Success Rolling Opamps in EE Minimax DAC


I'll try to reign in my nearly unbridled enthusiasm for a recent uber-economical tweak, rolling Opamps in the Eastern Electric Minimax DAC.

On encouragement of Chris and Melissa Owens from Clarity Cable I swapped them out (note; this voids the warranty!), with resounding success. A more powerful upgrade per dollar in decades of messing with systems and tweaks does not come to mind.

My brief instructional discussion on this experience appears at Dagogo.com

http://dagogo.com/View-Article.asp?hArticle=841
douglas_schroeder
Most interesting, Doug... which characteristics of the EE DAC's sound do you feel were changed by the swap of the opamps?
Makes me wonder how much the parts cost on a $1000 DAC. I know there is the expensive casework, labor and overhead and a necessary profit.
Also it does make you think that if better op amps are $8 why don't they use them in the first place? How much is the difference between the worlds highest regarded DAC chip is VS the ones in most DACs?