Nothing wrong with the NE5532 you know, it's a damn good, very musical opamp and cheap as you like. LM4562 is another good choice excellent specs but slightly more expensive. If you are feeling adventurous you could go with OPA1642 which is a jfet input one. Personally I would keep the NE5532 to maintain the character of the cdp.
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Sure, lousy sound, bad phase response before feedback, tubby base, asymmetric slew rate, quasi-comp output, poor high frequency CMRR performance, not at all that quiet, ultra linear output control which has been repeatedly shown to work poorly and sound bad.
Why would anyone want to use this piece of antique junk? There are dozens better with one of the best being the NJM2068? Why do people insist on using this bad antique? DON'T tell me cause some other fool did or how popular it "used to be." It belongs in a museum and not in anything with power applied! Indeed, any circuit comes in here with those they are the first things changed out. No point in trying to do anything with a circuit using these. Might as well use discrete tube op amps.
I tried the LME49720 and NE5532 in one DAC filter stage. I ended up using the 5532 !
I tried the LME49710 and NE5534 in my DAC9 . The DAC now uses the 5534.
The differences are small and 'likeability' will probably will vary from person to person. Surprisingly the 49710 sounded noisy on complex sounds compared to the 5534 which was easy on the ears ! Did the 49710 need more PSU bypass caps ? Don't know. I didn't try it .
I tried the LME49710 and NE5534 in my DAC9 . The DAC now uses the 5534.
The differences are small and 'likeability' will probably will vary from person to person. Surprisingly the 49710 sounded noisy on complex sounds compared to the 5534 which was easy on the ears ! Did the 49710 need more PSU bypass caps ? Don't know. I didn't try it .
You were probably hearing information that the 5532/34 hides.
Same thing with the BB134 series. It sounds great but lacks a LOT of information.
I think some people get used to the smooth old sound (compressed, closed in) from yesteryear and prefer that (5532). The 49720 is definitely a more refined device that's incredibly clean, has tons of detail and information, reaches very high, and has enormous stage depth.
Thanks,but someone has said that NJM2068 are dull sounding in post 4-
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/98300-mod-upgrading-opamps-yamaha-av-receiver.html
In spite of all the adjectives used to describe chips the final deciding factor for me is how it sounds to my ear irrespective of specs.
In my case I don't find anything significant missing in the tests I conducted. Maybe they are flawed ? It doesn't matter to me. I like what I hear so I stick to it. It does finally boil
down to personal preference always !
I did try the OPA134 also. I preferred the 5534. The others did have some good qualities like slightly better separation of instruments etc. But 'overall' I like the 5534 better. I do need the vocal range to be very clean , more than anything else.
The LME49710 was not as good as the NE5534. I checked it several times.
But everyone should pick the chip they like best and not what someone else likes better!
In my case I don't find anything significant missing in the tests I conducted. Maybe they are flawed ? It doesn't matter to me. I like what I hear so I stick to it. It does finally boil
down to personal preference always !
I did try the OPA134 also. I preferred the 5534. The others did have some good qualities like slightly better separation of instruments etc. But 'overall' I like the 5534 better. I do need the vocal range to be very clean , more than anything else.
The LME49710 was not as good as the NE5534. I checked it several times.
But everyone should pick the chip they like best and not what someone else likes better!
Right this minute I have not tested or used anything better overall. That guys circuit or system was probably the dull part having been balanced using bright and gritty equipment (op-amps) therefore, when a decent piece is installed the system error comes out.
Ultimately, install machine turned pin sockets and determine for yourself. You will then know the fact in your system.
It is great that you tried it. Did you try the 2068? What works best for you is what is important for your personal system. I did not care that much for the 49710 but, would certainly choose it of the 5532 or 5534.
I have the 4580 , 2114 and 2068 I think. I will look for it. I should also have the LM4562. Will try them out too.
I would think that it doesn't just reflect on the 'best sounding chip' but the best sounding 'in that circuit implementation'. Other chips may sound better in a different application.
It certainly can be the case that an opamp is a bigger bottleneck, subjectively than transducers. I found when modding my Taobao headphone amp that a 3k load on a TL072 was killing the dynamics. That was about the load, not the opamp though as deleting the load gave a huge improvement.
So yep, implementation is essential to consider when comparing opamps.
So yep, implementation is essential to consider when comparing opamps.
I just typed in a big long rant about getting a grip on yoursleves over this stuff. Then I deleted it. So I will post a new rant.
I dread to think how many speakers, amplifiers, preamps, crossovers and whatnot I have designed and built. So does my wife
Some of these are / were top of the line, some PA, some middle of the road and some archaic. The strange thing that I have learnt from this is that gross aberrations aside, (which almost always are loudspeaker related):
- Just about any configuration can sound pretty decent.
- Loudspeakers and the room are the #1 issue
- Crossover configuration is equally important, in fact I would say it comes in #0
- Cruddy source material or matching / earthing comes next
- If you are looking at op amps, resistors and capacitors, you are definitely losing the plot
Here is a secret from an old bugger:
- Get a decent bottle of red
- Get a comfy chair
- Get your favourite piece of music
- Stop "listening to the equipment", sit back, have a red and enjoy some music.
If after that, or earlier, you can't stand it then go looking for the gross error in the system.
I dread to think how many speakers, amplifiers, preamps, crossovers and whatnot I have designed and built. So does my wife
Some of these are / were top of the line, some PA, some middle of the road and some archaic. The strange thing that I have learnt from this is that gross aberrations aside, (which almost always are loudspeaker related):
- Just about any configuration can sound pretty decent.
- Loudspeakers and the room are the #1 issue
- Crossover configuration is equally important, in fact I would say it comes in #0
- Cruddy source material or matching / earthing comes next
- If you are looking at op amps, resistors and capacitors, you are definitely losing the plot
Here is a secret from an old bugger:
- Get a decent bottle of red
- Get a comfy chair
- Get your favourite piece of music
- Stop "listening to the equipment", sit back, have a red and enjoy some music.
If after that, or earlier, you can't stand it then go looking for the gross error in the system.
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