user02
Head-Fier
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- Jun 20, 2011
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Is there any proof that OpAmps sound different? I've been going through the Opamp thread and noticed people talking about how opamps sound different.
It is when people start to claim they can 'feel' the difference I get really annoyed.
The answer is yes opamps sound different as so many, such as those in the opamp thread find they sound different. The real question should be, what causes opamps to sound different? Is it the opamp itself or the listener and their baises and expectations.
So you ask about the real question, what causes 0p-amps to sound different, fair enough! But when you say is it the op-amp itself or the listener and their biases and expectations, that's implying one can't hear the difference.... I know several of listeners and myself who listened with me while changing OP-A sets in my DAC that couldn't believe the difference in the sounds of these different OP-A sets! We all heard a night and day difference in the sound of different Op-amp sets... Read this link if I can post it. By the way I'm not trying to start an argument with you or any other member of this post, but I hope most of you guys CAN hear a difference in most of these changes in our equipment..http://sound.westhost.com/dwopa.htm#rules
Not disbelieving you but...Thanks for that.
You did Blind tests right ?YES
You level matched to +/- 0.1db ?YES
You used the same track for each comparison ?YES
What was the switching delay ?How ever long it took to change the OP-A's After listening and taking notes on the sound, of each set!
What were your expectations prior ? None, Just wondering what would be the audible difference (if any)!
How did you prevent opinion cross-contamination ? Didn't have any pre- opinions of the sound differences.
Why not measure the different outputs using the different op amps that would be **much** more informative and allow detailed comparisons Yes it would prove the output being some what different but when you don't know what set of OPA's your buddy changed and you heard a difference, then compared your notes from previous sounds in the same song, that's all I and my partners needed to pick what OPA's fit and sounded best in my system!, Sorry if this is not enough for you or others!
The number of times a night and day difference disappears when cues are removed makes it certain that sighted tests have extremely limited utility for verifying if perceived differences are real or imagined, amps that are wildly different often become indistinguishable, $12K CD players sound the same as $200 DVD players, boutique DACs indistinguishable from Digital EQs - this happens again and again and again. This is why when I read night and day differences elsewhere I just ignore them. Here however we expect a greater level of evidence and sighted poorly controlled comparisons are insufficient for that purpose.Not to be a smart ass, and dispute your words, but I've always thought highly of your post and the help you given many members concerning our hobbies Equipment! Haven't you ever noticed a HUGE/ or noticeable difference in any changes that you've made in any of your equipment? (Maybe night and Day) was the wrong words to use but it was clear-cut difference.
Certainly op amps measure differently, whether they are different enough to be audibly different in-circuit can only be judged on a case by case basis and with more rigorously garnered evidence.AGREE
A smart-arse which I am not might suggest that some of the opamps you installed were inappropriate for the circuit and oscillated/were starved of current...thus resulting in audible differences. How sound signatures spring forth from opamp designs that all aim for vaguely similar things measurably seems a little confusing. I have a hard time picturing Texas Instruments engineers designing opamps by ear.