XDuoo XD-05 Portable Dac/Amp Introduction - Impressions
Jun 12, 2021 at 3:14 AM Post #1,938 of 2,097
Hi All,

Burson Audio sent me a single V5i Opamp for free in exchange for my honest opinion. I received it an hour ago, installed it immediately on my Xduoo-XD-05 Plus and started listening.

First of all, thanks to John from Burson Audio for contacting me and sending the opamp. I really appreciate it.

I will need to sometime to post my opinion, one thing I instantly noticed is that it has little more gain compared to the stock one.

PXL_20210612_064448752~2.jpg



Regards
DSRK
 
Jun 14, 2021 at 8:47 AM Post #1,939 of 2,097
I got my xDuoo XD05 bal today. It is as expected very powerful, powering my IEMs at just 1/10 volume on low gain mode. (Tried two IEMs). But the issue is with HD600. While it is being driven at adequate volumes, I am facing noise and distortion to the extent that the HP is not usable here. Any suggestions on what might be the fault here? And yeah my HD600 with same cable works perfectly with my Cayin Desktop AMP.
 
Jun 24, 2021 at 11:50 AM Post #1,941 of 2,097
I got my xDuoo XD05 bal today. It is as expected very powerful, powering my IEMs at just 1/10 volume on low gain mode. (Tried two IEMs). But the issue is with HD600. While it is being driven at adequate volumes, I am facing noise and distortion to the extent that the HP is not usable here. Any suggestions on what might be the fault here? And yeah my HD600 with same cable works perfectly with my Cayin Desktop AMP.
I have heard same unwanted noise as well but after a week or two up until now it has gone for good and I already forgot about that issue until I read yours. Hope time will heal yours (after burning for a period of time, I guess)
 
Jun 27, 2021 at 9:36 AM Post #1,942 of 2,097
Hi, can any owner of xDuoo XD05 Plus Black please tell me if the unit looks black or kinda grayish?
 
Jul 1, 2021 at 1:00 PM Post #1,943 of 2,097
Hi, can any owner of xDuoo XD05 Plus Black please tell me if the unit looks black or kinda grayish?
I have the xduoo xd05 plus back and i'd say it is a good matte black and not grayish in any way.

Btw guys i wanna try opamp rolling with my xduoo xd05 plus and I'm stuck with a few options so I want some opinions. My options includes a set of 2 LME49990 at $42, a muse02 at $25, a AD827JN at $4 or something call a AD827SQ/883b for $4. The last two price seems a little bit scetchy and I don't know which of the first two is better/worth the price.
So what do you guys think.
 
Jul 1, 2021 at 1:32 PM Post #1,944 of 2,097
Of those, I'd recommend the AD827SQ or Muses02. I've got the LME49990 and it's better than average, but I didn't like it nearly as much as the 827 or Muses. The 49990 has a soft tone to it, and it's lacking some stage on the XD05+.

827SQ's are around $50, so I don't think you'd be getting a legit one for $4 : https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Analog-Devices/AD827SQ?qs=/tpEQrCGXCwzB8F8R4nKuA==

Muses02 is fairly close in quality to an 827SQ, at least in terms of pairing with the XD05+. If you are looking for a neutral sound, then the 827SQ is the best I've heard. If you are looking for a bright and clear sound (or if your headphones are on the warm side), then the Muses02 is the best I've heard in that category.

One last item to consider is that op amps will sound wildly different depending on the amp. There is no 'best' op amp on the market, as their sound is determined by the other parts in the amplifier. Everything I've said above is specifically for the XD05+.
 
Jul 1, 2021 at 2:36 PM Post #1,945 of 2,097
I am selling some legit AD827SQ on the classifieds if anyone's interested :3
 
Jul 2, 2021 at 9:23 AM Post #1,946 of 2,097
I have the xduoo xd05 plus back and i'd say it is a good matte black and not grayish in any way.

Btw guys i wanna try opamp rolling with my xduoo xd05 plus and I'm stuck with a few options so I want some opinions. My options includes a set of 2 LME49990 at $42, a muse02 at $25, a AD827JN at $4 or something call a AD827SQ/883b for $4. The last two price seems a little bit scetchy and I don't know which of the first two is better/worth the price.
So what do you guys think.
I'm using a pair of Muses02s in my BAL model and they sound fantastic.
 
Jul 13, 2021 at 12:12 AM Post #1,947 of 2,097
Over the last few months I've tested 42 different Op Amps in order to find one that makes the XD-05+ sound just as good as a high quality desktop amp. In short, I failed. The chip that sounds closest to my desktop reference is probably about 90% there. 90% is certainly close, but I really was hoping for perfection. Having tried almost all of the reputable chips, I would bet the remaining 10% is probably some other part of the Amplifier that would need to be upgraded (capacitors, or some other part of the design).

Below is some info on the chips, all of which is entirely subjective and mainly applies to the XD-05+. This is likely also relevant to the regular XD-05 (for dual chips), but I've got no way to confirm that. My main focus was to find a sound that is faithful to the original intent, and as close as possible to what a desktop amp would provide. That said, some chips are just technically better than others even if they aren't truly neutral, so trying to rank them gets complicated.

The Winner:

AD827SQ : Tonally perfect, with a semi 3D sound stage and great details. With this chip the only thing holding the Amp back is a little more separation and refined clarity on every note. It's close, but a desktop amp will still sound better in a subtle but noticeable way.

