Review of Burson Audio Vivid V6 op amp in a DIY WHAMMY headphone amplfier

 

Thanks to Burson Audio for the samples of Supreme Sound OpAmp Vivid V6.

Marking on the box: V6V-D-2

It came thoughtfully packaged with 2 DIP-8 adapters. I had already installed such an adaptor in my Whammy.

My build was with the PCBA from https://diyaudiostore.com/. I sourced parts myself and stumbled many times with lots of rework.

Supply: +/- 15 V straight regulators. no LED or voltage divider

Input:  Samsung Galaxy S9 plus. Volume two notches below maximum

Headphones: Sony MDR-7506

Gain with the Vivid V6 seems to be higher than with the baseline OPA2134PA. Gain matching was by ear. I realize this is not as accurate as with instrumentation. This was not a blind test. I heard the songs below with the OPA2134PA and then swapped it out for the Vivid V6, leaving everything else the same.

I had to move surrounding components a little. The footprint of the Vivid V6 is a little larger. Luckily, the box I used is big enough for height. so I'll let it stay a while.

(1) Track 1 Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: I. Prélude

from Six Evolutions - Bach: Cello Suites, Yo-Yo Ma (2018)
(2) Track 4 The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297 "Winter": II. Largo from Appassionato, Yo-Yo Ma (2007)

(3) and (4) The Hat and The Way I Am, Tracks 4 and 5 from Girls and Boys, Ingrid Michaelson (2006)

(5) Track 2 Künstliche Welten (Praha-Edit) from Künstliche Welten, Wolfsheim (2004)

(6) Track 10 How Deep Is the Ocean (How High Is the Sky) from Love Scenes, Diana Krall (1997)

The sound: there is more detail and more bass. Notes, and instruments are separately identifiable.

After this I continued to listen to many songs with the Vivid V6. In familiar songs, I was surprised, especially at the start and end of songs: sometimes I could discern extra vocals, instruments or notes.

That said, I think I am spoiled by ZenMod's Iron Pre. With that, I enjoy the music without paying attention to accuracy or anything else. With the Vivid V6, with my setup, to my ears, there seems to be something amiss. I don't know how else to say it.

In the words of our resident wise man "this is Entertainment - not Dialysis". It is good to have choices and even better to listen to a few.

Links:

https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/supreme-sound-opamp-v6/

https://www.ti.com/store/ti/en/p/product/?p=OPA2134PA

https://pro.sony/ue_US/products/headphones/mdr-7506

https://guides.diyaudio.com/Guide/WHAMMY+headphone+amplifier/3

"this is Entertainment - not Dialysis" from http://www.firstwatt.com/pdf/art_h2_v1.pdf

DVDA

I tried a few methods, but none made a functioning DVDA (in Pioneer Elite DVD-59AVi) until this
http://rdhsoftware.blogspot.com/p/dvda-gui.html

It is a front end for a few other open source software.

It seems to have trouble with files of different sample rates. But not those sample rates itself. For example, mixing an 88Khz and a 96Khz file - no go. But each works separately.

Reset Pioneer DVD players without a display or remote

1) Switch the player into standby and empty the disc tray.
2) Using the front panel buttons, hold down the STOP button and press STANDBY/ON to switch the player back on.

From

http://www.pioneerfaq.info/english/dv400.php?player=DV-400V&question=Extras

Squeezebox Duet Duel

Due to a missing power supply and not reading the amps rating of power supplies, I happen to have two Squeezebox Duets.

So I used most of http://lampizator.eu/lampizator/Squeezebox/squeezebox.html on one and they had a duel.

Before this, I also compared the RCA SPDIF output of the modified player and a Squeezebox touch, piping the signal to a Sony DA7100ES, headphone output. I couldn't tell the difference.

On to compare the analog outputs of both Duets. They fed the analog inputs of a Grace Designs Model 901 headphone amp. I used my Focal spirit one pro.

The test was a single blind, I did not know which was which. But I did know that they were different and I was switching between them. I wrote down my thoughts and the modified one won.

My first thought was that the unmodified one sounded like most other DACs. The modified one had more natural sounding instruments and had nicer layering of vocals. Drums sounded nicer too.

Next up, comparing digital outputs to each other.

