The best sounding audio integrated opamps

[ratza]

Originally Posted by Andrea:

Is noise really so very important? I personally don't listen to the background hiss with no music playing and the amp's volume set at max.

It would be kind of like smelling a car's exhaust

Kind of I listen jazz during the night sometimes and I hate to have any background noise. Those opamps are exactly what I needed. In my system I use a gain knob with which I can select one of the following:
- direct input in final stage (through volume pot);
- 10x attenuation (180k in series with 22k pot's input pin);
- 4.1 amplified and buffered signal through preamplfier.

SoNic_real_one, that NJMs is nowhere near OPA2134's performace. BTW, do you speak romanian by any chance?

[Mooly]

Originally Posted by janneman

It also makes a lot of difference whether you have an inverting (virtual earth) or non-inverting circuit. Some opamps do well in inverting circuits but when faced with higher common mode input in an non-inverting circuit they do much worse. You can't generalize without knowing the application. I mean, you can, but that then means that someone else can have completely different results than you because it is another app.

jd

I fully agree with janneman on this... I have found the inverting configuration to generally have better sonics, particularly when the op amp is correctly compensated and applied.

As to which opamp... I still like the OPA604 for it's "musicality" but I guess that is a personal choice. The distortion spectrum seems "pleasing" to the ears... mine anyway.

Peranders.... nice link re the pdf

[Andrea:]

I agree about the OPA604. I haven't lived long with this, but it keeps being a good choice. Not LT1028-good though...


Of course (when talking about noise) I was starting from the fact that common audio opamps all have a low noise floor... really it has never happened to me to hear any background noise with the music playing, not even on headphones!! An inflated, overrated problem!?

[Andrea:]

Originally Posted by Mooly

Peranders.... nice link re the pdf

That's exactly the measurement shootout I was mentioning before. Great information, but in the end it's only half of the story - at best. I'd say only about a quarter, personally.


For instance... the LT1363 (or dual LT1364) gets trashed there, but it sounds quite good when it's not oscillating..

[Mooly]

Hi Andrea,
Agree about the noise too. For line level inputs it's pretty much a "non issue" and a bit of white noise, tape hiss on older recordings etc doesn't distract from the musical performance... in fact it can add a "nice" bloom to the sound, I believe it helps the ear resolve low level detail better, almost like dithering a digital signal.

My goal for audio is to have a system that reproduces the majority of music well, not a system that has to have "certain demonstaration" CD's etc played to sound any good.

[Andrea:]

Oh yeah, absolutely. Demonstration CD's = audiophile nonsense.



BTW, that test doesn't even tell you that the opamp with the most perfect measured performance is clearly the best sounding... see the OPA211. I couldn't live with it, I just wouldn't enjoy music like I used to do. I preferred LT1028 (ACN8 and CS8) to OPA211 in 2 different DAC's.

Or compare the OPA132UA to the OPA827: with similar measured distortion (well referring to the OPA2132), does that very thorough measurement let you in any way expect that the OPA132UA sounds far more musical?

OPA132UA which sounds quite a bit more transparent than the dual OPA2132P, while retaining the musicality, BTW.

[Andrea:]

Or... does that measurement possibly suggest that the OPA-Earth's distortion takes the form of a perceptible sort-of saturation with vocals (and anything belonging in the midrange), whereas the LT1363's takes that of a creamy and pleasing midrange smoothness similar to tube sound? Bah

[Andrea:]

Anyway, all those who haven't heard the LT1028 yet should try it... I've determined that it's the most honestly transparent of all I only wonder how the OPA1611 should sound (need new browndogs).

[Andrea:]

On that line I also like the LME49720HA and the LME49723, which can sound quite pleasant and vivid, yet mostly transparent; but at the end of the day the LT1028 is the most impartial (rigorous).

[Mooly]

Unless a given circuit is specifically designed for a specific OpAmp it's not always a fair test to just swap them around.
Each OpAmp and application has to be optimised first. Then listen