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 Posted: Tue, 13th Feb 2018 22:55 Post subject: Soundcard OpAmps |
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Hello, so switching my attention to the small print blurb on the sound card packaging I came across the print about swappable OpAmps in the soundcards. On the Creative ZXr and also on one of the ASUS offerings i believe. Maybe some of you folks already know about this and have already played around with it, but it's all new to me. 
Basically the sound cards enable you to swap chips in and out on the PCB which allows you to modify the sound/quality/soundset/etc/etc... it's like modding your soundcard I suppose on a hardware level. Any folks do this on here?.
I found it quite interesting and I'm tempted to try it myself perhaps. Anyway, I was reading from this guys post and his experiments swapping opamps in and out of the soundcards.
 
Small snippet from his post which I found quite informative.
"The AD827SQ arrived today,put them in both the ZXR and then on the STX II,and totally transformed the ZXR into a different beast.
In the ZXR,aside from the overwhelming lower bass,performed way better than the STX II,sound is warmer,punchy,fast,agressive without being offensive,mid bass is awesome,mids are great,trebel are crystal clear and with soft end to them.also stereo direct is great for music.
With the AD827SQ in the I\V in the STX II & Muses02 in the buffers,the sound is natural and cold,spot on,kinda boring and dull.
channel speration improved drastically,from avarage to great,but still not excellent as the ZXR.
After spending time and money [?IMG] on both cards,I came to the conclution that the 200$ we pay for each of those soundcards,is for the board only,we pay for the basics,and we must replace those ****ty opamps that creative and asus deliever with thier cards.
Now With the AD827SQ,the ZXR rocks,change of heart I guess...
Update 14/11/2014
Just recieved the AD797B for the ZXR buffers.
sound is more rounded,fake,highs are way too soft,details are missing.
Im back to the Signetics 5534N for the buffers,those old opamps simply rock!
forget data sheets and measurements,those one of the best sounding opamps out there when it comes to sound stage,clarity,with warm sound,especially with the AD827SQ in the I\V.
So Im sticking to the ZXR with AD827SQ in the I\V, Signetics 5534N in the buffers,smokes everything I've tried so far.
Update:9\24\15
New Discrete Opamps arrived!
The Sparkos Labs SS3602
http://sparkoslabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/SS3601_SS3602.pdf
All I can say my dear fellas,is screw all Opamp from TI,Muses,ADI etc
The Sparkos Labs SS3602,Discrete Opamps,are put simply,just amazing.
The sound is very warm,wide and analog,specious without feeling distant Like AD8599 for example,noise and distortion....well there isn't any..
Although expensive,they worth every penny.
Sound is well balanced,without favors to any scale,Bass is tidy and clean,vocals are pleasant,Mids are present without being harsh,the highs are the best I've heard lately from any sound system,crystal clear and soft to the ears,without losing ground.
First I tried them in the I\V section in my Asus STX II,with muses02 in the buffers,while they sounded great and punchy,Asus were dumb enough to share the same screw for the bracket and shield,and since those SS3602 are huge,I had to gave up the shield.
So I went back to the creative ZXR,put them in the I\V,combined with LT1028ACN in the buffers,and compared to the STX,sound is just as great and even maybe more specious and more controlled,just amazing job by sparko's labs.
Finally an Opamp that is true to its meaning and claim,A first class audio Opamp,A new champ,the high claimed Muses02 costs almost the same price,and doesn't deliver half the sound quality of the SS3602."
Linky
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/asus-stx-ii-vs-creative-zxr.728124/
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| Posted: Wed, 14th Feb 2018 15:44 Post subject: |
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I tried to get into it at one point, did lots of research about different modules, only to find that they're extremely overpriced. (100 euro for a decent one).
Fuck that.
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I thought they would only be like 10 or 20 quid to be honest..
