The best sounding audio integrated opamps

[Andrea:]

And while I practice my little cabala, I'm listening to the latest masterpiece album by John Mellencamp, "Life, Death, Love and Freedom", and trust me... I tried to make it sound good with the OPA211AID, LME49710NA/HA, etc... but with the LT1028 it always sounds best, full of life and expression, thanks to this chip's unrivalled combination of intellectual transparency, emotive musicality, and physical energy.

[Andrea:]

BTW the AD845 has to be the most underrated AD opamp. I think it sounds better than the AD797 in low-gain applications.

[Andrea:]

Hmm, well The AD1852 would pair well with the LT1677... and it would be a nice change from my CS4398 routine... Or it would also go well with the LME49723...

I like the voltage out DACs because they allow for the simplest output stage. And AD1852 and CS4398 are very good sounding chips, no wonder they're so popular.



On the other hand, that PCM1796 DAC from Poppulse really tempts me too... and could use a couple of LT1028ACN8...

[leeperry]

Originally Posted by Andrea:

The AD797 which you're worshipping lately, is an old and very well-known opamp, and as I found is not free from +'s and -'s like everything else... including my favorite LT1028ACN8/CS8.

BTW, personally I'd expect the ADA4627-1 and possibly also the AD8597 to sound better.

ADA4627-1BRZ is $12 a pop and I need four + browndogs..that won't be a cheap experiment.

the SS leaves me speechless on the AD797B...totally eye popping! it kills everything else I've heard by a LONG shot...and I happen to be a SS wh*re, I've never heard my cd1k so 360º'ish

Originally Posted by Andrea:

You might as well try! Also 6x OPA1611, for that matter

I only have 5 of them, and TI has become very upset w/ my samples requests...the other day, one of their reps called me and became intrusive...and anyway I got a nocebo against BB chips.

Originally Posted by Andrea:

leeperry, why don't you try and get yourself a [..] NG94 or a NG98

yeah, I told about that NG94 to a friend who got bored of the agressive sound of his Asus STX...and he loooves it(he's got zillions headphones)! Burson just made me a great offer on their HA-160 headphones amp, it's hard to say "NO"...need to make up my mind! fed w/ the AK4396>4*AD797B, this could sound nicer than my $0.5 NJM4580V(which is currently what is driving my headphones)

[Andrea:]

I wonder how the Poppulse would sound with two ADA4627-1 in place of that LM4562...

That or two LT1028ACN8...


Some new adventures are on the horizon, possibly.

[Andrea:]

The NG98 looks great to me, too. I like the 24V external power supply, divided into a few different regulated power lines internally.

That supply voltage BTW would allow me to use opamps which don't get to +/- 15V, like the AD8022 or AD8021, etc.

And that thing of being free to change DAC chip from CS4398 to AD1852 is especially intriguing...no? It gives you more freedom to "shape" the sound to meet you personal requirements...


OK, I'm starting to persuade myself

[leeperry]

yeah well, if there was an optional AK4396 we might talk

and these are headphones amp only I think? I thought you were using speakers?

ah well, someone else has given me great feedback on the HA-160 burson headphones amp...gonna pull the trigger I think

[grael]

Originally Posted by Andrea:

I wonder how the Poppulse would sound with two ADA4627-1 in place of that LM4562...
That or two LT1028ACN8...

Hey! I finally got a Poppulse PCM1796.
It's a nice little DAC, already sounding quite good with default opamps :
2*NE5532N as i/v, and 1*LM4562NA as filter/buffer

I (painfully) removed the 2 NE5532 to put some sockets instead.
Then I played with 2*LT1028ACN8, 2*LM4562NA and 4*LT1363CN8

Best setup for me was 4*LT1363CN8 as i/v, and 2*LT1028ACN8 as buffer.
Sound is now solid, full of bass, low distortion, clean trebles, so much air around the instruments... Pure joy!

I had my good old cd player to compare with (~400/500 $ micromega minium cd3, discrete output stage, a great reference for its price)
Micromega minium cd3
Without mods, the poppulse was behind. He's now even better (less noise/distortion with same musical enjoyment)!

I don't use earphones, I'm listening to big floorstanders, so 360° soundscape madness is not something crucial too me.

You should go for it, Andrea!
At this price, it's really a good piece of hardware.

[Andrea:]

Originally Posted by leeperry

yeah well, if there was an optional AK4396 we might talk

and these are headphones amp only I think? I thought you were using speakers?

ah well, someone else has given me great feedback on the HA-160 burson headphones amp...gonna pull the trigger I think

You're really crazy about that chip are you


No no, the NG98 has a normal line out too, it's just not through two RCA's but a minijack. I have a few 'audiophile mini-RCA cables', which have been left new and unused too long... but yeah, I'd still prefer something with RCA's after all.

[Andrea:]

Originally Posted by grael

Hey! I finally got a Poppulse PCM1796.
It's a nice little DAC, already sounding quite good with default opamps :
2*NE5532N as i/v, and 1*LM4562NA as filter/buffer

I (painfully) removed the 2 NE5532 to put some sockets instead.
Then I played with 2*LT1028ACN8, 2*LM4562NA and 4*LT1363CN8

Best setup for me was 4*LT1363CN8 as i/v, and 2*LT1028ACN8 as buffer.
Sound is now solid, full of bass, low distortion, clean trebles, so much air around the instruments... Pure joy!

I had my good old cd player to compare with (~400/500 $ micromega minium cd3, discrete output stage, a great reference for its price)
Micromega minium cd3
Without mods, the poppulse was behind. He's now even better (less noise/distortion with same musical enjoyment)!

I don't use earphones, I'm listening to big floorstanders, so 360° soundscape madness is not something crucial too me.

You should go for it, Andrea!
At this price, it's really a good piece of hardware.

Thank you, I was sure it would be good. Great choice of opamps, BTW.

Can you please tell if the substitution of the NE5532's with the four LT1363 brought a big improvement alone, aside from the output opamp (as certainly the LT1028ACN8 are better than the LM4562)? I ask because I don't know if I'm willing to 'risk' replacing them - it might also steer me from the Poppulse in favor of the HA INFO NG94.

Of course I always have the option to just stay with my two DACs (maybe improve the SVDAC05 one last bit) and save up for new speakers