The best sounding audio integrated opamps

I've tried the AD797ANZ in my SVDAC05 and in my 24V cmoy. In the former I wasn't convinced but the not very fluid midrange, although its tonality was spot on. For the rest it was fine. But the LT1028ACN8/CS8 kind of sounds like there's less distortion...

In the cmoy it was alright, the solid bass could still be heard, but I remember there was something I didn't like too much in its midrange, as well.

Take the LME49710NA: it has less bass/midbass weight than the AD797, but it sounds fluid...

Now, will the AD797B(N/R)Z be an entirely different opamp? :rolleyes:
 
all I can say is that the SS is really mind blowing...this chip doesn't feed you w/ a generic SS like the 4972x do, it follows the original audio stream...really amazing! :eek:

sometimes some background sounds that were far from my ear and holographic are now stuck right next to me and sound dull...but that's only in ONE song, and it's an african song from Femi Kuti...SS is very messy in that track, and it does sound more 3D on the Burson. But that's the only song so far where it makes such a huge difference, all the others sound less distorted/more faithful to the source..especially SS-wise :)

the burson tries to embelish things(sometimes it really does!) but I don't have two burson's to use as AK4396 LPF, so I can't do an apples/apples comparison.
 
In the end what I've done is make me a nice Browndog with two OPA1611. :)

I have high expectations for this opamp. :) I'll only manage to try it in the cmoy though :(

But since it has more than 45 mA of linear output current, it should not be too 'choked' by the untypical application... after all, it's mostly its tonal quality I want to evaluate (to appreciate potential differences from the OPA211).
 
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all I can say is that the SS is really mind blowing...this chip doesn't feed you w/ a generic SS like the 4972x do, it follows the original audio stream...really amazing! :eek:

sometimes some background sounds that were far from my ear and holographic are now stuck right next to me and sound dull...but that's only in ONE song, and it's an african song from Femi Kuti...SS is very messy in that track, and it does sound more 3D on the Burson. But that's the only song so far where it makes such a huge difference, all the others sound less distorted/more faithful to the source..especially SS-wise :)

the burson tries to embelish things(sometimes it really does!) but I don't have two burson's to use as AK4396 LPF, so I can't do an apples/apples comparison.
All this talk of spatial effects makes my head spin -> :spin:
 
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oh yes, that's what AD797N does to ya! :p
I'm not looking for that. I want a coherent soundscape, which might sound boring, but...it's what suits me the most :)

the latest DACport $500 USB DAC uses AK4396 and OPA1611 apparently...the best DAC on the market and the newest op-amp from TI, and killer bit-perfect drivers(over MME/DS, these ppl are mugicians) :)
Staying with AKM, have you forgotten about the AK4397 and especially the AK4399? :p
 
I don't have 32bit sources :p

and the AK4396 sounds amazing, it won numerous awards for its post-filtering..it does 128X oversampling at all fs

some french guy replaced the AK4393(pin compatible) in his berhinger racks and noticed a clear improvement: Google Translate

We'd have to find out if they improved the post-filtering even further on the 97/99..and whether that'd be audible too ;)
 
in order to make myself clearer about the SS shape on the 797B, that's what majkel said: Audio-gd discrete op-amps reviewed - Head-Fi
The soundstage is nowhere limited and the sound image of whatever possible shape.
it basically means that you can get all those shapes seamlessly and they can "morph" in a matter of a heartbeat...quite astonishing!

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


don't pay attention to the writings, but look at the shapes...I dunno if you checked the Ennio Morricone link I sent you, but it sounds AMAZING...the SS is too good to be true on this remastered edition.

you can also see the SS shapes in realtime through Ozone4's phase meter.

I very often discover new SS shapes the burson was simply masking/coloring to death :gnasher:
 
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The OPA1611 is very awesome!!!

Think of an OPA211 with a better coherence over the spectrum, and with more ouput current (this is easily appreciated in the cmoy): that is the OPA1611.

I've got my other reference opamp, to go hand in hand with the LT1028ACN8/CS8. :cool:

It only remains the ADA4627-1 for me to try. But...I do generally prefer the bipolar opamps.
 
BTW, compared to my former "reference CMOY opamp" the AD845KN, the OPA1611 has a slightly more open sound, slightly quicker bass, equally good dynamics, even smoother mids and... of course, a different tonality :) just as predicted by the numbers.

Yeah, because the OPA1611 sound like its numbers too. It took 30 seconds to realize it. I knew it couldn't sound the same as the OPA211..... Haha, you guys who don't hear the difference...I pity you. :headshot:



But... I think I'll go back to the (always great) AD845 shortly, since just like the LT1363, in the cmoy the OPA1611 makes the volume pot slightly noisy when turned - the obvious sign of a slight DC voltage across it.
 
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I'm waiting for a quote from my chinese seller, but try some AD797BN..they're cheap, and well worth the time & money. I definitely plan on hoarding a bunch of them, for rainy days sake's :p

I'm glad I tried the burson's, so I know what the "best" discrete have to offer...hear all the "best" chips, then make up your mind depending on your current design/gear/taste.

I've never been thrilled by BB/National chips...LT yes, and AD most definitely!

and sorry for nailing it, but give a listen to the Ennio Morricone link I sent you..the SS is most impressive.
 
I've removed the OPA1611 and put in the OPA132UA.

All's fine... I'm happy. It has a richer tonality, thanks to the magic (for my ears) of that "3" in its name. On the whole it doesn't sound too different, well, a bit less subtle, but more enthusiastic, more passionate... and what's more important, it's FET and the pot noise is gone. :)

Alright, the OPA132UA remains. This is a precious opamp. :cool: