The best sounding audio integrated opamps

[jean-paul]

Now we're speaking of oscillation in the mHz range. It could be that is the cause for you liking the sound as it is now !

BTW 30 secs is good but I suppose the PCB is (old school style) good quality. Most modern manufactured PCB material does not last long when soldering 2 or 3 times. Tracks peel off easily, that is why I warned you for possible damage. I reworked 3 "hong kong dac's" a few months ago and 1 sec with the soldering gun was enough to peel off the tracks.

AFAIK there is not much wrong with solid caps. It is OSCON that, despite its good specs on paper, manages to screw up sound big time.

Just like you I like the older Spitfire better as seen from the pics for modability ( if that's an english word ?!?). I never heard either of them.

[leeperry]

well yes it's entirely possible! But I always thought that oscillation would add some "zing" to the trebles...like it's often the case on improperly implemented LM4562's...that nasty metallic treble color I cannot stand

w/o the socket, the low end bass was dull and felt like not much was happening <50Hz and >14kHz..so I don't think that oscillation could improve the SQ so much..besides even after several days, the 1028AC are not warmer than my finger when I touch them.

Well, he did a great job, and the socket stays...as I've got some chips to try anyway, like AD845KN and ADA4627-1B

The new firestone models look cheapo to me, but the old models look very nice and sound fantastic to my ears(it had an OPA2604 stock, so it had to go )...it's also thanks to their DPS I'd guess, as we're mostly listening to the AC mains power as I understand it...one thing's for sure: I won't be using an SMPS anymore, it'd be a major nocebo for me anyway..

oh ok, I always read that solid caps were a terrible idea for audio...and I tried this soundcard that had a very harsh and agressive sound I couldn't bear: http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggIma...271-005-04.jpg

anyway, I'm still in the market for an AK4396/DIR9001/LT1028AC combo if anyone knows of one

R2R is supposedly the highest grade of DAC you can buy: Mother of Tone - Conversion Techniques

AK4396 is said to have the same SQ as R2R: DCX2496

Richard Kulavik of AKM Semiconductors explained it this way : "This DAC is a large departure from other delta-sigma DACs designed by us and others like BurrBrown, Analog Devices and Cirrus Logic. The AK4396 is an entirely new modulator, pioneered and patented by AKM. It achieves something unique. In the past, many of the old Phillips and BurrBrown parts were R-2R* based products. These older products were looked upon as some of the best. One of the reasons was high frequency noise. In older R-2R parts, HF noise was not present. In all delta-sigma parts prior to the AK4396, everyone has fought HF noise caused from the delta-sigma modulator with the insertion of large filters and other parts to attempt to solve a problem created by the delta-sigma design. The AK4396 today effectively does not suffer any modulator-induced HF noise and is over 60dB better than the nearest Cirrus and BB devices. All of this HF noise can cause many audible artifacts downstream. That is the 'miracle' we believe is making the difference today. This part gives you the performance and linearity of a delta-sigma device with the noise performance of an R-2R part, something that was never previously available."

but this guy says that opamps color the sound far more than DAC's ever will: Heres some test results for the new ESI Juli@ card. [3] - RightMark Forums

Everybody -in different locations, at different times, without knowing from each other- told the same story, that they found the differences between opamps more important than the differences in dac chips.

ah well, audio is such a complicated matter...and I love my DAC w/ its socket, its two LT1028AC and glass toslink input...that little upgraditis whining voice needs to shut it

[leeperry]

I've asked someone else, who tells me that sockets do add impedance...and I've tried to add a gold plated socket on top of the Spitfire's, and it sounds just like when I had sockets on the browndog...sound is less clear and "muddier".

so a wild guess would be that the impedance added by the stock socket was taken in account in their design...chick logic I know

the Spitfire is not ventilated at all, and after several hours the 1028's were slightly warmer than my finger...something like 40/45C? I think that's fine.

anyway, I will also try to solder some 1028AC's on this adapter: http://shop.diyrealaudio.com/product...roducts_id=851

this ebay seller says that the browndog's are worthless: http://cgi.ebay.com/10pcs-Dual-SOIC-...mZ230379640581

[leeperry]

BTW, I was wondering, is there a single version of NJM4580? this one is really good to drive headphones

[drizdraz]

Just wanted to chime in on the OPA1611 that some people are raving about on this thread. We tried them in a critical listening test on a front-end all-diff discrete/IC gain stage (40dB) and rated them dead last. They shifted timbre far more than the other 5 devices under test. Another poor performer was AD8671.

That said, the 1611 might be a stellar performer in a different topology. As always, it depends on myriad variables, designer's goals, power options, etc....

[zebra100]

I have just stumbled across this thread, so appologies if these have already been mentioned.

I like the LM4562 dual op amp. As a drop in replacement for my NE5532's (Phillips branded) in my NAD C520 CD player, they seemed to unearth a little more detail from the music.

I have the NE5532's tucked away for a future project, as I still think they are a good op amp when implemented correctly.

Chris.

[danvee]

Hi Chris!

If you like the LM4562s, you really need to try the OPA2141. You'll need an SOIC to DIP adapter and a bit of soldering skill, but well worth it!
Another goodie to try is the LM49860. That one comes as a regular 8 pin DIP and will be a straight drop in.
The 5532s are still an industry standard, and, as you said, work great in the proper application. They're dirt-cheap too.

Take Care,

Dan

[Ola]

LM series 61XX are worth trying.

[danvee]

Interesting....Which ones have you tried, and in what application?

Dan

[Melon Head]

Originally Posted by SY

Well, let's see, you've got two 4s in there and that's an 8. The word "eight" starts with "e," which is the fifth letter of the alphabet. 5 x 8 = 40, which is a 4, so we're back to too many 4s. This is circular. The symbol for a tube is based on a circle, tube sockets are circular. So therefore, you need to use a tube to replace the AD845.

Now, what kind of tube? A naive person, not steeped in the arcana of true numerology, would immediately think "845." But that's bad thinking, because it brings five 4s into the picture, the 4 in 845, the two 4s in the "8," and because 845 is numerologically an 8, there's two more 4s. This is NOT good.

So clearly, you need a CCa. C is 3, a is 1, so CCa is 7. This is neither a 4 nor divisible by a 4.

Don't listen to self-appointed hacks who don't really understand numerology properly.

This has to be one of the most enetertaining posts I have come across so far.
LMAO

Conclusion: You need a tube