Opamps and Modding thread.

I doubt they’ll sound better than my no opamp-copper wire. Unfortunately I’m lacking the money to verify this statement...

 

Yes, that'd really be interesting to know. The specs do sound really nice, shielding should be a really good thing in a PC environment. And I really dig the looks But that price tag is just... *wow*

 

Building a shielding for your whole sound card is almost for free and does not only protect the opamp but rather the whole analog section. Such a shielding won’t protect from noise from the soundcard itself but I think the amount of this noise is rather low.

 

Trouble with this type of shielding is that when it is done incorrectly it can have a negative impact on the sound quality of the card. Keeping the cards operating noise within the shielded area and reflecting it back to the card for induction right back into the card.
All electronics devices radiate EMI, this would just dissipate from the card but if it is shielded it cannot go anywhere except back into the card at random locations. With a shield you are protecting against EMI from the rest of the PC.. It is better to use the shielding medium as a partition, shielding the area of the card instead of wrapping the card in a "blanket" type of shield. Some have great results with shield others not so much...

 

When my OPA627 comes this week, what should i notice off hand when compared to the stock opamps?

 

@rob: I thought about trying to shield the whole backside of the card or just the opamp "region" of it. I'll have to see if I can get the proper materials for that. If it's not that expensive, it might be worth a try. I would not try to put the whole card in a shield, I guess it would be quite a hassle to get on anyways.

@gen: I think the best way to judge your new purchase would be to listen to your "old" opamps for a little while just before you put in the new ones. You should be able to hear the differences quite fast.
When I put in mine I didn't take the opportunity to demo the older ones again just before the swap. I "liked" the 627s, I really heard the difference just when one of them broke and I had to put in the standard opamp again. It was pretty obvious then

 

Yea I fiqure was a diffents, I tried explaining it to some person on another forum, but they kept on saying . That they all sounded the same and what auzentech had for the info was bs and marketing. Kept trying to make me feel like I wasted 59 dollars, but it didnt work.

I fiqure he was a troll after he didnt care for what i said and still kept on forcing his view on me. plus people wouldnt be buying it if there was no diffents.

 

I think it's always hard to explain when it comes to audio gear. Some people hear differences, others don't. Most of the time those differences can't be easily measured like the influence of a new graphics card or CPU.
I think I heard the improvement and so to me it's worth the money. I'd even have my headphones recabled, even though some people think that's just pure voodoo.

 

Yea I tried my best to explain it to him, hes just stubborn, went like it just a placebo effect.Just said they had some friends over to test his HT system with OPamp and no opamp.They liked it one way and another.But I even said that some people might not hear the differences and others would. I in up giving up, he wasnt worth the hassle any more, as I was trying to explain opamps to another user.

Yea I am still glad I did buy the opamps, I know I will be happy with them. BTW Was the recabling easy for your headphones?

 

I wouldn't want to do the recable myself I'm not a soldering genius and I don't want to break the phones when I take them apart. There seem to be some companies that do it at a reasonable price with a good quality, so that'd be the way to go for me. Changing stuff on the card should be easier, I have a friend that's quite good at soldering and the parts are just in front of you. No plastic covers, hidden screws or anything alike.

 

Could anyone tell me if i would recieve sound if i placed new opamp in back to front :help: would i definately know if i had placed them in wrong.

 

Yea, if the 1 on the opamp is upside down from the view of the top of the opamp. because the slot has a notch that pointing up on the prelude. The number 1 is on the top of the opamp.

So from birds eye view you knows where it goes. basicy the 1 should be the area the notch is in. because the holes on the prelude, is going from the top to the bottom on left side. Goes from 1-4 and then the right side starting at the top 5 to 8.

 

Thanks i have just double checked and they seem to be as you said thank god.

 

@Gen, the main thing to remember is that audio is subjective. It is further complicated because of gear choices. I hear some guys babel about the Prelude not sounding that good....most of the time they own cheap CL cards or are using onboards.
If a person cannot tell the difference between a cheap CL X-fi and a Prelude I feel sorry for them. Perhaps they should buy some better speakers or perhaps a large BOX of Q-Tips!

 

I put my opamp in but i only getting my left side. i even took it out and put it back in again. I know its in the right way because the 1 on the top of the opamp.

Is line with the top left side one.

 

I've had this two times now with a pre-soldered OPA627 from ebay. Worked nicely first, then the right channel died after a while. The shop exchanged them, now I got the second pair and the right channel died after only half an hour.
I'd say one of those OPA's isn't working right.

 

Yea its dead i tried again,be nice if this didnt happen because I liked what I heard. even with one ear. I put back the stock one for now til auzentech gets back for me.

Atleast I see how easy it is to install and uninstall them. had to bent the stock opamp pins back.

 

when you remove opamps -I use a little steak knife or precision flat screwdriver with a thin point and put the point under the top and pry up very gently and easy just a bit to loosen it, then repeat on the bottom end. If you do it this way you won't bend the pins from prying one side all the way out. Just rock it out easily... works great, If you have no IC puller.

 

I used a IC puller that came with a DFI mobo I used to have. I guess I may had used a bit too much force to pull it out.

 

I'm using a very small screwdriver to lever them out, at least the standard one. I hope I won't have to do that too often anymore... now I'm really considering a partly re-cap, maybe after the re-cable of my headphones This really is something that sucks every penny of of your pocket in no time