[rigo]

My dad actually built it for me.  I confirmed the height with feet with Alvin and my dad made it just tall enough for it to fit.  I would have gone a bit higher but it was also made so that my computer monitor was at eye level.  About an inch clearance total bottom and top so I'm good with it. 

 

[uncola]

nice, I had a custom desk stand made for schiit mjolnir/gungnir to their exact dimensions but since I no longer use schiit stuff it's just a shelf for junk
 

 

[makarushka]

Just to let anyone interested know that Burson V5SS dual opamp fits fine in the stock unit -- it does on mine, at least. The ribbon sits on top with no pressure on it, and can also be routed to the side with no stress either. See pics:
 

 

 

[uncola]

That's cool, the burson v5 ss is smaller than the one I was trying to fit in there, but good to know!  Let us know how it changes the sound when you have time

 

[rigo]

Improved sound with Burson opamp?

 

[rudra]

An alternative to Burson would be Dexa opamps. I used the Dexa's in a EE minimax DAC.  There are shorter than the Burson.

 

[uncola]

Not sure if they fit, but the hot trendy discrete opamps that get discussed are the sparkos and especially the sonic imagery but they are pretty wide so they might not fit.  Burson said they'd send me some V5i smaller opamps to try and I'll definitely report back when those arrive.
Seems like the regular V5 discrete opamps fit based on the earlier posters picture..  Only my giant Audiofeel discrete opamps from the mysterious land of south korea won't fit, but it's by far the tallest opamp in the known universe!

 

[uncola]

ok so I wrote a review of the ps audio gain cell dac I recently got, not sure I should paste the whole thing here so I'll just post the TLDR version and the link.  Basically I prefer the Vinshine r2r dac!  But the gain cell dac is close behind
 
TLDR version: (Gain Cell DAC)As good as my Vinshine r2r dac in general, but less noise filtering on usb and I slightly prefer the character of my r2r dac in general so going to second setup until I get a better source with non-usb inputs to try out.(have something pre-ordered already of course). Preamp and Headphone amp extremely good and should be mentioned more in marketing!  
 
full review:  http://www.psaudio.com/forum/stellar-dac-and-amps/beta-tester-reviews/page-2/#p67694

 

[foreverzer0]

  ok so I wrote a review of the ps audio gain cell dac I recently got, not sure I should paste the whole thing here so I'll just post the TLDR version and the link.  Basically I prefer the Vinshine r2r dac!  But the gain cell dac is close behind
 
TLDR version: (Gain Cell DAC)As good as my Vinshine r2r dac in general, but less noise filtering on usb and I slightly prefer the character of my r2r dac in general so going to second setup until I get a better source with non-usb inputs to try out.(have something pre-ordered already of course). Preamp and Headphone amp extremely good and should be mentioned more in marketing!  
 
full review:  http://www.psaudio.com/forum/stellar-dac-and-amps/beta-tester-reviews/page-2/#p67694

 
I'm curious how the r2r-ref compares to the other dac's they're distributing -- the denafrip line of dacs, and especially the Ares that's half the price. It seems to be a giant killer. There's also the new Oppo Sonica in between that price range.

 

[makarushka]

Improved sound with Burson opamp?

 
Yes, quite a bit; I wanted to give it enough time to draw any comparisons. At this point music's been playing through the dac with the Burson V5 non-stop for over a week, and I have listened for several hours before and after this burn-in. Prior to the opamp change, I found the headphone amp section rather shrill, lacking body, and rendering the highs in a rather aggressive, if not unpleasant, manner. There was a wonderful clarity and a hint of greatness but overall the signature was not to my taste. The Burson brought more body, a sense of larger and deeper stage, and tamed the highs just enough that now I quite enjoy the sound. The low end control also seems massively extended with the Burson -- the bass goes deeper and tighter. A Beyer 770 Pro with this amp is now a basshead's dream As often with such upgrades and reviews -- it is all obviously very subjective. While I would not call it a complete transformation like listening to a different device, I will say the change is significant enough that for me personally it changed the headphone amp section from something I didn't quite enjoy to something I will love to listen to regularly.
 
Headphones tried with it: HD650, Alessandro MS-2, Beyer DT770 Pro.

 

[uncola]

burson is sending me a v5i hybrid discrete/ic opamp to try out, hopefully it yields some nice headphone amp improvement  it shipped yesterday!

 

[uncola]

Burson Sound Supreme V5I opamps arrived!  testing it first in the headphone amp in the dac-r2r-ref.
It's still warming up, haven't listened yet.
 
Step 1, small medium large opamps.  v5i container, v5 container(empty) and audiofeel opa3301 still in foil wrapping
 

 
Step 2, The right tools for the job, an ic puller
 

 
Step 3: Detach ribbon cable, make sure pin 1 is aligned, in this case the pin 1 dot was in the top right corner, when the volume knobs are on the right and the toroids are on the bottom closest to you.  Make sure all 8 legs are in all 8 holes
 

 
Step 4:  Push the opamp down, make sure the legs go straight into the hole and don't bend.  Make sure it's fully seated
 

 
Step 5, admire your work.  Don't forget to plug the ribbon cable back in.
 

 
bonus pic:  I swear, I'll find a way to use this giant Audiofeel opa3301 opamp some day.  Even with the ribbon cable removed, it wouldn't fit because the pcb of the opamp banged into the capacitor next to the opamp dip8 socket!
 

 

[uncola]

Hmm I don't get any sound when I try either burson v5i opamp I got sent.. I made double sure pin 1 was aligned..  I put the original opa2134pa back in and I get sound again from the headphone out..  I made sure it was set to VAR instead of FIXED and I turned it on and off.  I don't get it.  makarushka had it working with a burson v5 fully discrete opamp.. it should be compatible..  these are the dual opamp for right/left in one opamp.. I'm 100% certain that's right..  damn maybe I should email burson

 

[uncola]

alvin any ideas?  could it be the gain settings for the headphone amp board?  I left it at stock, all set to ON.  I think that's 20db?

 

[alvin1118]

Unlikely caused by the gain. May try to switch both the gain switches to off (0dB)

Could it be DOA opamp ?