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Good to know. How did you find the soundstage of LME49990. What about mids/treble, did you find any coloration from these op amps? Would you say the LME 49990 are warm sounding op amps, warmer than stock JRCs?
Do you think these would compliment well with the already v-shaped DT 990 Pro to smooth/tame the treble spike and bring out the mids without sacrificing soundstage?
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Have you ever tried the LME49720 before? hows it sound compared to the LME49990 and stock amps?
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Sorry i meant the AD797BR's*
Il definitely have to buy them if they're more detailed than the stock op amps.
I'll give some brief impressions. I've wasted way too much money on op amps for this sound card. Also, I've taken the shield off the card so many times that one of the screws will no longer screw in. If you plan to try many op amps, I recommend leaving the shield off until you settle on a set, and then put it back on.
My headphone is the Sennheiser HD 380 Pro. [Clear, neutral, slightly warm, slight emphasis in the mid-bass and midrange.] It is a low-impedance phone so I am using the normal gain.
JRC2114 (stock): It's easy to find faults with these, but after trying out a bunch of op amps it becomes obvious how good they actually are, and might be the best choice for the majority of people. If you think the stock sounds great, don't assume you can get a better sound just because the op amps are replaceable. Someone here wrote that they were not able to find op amps that sounded as good as the stock, and I totally respect that. I don't know if it has to do with the fact that the card was designed for these op amps, or they just sound good in themselves, but they have a sound that is the most dynamic and "fun."
However, I initially found them to be extremely bass-heavy, and wanted a more neutral sound. They can also sound a little harsh, which I think is just part of having a dynamic sound. They exhibit a strange soundstage to me, where the bass presents itself close to me, in kind of a left-right fashion, whereas the mid and upper ranges are further away, and only directly in front of me, in a kind of back-forward fashion. I prefer a more even, "in your head" type soundstage.
LME49720: I got these for free from TI.com using my student account. They definitely have a different sound, but I don't think it is an improvement. They emphasize the upper and mid ranges at the expense of bass. Coming from the stock, they will seem bass-deficient. They do have more detail than the stock, but the lack of bass and the added fatigue make them inferior in my opinion. They are also less dynamic and "fun."
AD797BR: I bought these from audjade_chn on ebay. I do not recommend them. They definitely wowed me when I first listened to them. They are hyper-detailed and extremely energetic. They also have a wide natural soundstage. The first problem is that I think they are bass-deficient. As in, zero bass. Again, coming from the stock this will be disappointing because the stock's best quality is its bass. Next, the hyper-detail brings the most fatigue of all the op amps. Finally, after a week or so of installing these I got very loud, noticeable, static-y distortion coming through the headphone amp. It was so present that I thought something was going on outside my window (and my headphones are closed). It even continued when I turned off the song. I'm not sure if I just got a bad one, or this is the "oscillation" that was referred to in this thread, but clearly something was wrong and I had to remove these. Even if I didn't have that problem, I still would prefer the sound quality of the stock over these. For me, a waste of money.
THS4032: I bought these from hifiic on ebay. These are the first I would consider a possible upgrade over the stock. As expressed in this thread, they are definitely the smoothest sounding. They are closer to neutral and have a great natural soundstage. However, I still would like more bass. They definitely have present bass, it might even be neutral, but again coming from the stock, they disappoint in this regard. The smoothness of sound and lack of bass "punch" make these sound a little "flat" to me, and less dynamic and fun compared to stock.
OPA2107, OPA2137: I got these for free from TI.com using my student account. I looked for op amps that could possibly compete with the stock in the bass department. They don't, and I found them inferior everywhere else, too. Waste of time, do not recommend.
LME49990: I bought these from frugalphile on ebay. These are the ones I am going to keep in the card. They possess the bass, dynamics, and "fun" of the stock, along with the smoothness of the THS4032, and added detail as well. The bass is great: present, tight, and defined. My only nitpick is that they possess similar soundstage characteristics to the stock, in that the bass feels close and side-to-side and the midrange feels center and a little further away. Since the stock have this too, I can't really consider it a flaw of the op amps. I'm really happy with these and highly recommend them. Also, I found frugalphile's workmanship of the circuits to be higher quality than the others and another benefit is he's an American seller so you don't have to wait for your op amps to arrive from China.
Recommended: LME49990, THS4032, or JRC2114 (stock).