was nearly dead with low output.
 
After awhile,  before I was going to throw it out,  i did a Fonzie and threw it on the floor,   denting the
99's metal cap.   Put it back in and it worked!!  Though after listening to it, it was now just as harsh as
the dual lme49710's!!!   
 
I guess one of my solder joints was bad?  I dunno.  Guess I'll try again.
It was really nice and warm sounding with lots of bass!!!   And the mids were smooth and juicy!!
If I can get a lme49720 to not **** out on me, it is definitely my choice for playback!!!
 
For mastering I am going to use the 710's because they pull up the clicks and pops in the vinyl and make
it easier for me to hear it and correct it with my Diamond Cut Audio.
 
The Auzentech is doing an incredible job of capturing the Audio off of my LP records.  I am floored at the quality.
I have to say I barely hear a difference from the recording and original.   Diamond cut does not use Asio4all, but
when I use that it is very close to a perfect capture of the recording.  Asio in that player with the alien head(sorry cant remember name)
amps and cleans it up to the level of the raw input of the turntable.  There is a very slight sound stage compression,  but thats fine
with me as the original recording is too lively sounding.  The very slight negative attenuation actually makes it sound better!!!

 

[qusp]

there are many reasons to go balanced, its not a magic bullet, but its not a myth. using the LCD2 and a fairly average balanced dac circuit isnt the best conditions, LCD2 are a piss easy load, one of the easiest headphones to drive of any type, so your main improvement will be from the dac, so i'm not surprised there was little difference. without a balanced source its pointless for all but a very few very inefficient headphones

 

[zilch0md]

I hear you qusp and I respect your expertise, greatly.
 
Indeed, my testing was done with the LCD-2 and a the iBasso DB2 - which I returned under iBasso's generous no questions asked 10-day trial guarantee, so I acknowledge that I was not impressed with the DB2 and thus, in my opinion, the DB2 fits your description of "a fairly average balanced dac circuit."
 
That said, I'm left wanting to understand your convictions.  Please elaborate.  What precisely does an excellent balanced DAC do for a balanced amp that an excellent single-ended DAC does not - and why?
 
Eager to learn,
 
Mike

 

[qqexpress]

Hey guys I own the Asus Xonar Essence One and am interested in opamps for it, can you guys recommend a good combination for the E1 > Sennheiser HD800 + Denon D7000?

 

[kiteki]

wtfwtfwtfwtwfwtwwfwffffffffffffffffffffff I just put LT1363 in ... hello?  This is the most surprising chip ever.
 
 
...and I just spent over $150 on To-99's ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[leeperry]

LT1363 is an amazing opamp, we thought you knew ^^

 

[kiteki]

I've seriously never heard of it apart from someone recommending using it as ground, with OPA627 in stereo L/R, I couldn't hear a jack-muffin......
 
Then I put LT1363 in L/R with AD797 as buffer (not supposed to but all the other buffers sound like ****) and then proceeded to wtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtf IT'S NOT HUMAN.

 

[leeperry]

Personally I love how its very high speed allows it to kinda recreate the room acoustics and it's like you can hear the room reverb, vocals also sound surreal. Of course, it's not perfect....I don't think any opamp apart from AD797B really is, especially when rolled blindly. MadMax finds it too colored IIRC.

 

[kiteki]

Are there any other chips like this one?  It makes OPA1612 sound like a joke.  I wasn't even expecting anything...... I should write a story about this chip.
 
 
The weird part is, I'm using my NOS DAC tonight, first time in a long time, I never knew NOS could sound so detailed, it's bizarre.

 

[leeperry]

I guess my top 5 would be AD797B, OPA602BP, OPA1611, LT1363 and LT1028AC in the right order. But it all depends on the surrounding circuit as these can't really be rolled blindly or they will oscillate like crazy.

 

[kiteki]

Ok, I just ordered 4x OPA602BP, never heard of it, ain't gonna read nothin', let's see if my thoughts on it coincide. =D
 
The LT, you said surreal vocals, is it kinda like chalk in a freezer?  In terms of note, not tone, still silky.

 

[Mad Max]

1363 sounds yucky and dull in my gear, ugh!
Crazy amounts of detail, though. Runs hotter than a frying pan, LOL! Definitely doesn't belong in my stuff.

Ha, my top opamps are OPA827, ADA4627-1B, AD797B, OPA602, OPA1611, and OPA209, in that order of preference. All pimped out with ceramics and MKP1837 or MKP416 caps on the psu pins.

 

[DingoSmuggler]

Quote:

1363 sounds yucky and dull in my gear, ugh!
Crazy amounts of detail, though. Runs hotter than a frying pan, LOL! Definitely doesn't belong in my stuff.
Ha, my top opamps are OPA827, ADA4627-1B, AD797B, OPA602, OPA1611, and OPA209, in that order of preference. All pimped out with ceramics and MKP1837 or MKP416 caps on the psu pins.

hot = oscillation

 

[Mad Max]

hot = oscillation

Thanks, I would have never guessed. Have you played with ADA4610?

 

[kiteki]

Well, I've had my amplifier on for over 10 hours at max volume (burn-in experiment), I just opened it up (yeah, I screwed it shut, that says somethin') and touched the chips... the LT's are like... a little under skin temperature, less warm than the skin on my neck, heh, I don't think there's any oscillation here. =]
 
It's the kind of intrinsic detail I've always ached for, no expectation bias since I wasn't expecting jack from them, lol.
 
No op-amp sounds perfect, unless you've been persuaded into reading specs, essays and dScopes, and delusionary thereafter.  Music isn't supposed to sound flat and neutral, OPA1611 with a STAX SR-009 and crystal cables is a joke...
 
"huh... I take it on and off... it sounds like... nothing!!  It's invisible!!  I can't hear any difference between this and... fresh air!!......  now all I need is a cloaking device and I won't even see it! ><"
 
 
Music is supposed to sound hyper-extended, hyper-detailed, with more distinct layering, closer intimacy at different frequencies, revealing in secret nuances within the music, with an intact, uplifting and unnatural tonal colour.
 
A karaoke room isn't "reference / flat" sound, it enhances the singers voice (just like studios), recording uses all kinds of microphones with tailored FR, to 'zoom in' on the right content.  Technology and spikes in your transducers will zoom in further for heightened perceptivity and impact.
 
 
As such, op-amps are all different flavours of soft-drink (except OPA627 which is tears in a vanilla milkshake), it's just most of them taste like Diet-Coke from a tin can, AD797 like Tonic Water, and LT1363 like Coke from a glass with ice and lemon.