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Post by fishhead on Jun 10, 2010 10:18:11 GMT -5
The OPA2134PA opamps in the ERC-1 output stage are 8-DIP and are dual channel.
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Post by solidstate on Jun 10, 2010 14:56:21 GMT -5
YAY!!!
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Post by roadrunner on Jun 10, 2010 16:21:15 GMT -5
If I remember what Lonnie told me correctly, the ERC-1 uses a discrete output stage and only uses the Op amps for filtering purposes. I am not sure you would gain very much by swapping components with this discrete components output stage. I would be surprised if it were noticeable. I know many manufacturers use Op amps as their output stage and swapping components with them are likely to yield significant changes, but with Emotiva's design I have my doubts. ;D
If you do experiment on the ERC-1 it would be interesting to hear if you do get a significant change in SQ. Did any of those posting about trying this swap back in Jan actually get around to trying it? If so, what were your observations?
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Post by monkumonku on Jun 10, 2010 16:51:00 GMT -5
To throw in my two cents, several months ago there was a thread in the lounge about using an external DAC for the ERC-1, in particular some units that were available on E-Bay. Some lounge members reported impressive improvements in sound quality when using these DAC's and switching out the op-amps that came with it to higher grade ones such as the AD797.
I purchased one of these units and also bought Burr Brown OPA627 and AD797 op amps (both pretty highly regarded). I did a comparison by playing the ERC-1 via analog outputs directly to my USP-1, and by the ERC-1via its digital coax output to the DAC and from the DAC to the USP-1. I had to adjust the volume since the external DAC was louder than the ERC-1 analog output.
After going back and forth numerous times on various recordings, I really could not hear ANY difference at all. A few times at just certain sections of a couple of discs, for just a few seconds, I thought I heard a difference but I really couldn't say if that was real or imagined. Basically, the increased detail, imaging and airiness that others reported from using an external DAC with upgraded op-amps was not apparent to me. To me, recordings sounded the same either way, and they all sounded excellent.
One of the guys sent me CD's of the recordings he used to evaluate the changes but I couldn't hear any real difference when using those either, when I compared the ERC-1 analog -> USP-1 versus the ERC-1 digital -> DAC -> USP-1. Only the volume differed.
This is not to say that the difference isn't there. Maybe my hearing isn't that good, or maybe it depends on the equipment (I was running an XPA-2 and Emo 6.2 speakers) but for my own experiment, I didn't notice any difference at all using different op-amps. Of course YMMV.
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NorthStar
Seeker Of Truth
"And it stoned me to my soul" - Van Morrison
Posts: 0
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Post by NorthStar on Jun 10, 2010 20:49:34 GMT -5
^ I luv your post monkumonku! ...I'm 100% with ya!
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Post by Mr. Ben on Jun 14, 2010 11:21:17 GMT -5
Maybe my hearing isn't that good, or maybe it depends on the equipment (I was running an XPA-2 and Emo 6.2 speakers) but for my own experiment, I didn't notice any difference at all using different op-amps. Of course YMMV. It must be your hearing or equipment. I've played with swapping out several op-amps in my own DAC, and the differences were quite noticeable.
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Post by monkumonku on Jun 14, 2010 11:34:51 GMT -5
Maybe my hearing isn't that good, or maybe it depends on the equipment (I was running an XPA-2 and Emo 6.2 speakers) but for my own experiment, I didn't notice any difference at all using different op-amps. Of course YMMV. It must be your hearing or equipment. I've played with swapping out several op-amps in my own DAC, and the differences were quite noticeable. I don't doubt that you hear the differences. Sometimes I wonder if that is a blessing or a curse, though. I would LIKE to hear the differences myself since I like playing around with stuff like that (switching the op amps) to see what effect they have, but I honestly don't hear any difference. When adjusting for the difference in volume, the ERC-1 sounds the same to me using its DAC's as when I use the external one. I still plan on torturing my wallet by getting the XDA-1 when it is released, though.
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Post by Mr. Ben on Jun 14, 2010 12:22:42 GMT -5
I don't doubt that you hear the differences. Sometimes I wonder if that is a blessing or a curse, though. I would LIKE to hear the differences myself since I like playing around with stuff like that (switching the op amps) to see what effect they have, but I honestly don't hear any difference. When adjusting for the difference in volume, the ERC-1 sounds the same to me using its DAC's as when I use the external one. I still plan on torturing my wallet by getting the XDA-1 when it is released, though. If it's your hearing, well, then there's not much you can do. But I'd suggest it's an indication that the ERC-1's DAC is not the weak point in your setup. Have you tried this same experiment with the Swans in place of the 6.2's?
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Post by monkumonku on Jun 14, 2010 12:52:55 GMT -5
I don't doubt that you hear the differences. Sometimes I wonder if that is a blessing or a curse, though. I would LIKE to hear the differences myself since I like playing around with stuff like that (switching the op amps) to see what effect they have, but I honestly don't hear any difference. When adjusting for the difference in volume, the ERC-1 sounds the same to me using its DAC's as when I use the external one. I still plan on torturing my wallet by getting the XDA-1 when it is released, though. If it's your hearing, well, then there's not much you can do. But I'd suggest it's an indication that the ERC-1's DAC is not the weak point in your setup. Have you tried this same experiment with the Swans in place of the 6.2's? Yes, actually I did.. no difference. But if there is that much difference in the op amps, I would think that either of these speakers would be detailed enough to demonstrate them. The differences fishead said were very apparent to him and his family were not heard by me. I even listened to the same songs on the same CD's as he did. Oh, well. Maybe it's because my ears are too old! ;D
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