Notable Runner Ups:

AD829SQ: Just like the AD827SQ, but a little thinner. May be preferable if your headphones are a little thick by default.

AD827AQ: Similar to the 827SQ, but without the 3D stage, softer details, and an extended treble. Costing less than half of the SQ, this is a great choice if you don't feel like spending for the SQ, and don't mind a treble that extends all the way without being sibilant.

AD829AQ: Just like the AD827SQ, but with a little less of everything (stage, details, separation, etc...)

Muses02: Slightly higher than neutral which leads to a much 'clearer' sound compared to the 827SQ. Very good separation and stage, but the downside of this chip is that it is brighter and thinner than it should be. May be a good choice if you have dark or thick sounding headphones.

Muses03: Brilliant stage and details, marred by a much lower than neutral tone. This probably has the best stage and separation of all the chips. The treble is very rolled off, leading to a much lower than expected tone. May be a great choice for those that have overly bright headphones, or those that are very treble sensitive. Those looking for neutral should look elsewhere though.

Burson V5i: The thread favorite. Going by majority consensus this is the chip to get. As far as technical performance goes, it is excellent. Great stage width, depth, and details. What keeps this from being my #1 or #2 is the much darker than neutral tone, and a subtly loose bass response. It's not as tonally low as the Muses03, but it's close. Every note is a bit off which is fine for most music, but with electronic music it's very noticable.

Other Chips worth mentioning:

OPA627: Renowned in many DIY forums for many different setups, but it just doesn't work that well in the XD-05. Produces a good sound, but overall flat and boring.

Muses01: Way north of neutral in tone. All notes are brighter than they should be. The only nice thing about this chip is how clear everything is, but that is just due to how thin the mids are.

Muses8920: Of the Muses this one is closest to neutral. Less bright than the Muses02, but just a hint north of neutral and a bit thin. It has better stage and separation than most regular chips, but lacks refinement compared to Muses02 and Muses03. May shine with the right headphone setup, and also costs significantly less than the rest of the Muses line.

OPA1612 (Stock): Similar to OPA627, this is also renowned in DIY forums. It seems like a technically capable chip, but something about it isn't right in the XD-05. Puts out a dark, muffled, and mostly flat sound in this application.

Here's the rest of the breakdown. This is not ordered in a true ranking. I've got details on all the chips, but it would take too long to truly rank them. I doubt anyone cares which one is #37 as opposed to #38 (I certainly don't), so they are just categorized more in generalized groups:

Op AmpSingle/DualRank
AD827SQDual1- Best
AD829SQSingle2 - Excellent
AD829AQSingle2 - Excellent
Muses02Dual2 - Excellent
Muses03Single2 - Excellent
AD827AQDual2 - Excellent
AD822Dual2 - Excellent
AD828Dual2 - Excellent
Burson V5iDual2 - Excellent
AD811Single3 - Great
AD844AQSingle3 - Great
LT1122Single3 - Great
Muses8920Dual3 - Great
NJM2114Dual3 - Great
OP275Dual3 - Great
OPA2134Dual3 - Great
OPA2227Dual3 - Great
OPA2228Dual3 - Great
OPA2277Dual3 - Great
RC4558Dual3 - Great
AD797Single3 - Great
AD711Single4 - Good
Muses01Dual4 - Good
OPA604Single4 - Good
OPA627Single4 - Good
AD712Dual5 - Mediocre
LF353Dual5 - Mediocre
LM4562Dual5 - Mediocre
LM833Dual5 - Mediocre
LME49720Dual5 - Mediocre
NE5532Dual5 - Mediocre
NJM4560Dual5 - Mediocre
OPA2132Dual5 - Mediocre
TL0171Single5 - Mediocre
TLO52Dual5 - Mediocre
OPA1612 (Stock)Dual5 - Mediocre
AD823Dual6 - Bad
AD826Dual6 - Bad
NE5534Single6 - Bad
NJM2068Dual6 - Bad
NJM4558Dual6 - Bad
OPA134Single6 - Bad
Dear sire, I'm sorry for bumping old thread, but I'm kinda newbie on this, just got my Xduoo xd-05 plus, and want to try rolling opamp.. Pardon my total newbie question, but do I need two pieces of AD827SQ, or should I just use one piece and put it in the middle to replace the stock opamp? (I'm still confused about Single/Dual property)

Thank you very much,
warm regards,
 
Jul 13, 2021 at 12:52 AM Post #1,948 of 2,097
Dear sire, I'm sorry for bumping old thread, but I'm kinda newbie on this, just got my Xduoo xd-05 plus, and want to try rolling opamp.. Pardon my total newbie question, but do I need two pieces of AD827SQ, or should I just use one piece and put it in the middle to replace the stock opamp? (I'm still confused about Single/Dual property)

Thank you very much,
warm regards,
You only need one op-amp for the Plus, but it must be a dual op-amp. The BAL version requires 2 op-amps.
 
Jul 13, 2021 at 1:29 AM Post #1,949 of 2,097
Jul 13, 2021 at 1:48 AM Post #1,950 of 2,097
Ohh.. I see, so the setup to use two pieces on this post is only applicable for OPA627s? Thank you in advance
I apologize, I may have been mistaken about the requirement for a dual op-amp. It appears that InEarDistortion was using single op-amps, but there may be support for two Single op-amps. I will let him update.
 

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