Success Rolling Opamps in EE Minimax DAC

Mr T.

I tried the OPA2107 (dual) in the position that feeds the tubes and think that this might be up your ally. Much greater bass extension with a less in your face sound vs. stock chip and esp. vs. the 49720 which I also tried. They also come in DIP8 so you can pop them into the DAC in minutes, no soldering. Pricey at ~$16 a piece but cheap relative to some tubes and to the dramatic improvement in SQ you get.

But don't stop there, no no, get some upgraded chips (singles) for the SS output as well. I currently have OPA627 in mine and it does some things (the things that you say you like) very very well but lack air and sparkle relative to the 49710.

Doug - looking forward to your article.

-Mike

If so, would you care to comment on the sound of it?

I assumed the power cord provided with the EE DAC I received about a week ago was included just so they could say; "We gave you one." I didn't bother trying it and immediately plugged in a Wire World Aurora Cord, which I have been satisfied with using on a Cambridge 840C CDP.

This afternoon, I was about to put away the EE DAC packing materials and the stock power cord for storage. I decided to give the supplied power cord a quick listen as I might not have an opportunity to do so again. To my surprise it sounded much better than the WW cord, despite its lack of markings or pedigree. There was no need to A/B the cords, as the stock cord was notably better, even with no break in time. I tried a couple of other power cords I had on hand (WireWorld Electra & the Kimber PK10 Palladian) and found the stock cord still sounded best. Maybe I'm deaf or have some problems elsewhere but I would encourage people to give the stock cord a try before casting it aside. It would be interesting to know if this is a fluke or intentional on the part of the manufacturer.

My other transmission was garbled. I was wondering if anyone had tried the OPA2134 and any opinions regarding it.

The EE DAC's stock power cord is not as open sounding as the others I have on hand but controls sibilance much better that the others.

I'm with Mfsoa on the OPA2107 opamps for the dual slots on the EE DAC. They get along really well with the LME49710 single opamps described in Doug's review. Perhaps even a tad better than the LME49720 dual described in the same review.

BTW, Doug, how long until you disclose the identities of the custom opamps with which you were so enamored?

Will these be available through commercial sources?