Soldato
You don't really want anything with an enhanced bass anyway, an amp should be as neutral as possible across the spectrum. What headphones are you using to listen to the amp with?
DIY Headphone Amplifier
- Thread starter Rroff
- Start date
Mostly the hd-600s, played around with some others but it was mainly made for the 600s as everything else I own are below 300 ohm.
The bass on the 8066 isn't so much enhanced - its pretty neutral but seems to preserve "directionality" on low frequencies better than most other popular op amps which does wonders for the soundstage in general and perception of the bass.
2228 + 8066 for some reason has "thicker" bass and might not be entirely neutral to the source but very satisfying whereas when using the 4556 buffer it doesn't seem to "pass through" the deeper bass as much for some reason.
EDIT: Could also be the 4556 needs a little while to "burn in" I noticed 1-2 op amps seem to improve with a few dozen hours of use.
The bass on the 8066 isn't so much enhanced - its pretty neutral but seems to preserve "directionality" on low frequencies better than most other popular op amps which does wonders for the soundstage in general and perception of the bass.
2228 + 8066 for some reason has "thicker" bass and might not be entirely neutral to the source but very satisfying whereas when using the 4556 buffer it doesn't seem to "pass through" the deeper bass as much for some reason.
EDIT: Could also be the 4556 needs a little while to "burn in" I noticed 1-2 op amps seem to improve with a few dozen hours of use.
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Soldato
No argument that the 8086 is great for bass, it's the "veiled" description that concerns me, it doesn't bode well for the highs and upper mids
Its kind of hard to describe (not sure if you've listened to op amps with a veiled signature or not) but its like a slight "damping"/less dynamic sound on upper frequencies - how noticeable it is depends a lot on the type of music and headphones used. Overall I really like the detail and bass of the 8066 but for longer sessions it can get a bit much.
Would love an op amp that had the 8066's bass, 2228's mid-range and something a little smoother and more airey for treble - neither are bad for treble but both can be a touch metallic and aggressive for treble at times.
Would love an op amp that had the 8066's bass, 2228's mid-range and something a little smoother and more airey for treble - neither are bad for treble but both can be a touch metallic and aggressive for treble at times.
Pretty happy with this setup after a few days of using it - there definitely was a bit of burn in required - sounds far more balanced now with reasonable bass and less "bright". While I do miss the unnaturally good bass of the 2228/8066 combinations this has a nicely balanced sound, fairly crisp and clean overall and the 2228's mellow/smooth mid-range goes well with the unhurried decay/tonality of the 600s - some might find the 2228 too slow for other headphones however.
Soundstage could be a bit wider but not too bad - good low fatigue setup for longer listening though probably not ideal for analytical type use (I'd definitely be swapping the 2228 out for something like that).
Soundstage could be a bit wider but not too bad - good low fatigue setup for longer listening though probably not ideal for analytical type use (I'd definitely be swapping the 2228 out for something like that).
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Soldato
Sounds like you are doing the solid state version of tube rolling - there's your next project, a high quality tube amp 
Sounds like you are doing the solid state version of tube rolling - there's your next project, a high quality tube amp
Sadly like my solid state bass too much for tubes - love the mid-range sound of tubes but the bass isn't my tastes.
Noticed an odd one today heh - when using sensitive IEMs with this amp and someone rings the doorbell (really old electric one with electric magnets, etc.) there is corresponding interference in the headphones - must be a fair bit of EMI or something coming off that bell :S
Soldato
Useful though, at least you'll know when someone rings your doorbell 
Can't seem to find out easily what kind of frequencies interference from the doorbell/doorbell transformer would be on :S the audio input side is fairly well isolated from <~1.6Hz and >~500KHz and the feedback loop is decently short - not sure if it might also be coming in from the power supply side.
Not a big deal though as it mostly seems to be free from interference and background noise - I literally have to put my mobile phone on top of the amp itself to pickup any interference from its radio i.e. just before an incoming call.
The amp is also sitting right over the doorbell vertically so probably less than 6 foot separation.
Not a big deal though as it mostly seems to be free from interference and background noise - I literally have to put my mobile phone on top of the amp itself to pickup any interference from its radio i.e. just before an incoming call.
The amp is also sitting right over the doorbell vertically so probably less than 6 foot separation.