So I am referring to DACs that employed op-amps, like many Aliexpress DACs. Many of them have NE5532. People tend to talk about op-amp rolling their headphone amps. But how about DACs ? Will upgrading Op-amps in a DAC change the sound for the better ? Thanks.
Word on the street is that its not uncommon for sellers to put fake 5532s into their DACs. Replacing those with genuine 5532s makes an improvement as the fakes are considerably noisier.
In general the upgrade to be expected depends on the particular DAC in question.
In general the upgrade to be expected depends on the particular DAC in question.
The NE5532 was really good for its time but has been superseded by quite a few opamps since then. I'd go with the LM4562 (= LME49720) instead. Some will point out the OPA1612 (which is even better) or the OPA1656. I hesitate to recommend those without simulating the circuit. I've had an OPA1612 lose its mind in a filter circuit where an LME49720 worked just fine. The LME49860 is another option.
The LM4562 will improve the performance measurably as it has much lower THD than the NE5532. I'm sure some will hear a difference between them. Whether you will is something you'll have to experiment with to find out. The opamps are only a few bucks each from TI or the distributors.
Tom
The LM4562 will improve the performance measurably as it has much lower THD than the NE5532. I'm sure some will hear a difference between them. Whether you will is something you'll have to experiment with to find out. The opamps are only a few bucks each from TI or the distributors.
Tom
Oh ok. So DACs do benefit from better op-amps. I thought the effect would be somewhat less vs amps. If I were to go ahead with replacing NE5532, I was actually thinking about OPA2132 since I heard that it imparts euphoric sound, whatever that means..
You should understand the circuit in order to choose the best fit for the job. OPA2134 is not better than NE5532 in most places. I also don’t think it imparts any particularly noticeable euphony.
My philosophy is you should pick the best objective part and if you want a particular sound it’s best achieved via DSP.
My philosophy is you should pick the best objective part and if you want a particular sound it’s best achieved via DSP.
Both ave very good, but It should be understand where to use them.
(Also AD797 is very good, depend of it's place).
In DAC there is a difference between I/V and subtractor-LPF.
I/V is usually better with JFET/CMOS OP than BJT.
As a 1st stage - OK, but next must be measurement of the real hardware and finally - listening.
A lot depends on the type of DAC chip as to which opamps might be suitable. For example of one type of problem, Scott Wurcer once posted a picture of an ESS hump distortion residual showing what is clearly a non-PSS (periodic steady state) type of distortion. The DAC chip was an ES9018. IIUC the output stage opamps ESS was using at the time were AD797. Also IIRC, Scott said the picture was taken from a study done by ESS:
These days the opamp of choice used by both ESS and AKM is OPA1612.
Some of the other opamps recommended in this thread may not be suitable for use with some sigma-delta DAC chips for reasons described in a couple of threads over at ASR:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...d-signal-with-1mhz-carrier.20828/#post-696688
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...the-lm4562-lme497x0-family.10687/#post-296554
However, all the above having been said, swapping opamps is not likely to make a low-cost Aliexpress DAC sound all that much better. Most of the sound quality of a DAC is determined by the quality of the circuitry and quality of parts surrounding the DAC chip. The DAC chip itself is not usually the limiting factor, nor are the opamps by themselves. Anyway, the reason some of those low-cost dacs can be as cheap as they is because everything except the DAC chip is designed to be as cheap as possible. That means the circuitry and parts are often of very low quality. Its the only way they can make any money selling DACs at such low prices, so its to be expected.
EDIT: Of possible additional interest to some readers: https://www.ti.com/lit/an/snoa497b/snoa497b.pdf
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What about these? https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/supreme-sound-opamp-v6/ They don’t even look like op amps, but they are supposed to be magical.
Then, is it worth it to put $150 op amps in a $200 DAC? Probably not. I would like to try some different op amps and see if there is much difference. Stuff some in my old SACD player and see if it makes a difference.
You try swapping opamps. If you do, you may notice some difference in sound. However, making a dac box sound as good as the dac chip is potentially capable of often requires starting over from scratch with a new dac board design.