[AdamZuf]

what are the darkest opamps that it's possible to install on the PPA?
o know the CD3000 are brighter then the HD600 - but now,after having more listening on the PPA/CD3000 combo - is it musicaly bright, never too bright?

 

[doobooloo]

I don't know what the darkest opamps are, but the OPA637s are pretty warm. I like them.

Actually, I never found the CD3Ks to be too bright at normal listening volumes. Maybe because they've got such a tight low end as well, that the music doesn't seem off. But it is true that the ear starts hurting a lot more quickly as you raise the volume over that "normal listening volume" than say HD600s or even Graods because of the extremely detailed accurate top end. I don' think this satisfy the requirement for being musically bright, because when I'm actually enjoying the music at the volume level I want, I find the CD3Ks to be only pleasantly revealing and never fatiguing.

BUT like I sort of implied earlier, at times this extra detail will make the music sound rather unnatural and cans like Grados or HD600s will sound a lot more, well, natural. But that's just probably because the recording/mastering was done with warm cans/monitors and with the CD3Ks the detail seems overdone. But again, the ears know how to adjust and if you're only listening to CD3Ks all the time, haha, it's hard to tell...

Ears burning into the cans? Perhaps. But I like it!

[edit] Also, the PPA not only reveals more detail but also strengthens the low end a lot, which makes the combo not bright but just more defined and tight OVERALL.

 

[hottyson]

Quote:

Originally posted by doobooloo I just spent about two hours A/Bing the PPA with my Marantz 2230B (the only other headamp at this point)... -snip- Anyhow. What am I doing at 2:30 in the morning. I should have slept two hours ago, I've got class early in the morning... arrgh. Seriously though, this stupid hobby is killing my school life. What am I doing. I need to quit. Anyone wanna help? Or maybe I should just quit college and be a headphone bum. Hmm... Whatever. I need to sleep...

doobooloo,
I am shocked that you are not taking your school more seriously! I am very concerned for you. I recommend that you immediately pack up the PPA and the Sony CD3000. Send me a pm, and I will give you my address. As a favor to you I will keep a close watch on them until graduation day.
-hottyson

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally posted by doobooloo I don't know what the darkest opamps are, but the OPA637s are pretty warm. I like them. Actually, I never found the CD3Ks to be too bright at normal listening volumes. Maybe because they've got such a tight low end as well, that the music doesn't seem off. But it is true that the ear starts hurting a lot more quickly as you raise the volume over that "normal listening volume" than say HD600s or even Graods because of the extremely detailed accurate top end. I don' think this satisfy the requirement for being musically bright, because when I'm actually enjoying the music at the volume level I want, I find the CD3Ks to be only pleasantly revealing and never fatiguing. BUT like I sort of implied earlier, at times this extra detail will make the music sound rather unnatural and cans like Grados or HD600s will sound a lot more, well, natural. But that's just probably because the recording/mastering was done with warm cans/monitors and with the CD3Ks the detail seems overdone. But again, the ears know how to adjust and if you're only listening to CD3Ks all the time, haha, it's hard to tell... Ears burning into the cans? Perhaps. But I like it! [edit] Also, the PPA not only reveals more detail but also strengthens the low end a lot, which makes the combo not bright but just more defined and tight OVERALL.

Man stop, that's enough, I even yesterday had a nightmare, what's wrong with you man??? You will se mine pretty soon, just wait, but for now your are killing us, with all this raving........

 

[xtreme4099]

its true...

 

[vrom]

I read this threat with interest. But I am relatively speaking a "new born baby" in this high fidelity world. So can any of you give a more accurate description in layman's term "please" of the PPA? I understand it is a Do It Yourself project. Furthermore that people expiriment with different OP-amps (another question mark here)?

Just supposedly... I feel that this is what I need to purchase in my search for an upgrade but have little experience with soldering iron(y). Then.... yes that's the last question?

 

[Sovkiller]

Read here, all the info you need is there:

Tangent's website


Official PPA site

 

[tangent]

Quote:

Given that I loved the K501s so much before, I would love to try running it through the PPA with bass boost... I mean, the K501s are often criticized because of its lack of bass, but the PPA bass boost will definately compensate for it, perhaps making the duo one of the most transparent and lively combinations...?

I don't remember trying bass boost with the 501s, but transparent this combo most definitely is. I did a lot of my early testing with PPAs and 401s, and with a bright source the combination was unlistenable. It just drilled into your head. I treid the 501s later, and it was a similar deal.

Change the source, problem goes away.

I haven't tried Kx01s since changng the source. My HD580s have been attached to my main PPA ever since and they won't let go.

 

[tangent]

Quote:

people expiriment with different OP-amps (another question mark here)?

An op-amp is a small chip (integrated circuit) that amplifies voltages. In a PPA, it does the voltage amplification. Another type of chip, a buffer, does the power amplification, to drive the headphones. In some op-amp based headphone amps, the op-amp performs both functions.