2014/10/29
There is a difference between the modded player and the unmodded player. Both were feeding a the digital input of Grace Designs Model 901 headphone amp. I used my Focal spirit one pro.

I only used two songs. Faith and Hand to Mouth by George Michael. The unmodded player sounded fuller, boomy. The modded player revealed more details and instruments sounded more natural. Overall, more pleasant.

These were different. Some may prefer the sound of the unmodded player.

To throw a kink in the works, I also used a Pioneer DV38A. To me, that was the winner. Somewhere in the middle full sounding. And exquisite highs. All those transformers and parts help.

Another list

By popular demand :)

Headphones:
Grado SR60
Sennheiser HD280 Pro
Panasonic RP-HTF600-S
Monoprice 8323
Focal Spirit Professional
Stax SR Lambda Pro
 
Earphones:
Sennheiser MX500
Panasonic ?
Monoprice 8320 IEM

Headphone amps:
Electric Avenues PA2V2
Grace m901
Stax - SRM-1/MK2
Schiit Vali

Portable audio players:
First generation Ipod shuffle 512M
Zune HD 16GB
Noname malaysian made 4GB

Current Phone:
HTC one M7


Previous well liked phones for digital audio playback:
Microsoft/Sharp Kin TwoM
Blackberry Curve 8320

A tale of three digital audio players

The players:
Microsoft Zune HD 16GB
HTC One M7
Malaysian 4GB mp3 player

Headphones: Focal Spirit One Professional

Music:
Sting - Fields of Gold
Feist - 1234
Yo-Yo Ma - Appassionato
Kansas City Symphony/Michael Stern - Britten's Orchestra
Nicki Minaj - Starships
Thomas Fersen - Au Café de la Paix

For listening to classical, pop music, I prefer the Zune HD 16GB slightly more than the HTC One M7.

With this headphone and music, the HTC sounded a little boomier compared to the Zune which was crisp. I turned off Beats audio on the phone since it usually annoyed me, except on specific headphones.

As a versatile device, it is hard to compete with the HTC. Plays all formats I have tried. The HTC has an IR transmitter - use as a universal remote control. And I like the Zoe camera app. 1080p Screen. However the OLED screen on the Zune though small, is outstanding: vivid colors and blacker blacks. No wave playback though. The Zune HD is one of the few portable HD radio receivers . Depending on your area, this can be useful.

The no-name malaysian 4GB mp3 player tried to swallow the jack of my headphones (too tight). That and the funny interface and screen disqualified it. But its audio quality was surprisingly good for the price.

A bonus comparison between two setups using Sennheiser HD 280 Pro:

(1) HTC One M7

(2) Micromega Mydac -> Schiit Vali -> voltage divider (for hiss)

The phone was somewhat more shrill. Interestingly again, closer than I expected. The low end is nicer to me on the Mydac/Vali combo and the orchestra sounds more layered. 

Modding a Pioneer DV-400V

Inspired by the goldmundizator (Pioneer DV-300) from Lampizator (see link for details), I wanted to try my hand at something similar. 

I tried the usual places: Craigslist. No luck. ebay. No luck. So I found other models that had the same DVD drive at Pioneer.

I found a DV-400V on ebay. Bonus it has USB input. I checked the main chip number, it was the same as the one in the DV-300 (I thought at the time). 

Ok. Got the player. Got the service manual. Got the RCA sockets. Got the cable. 

Still unaware that the chip is different (MT1389FE/E-L vs MT1389FE/S-L, the DV-300 service manual had inconveniently cropped the first page at MT1389FE and yes, I was not careful enough) until I start counting pins and looking at the schematic closely (64 pins per side vs 54, maybe it is the HDMI, USB). Thankfully, there was a pin with SPDIF in the schematic (215) and I was able to wire the new RCA socket to it. And there was music. Good music. Both from CD and USB. Yes !

I used to believe in function with no attention to form (Sockets and interconnects are for sissies). With a little extra care, I have to admit this does look better.

The willing and able

 We want pin 215. Shared between the blob on the corner of the AV box and one end of B4007 (Yes, it was my first SMD. Removal is easy)

Before

After

2014 April:
This digital output -> Grace m901 -> Grado SR60 = :)