Of course, one of the biggest influences on the audio market was the invention of operational amplifiers. Compact and inexpensive (mostly) chips allowed to create small and well-sounded products. But not always miniaturization is in favor of sound quality, and then the famous company Burson comes to the rescue.
In addition to developing popular DACs and amplifiers, Burson is also known as the creators of discrete operational amplifiers V4 and V5, but because of the large size of these solutions, not every technique was suitable for upgrade with the help of these op-amp. In Burson, they thought and released the V5i, a more compact model that uses inside the other op-amps incorporated in a hybrid circuit.
A novelty is designed for simple replacement of full-time OS in devices that allow it, and is suitable for replacing very many OS models. Details can be , the main thing to look closely, you need a "single" or "double" model. They slightly differ in price ($ 49 vs. 69 per pair) and are not interchangeable. In addition to the V5i themselves, various useful accessories are sold on the official website, which can be useful - extensions for those cases when the V5i does not fit in the device's case in the standard position, power pack capacitors and not only, insulation to protect against interference and different sockets with adapters. By the way, a separate pleasant bonus - on V5i is given a lifetime warranty.
They came to me these OU in a simple plastic container, sealed with branded tape. Simple and effective solution.
In the search for the upgrade option, the first candidate was Audinst HUD-DX1 - a very good "harvester" with great potential, although not everyone likes its slightly cool monitor feed. The replacement of the Muse8920 installed in the DX1 is quick and easy, you will need two screwdrivers (H2 and Philips 1), as well as special tongs to extract the chips. The latter I strongly recommend to use for all beginners, the legs of the op-amp are very easy to bend, and the nests keep them very tight, so it is very easy to damage the microcircuit. Except for this, the replacement of the op-amp does not present any difficulties and requires about 5 minutes. It is necessary to unscrew the screw fixing the knob of the volume control, remove it, then unscrew the 4 screws in the corners and remove the front panel. The last step is the screw behind the RCA connectors, after which the board is easily removed and replacement of parts is not difficult.
Usually I'm skeptical about such upgrades, the difference is often necessary to listen in blind testing with the help of two devices. In this case, there was no such need, the sound of DX1 changes quite noticeably. The bass becomes more accented, due to this, the overall feed becomes warmer, more accurately it loses that slight coldness that is peculiar to it in the drain. LFs become more layered, separation of instruments of this range improves. The midrange is almost unchanged, perhaps a bit more detail, but it's somewhere on the verge of audible. HF due to the increase in bass becomes less accented and, thanks to this, the overall feed becomes more versatile. After upgrade HUD-DX1 it is quite possible to use and with bright models of type isodines from HiFiMan (not optimum, certainly, a variant, but quite good).
I also tried other devices that allow the OS to be changed. xDuoo XD-05 as a result of the upgrade becomes a little more collected and more detailed on the LF, but the HF remain unchanged, apparently, they are not due to amplification. To install the V5i in the XD-05 had to slightly bend the capacitors surrounding the socket. I also tried these amplifiers with the Valoq player, because of the design features of the V5i do not fit into the OS slot, so they could only be used with an extension cable, which makes the idea worthless, but the player is a portable device. By the sound I can note a better study of the midrange and high-frequency range, which is very good for the player.
Of course, the silver bullet does not exist, and not all devices get better as a result of replacing the op amp on the V5i, in some cases, changes in sound may not be to the taste of the owner, some devices are clearly "sharpened" for certain chips. But V5i is a really simple and affordable way to experiment with sound, gaining in most cases a quality gain. I was very pleased with the experience with the DX1, to my ear, the upgrade allows this already good DAC amplifier to take one more step up.
The article is based on materials .
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