 

[doobooloo]

Quote:

Originally posted by tangent I don't remember trying bass boost with the 501s, but transparent this combo most definitely is. I did a lot of my early testing with PPAs and 401s, and with a bright source the combination was unlistenable. It just drilled into your head. I treid the 501s later, and it was a similar deal. Change the source, problem goes away. I haven't tried Kx01s since changng the source. My HD580s have been attached to my main PPA ever since and they won't let go.

Which opamps were you using with the K501/401s? Given that you like the HD580s with the PPA, I'm assuming you've got the AD8610s in there?

Also, how are the AD843s? You recommend them as the other "best sounding opamp" along with the OPA627/37s - but you describe them as trading smoothness for detail - which seems contrary to the fact that it's an AD chip.

I'd really like to try the 843s out, but I'm not quite sure what exactly it is that I'll be buying... If you could enlighten me a little on these chips I'd really appreciate it!

 

[vrom]

Thanks for the info Sovkiller and Tangent...

Does anybody know how the PPA with quality parts compares with the top grade amps frequently discussed on this site? I heard a couple of impressions but no definite conclusions. Were does it stand?

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by vrom Thanks for the info Sovkiller and Tangent... Does anybody know how the PPA with quality parts compares with the top grade amps frequently discussed on this site? I heard a couple of impressions but no definite conclusions. Were does it stand?

Someone with a top grade source (i.e. really high end) would probably have to answer, since a solid state amp is meant to amplify and nothing else... easily forgotten in all the talk about "good sounding amps."

That said, the PPA measures really well -- often a sign that an amp at least has the potential to sound really good, too. But IMO -- an amp should sound just as good as one's source, only louder

.

 

[Sovkiller]

It was compared once with the Headroom Max ($1600.00 amp), ask JMT about that, he has both, I will tell you better as soon as I hear mine, I have heard just a few amps, (Gilmore V2, Perreaux, MGHead, and a few other low budget amps) but for now, the PPA is a relativelly new amp on the forum, there is no much experience dealing with it, OProlling etc....and the people who had heard a lot of amps maybe still have not heard it.....but if you wait I think that Hirsch one of our mods, and an owner of a huge amp arsenal, is "making love" with one is silence there, he maybe had a better asnwer for that question....but is taking so long!!!!

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally posted by FCJ Another confirmation--it's a super-detailed killer with the Sony 3Ks. Instrument separation and placement are also amazing.

Is it comparable to any of your other amps listed on your profile....

 

[doobooloo]

Here goes - my impression of the PPA with the AD8610BRs and the OPA637BPs/OPA627BP combo.

After about a week of listening and getting used to the PPA with the BB combo installed, I decided it was about time I slap the other, highly acclaimed opamp onto the amp and give it a try.

OK. At first, the opamps seemed to portray detail that somehow seemed to be lost with the BB opamps. Which actually made me like it, although it was really bright and forward with the CD3Ks. It just really sounded different, not only very accentuated on the highs that the BB add smoothness to, but tonally as well. For example, percussions in Diana Krall's Live in Paris sounded like they were two completely different sets.

So, this was how the first few hours went with the chips. Then, I realized, things were changing as the opamps were burning in - the killer highs were starting to slightly tame itself down, and bass was starting to become more prominent. This was really interesting because the OPA637s went through the exact same thing when I first plugged it into the PPA. At first the apparent detail and sharpness of sound was quite breathtaking (in a good way, actually) but as time passed by the sound became smoother and more natural. Same thing with the AD8610s - the highs were tamed and bass was coming alive.

After a few days with the chips and comparing with the OPA637s, now they sound more like each other. Not that they really sound alike, they're still very different, but the gap has narrowed. What's really interesting here is that although just two days ago I was convinced that the AD8610s actually portrayed detail better than the OPA637s, now I'm sure that it actually doesn't portray anything more - it just accentuates the highs so that it seems like there's more detail. In reality, in a sort of A/B comparison, soundstaging and ambient information portrayal was much better with the OPA637s - the AD8610s seemed flatter in comparison. The cymbals that sounded so strangely crisp initially with the AD8610s now sounded more like the cymbals of the OPA637s, more real - but lacked the microdetail that the OPA637s were able to portray in a very subtle fashion.

Now that both chips are burned in and have compared them quite extensively for several hours today, I can confidently say that the AD8610 is NOT superior in terms of detail portrayal but just more UPFRONT in its presentation which gives it an on-the-edge sound that can be very exciting with some music. But, the OPA637 clearly wins in terms of conveying information contained in the song, no matter how minute or subdued - and it does so in a fashion that is more natural than the AD8610s.

Also note, that even when the AD8610s were extra bright initially, I didn't find it overly bright. Just brighter, but still very listenable.

Oh, and I also did a quick comparison between the 637s and the 627s and I found the 627s to be slightly muddier compared to the 637s - the 637s presented a noticeably faster and clearer sound.

Ok... back to work...