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Thread: Supreme Sound Audio discrete Op-amp upgrade

  1. #61
    Bigman80 Guest

    Default Promised review - Belatedly delivered!

    First of all, I would like to thank Charles for his patience!! This review has been a while in the making.



    My current phono stage (Firebottle OTP MK2) is using NE5532 opamps from TI. We have tried multiple variations of opamps. Burr Brown, Texas Instruments and the other usual suspects. We decided on the NE552 due to its clarity and exceptional tonal ability.

    Swapping in the V5 delivered everything i didn’t know i wanted!

    Let me explain,

    Well designed valve phono stages are a thing of beauty. Airy vocals, sweet midrange, smooth and detailed treble and deep, solid bass. Solid state phono stages are usually more immediate and clean sounding, sometimes analytical. Well, imagine now having the best of both worlds, all for the sake of swapping the NE5532 for a pair of V5’s.

    That’s where i find myself while i listen to the 50th Anniversary SGT. Pepper. I have listened to this album almost continually since i bought it a few weeks back. I thought this was a fantastic recording. Now it’s a fantastic performance. With the V5’s, It sounds like a living breathing performance. Every track has realism and emotion. Timbre and depth and best of all, the wind instruments now sound, well, windy! It’s not subtle either. The crescendo of the brass sections are stirring and the vocals, well, they are stunning. Still there in the mix is the grip you get with solid state. The detail retrieval hasn’t suffered as far as i can tell and the clarity is also “as you were”. There is guts and drive to each track.

    So, would i recommend them – Yes!!!!

    Are they worth the money – lets look into this a bit.

    The range of opamps we tested were all under £15 (over estimate) and there were some good performers. A favorite of ours was the NE5532 which cost around £1.50 a pair.

    The V5’s cost £53 + VAT (£65ish)

    SO, are they X42 better than the NE5532? Well, no, BUT is the investment of £63 a lot for the amount of improvement (IMO) to the sound presentation? – NO!

    Hearing is a funny thing. No two people usually agree on what they hear. I love what the V5’s are doing to the music. I highly recommend them.

    Note: Phono stages need alterations to the offset when opamp rolling with discrete opamps. Please be prepared for some adjusting and soldering if you wish to try Discrete opamps in a phono stage.
    Last edited by Bigman80; 03-08-2017 at 16:04.

  2. #62
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Carlisle - UK

    Posts: 1,956
    I'm Ken.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by SS-Audio View Post
    Guys,

    In case you haven't noticed, we have released our newest creation: The v6 vivid and classic.

    Let me know if you want to test this new version on your own gear.
    Charles I sent you a PM.

  3. #63
    Join Date: Jan 2015

    Location: Leeds

    Posts: 164
    I'm Dave.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by SS-Audio View Post
    Guys,

    In case you haven't noticed, we have released our newest creation: The v6 vivid and classic.

    Let me know if you want to test this new version on your own gear.
    I would be very interested to try them in my active crossover. I would need 2 dual devices.
    More info in post #15 (although I have changed my opamp choice and PS since then).

  4. #64
    Join Date: Sep 2017

    Location: Chemnitz / Germany

    Posts: 5
    I'm Karsten.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by SS-Audio View Post
    Guys,

    In case you haven't noticed, we have released our newest creation: The v6 vivid and classic.

    Let me know if you want to test this new version on your own gear.
    hello,
    I have an Audinst HUD-DX1 here and i will upgrade it. I know you have a kit of V5i for it, but i want to use two of the V6 amps.
    To make space, i will use a bigger case for the DAC/HPA, so there will be no problem for that.
    The problem ist, i don´t know if my amp has enough power for the V6 and which version i should take.
    I like warm sound with strong Bass and much details. I use a DT990 250 ohm headphone.
    So i think i will use the Classic version.
    Looking at the diagramm, the classic is exactly like the V5, except a massive increase of colour and texture.
    I would also like to try both, but thats too much money for me right now. But i know, they are cheap for its performance.
    If you want, i can make a test and review with the classic version in the DX1.

    I hope it doesn´t look like i´m here only for get somewhat for free. Actually i want to hear your opinion, if the V6 will work and which one i should choose.
    thanks a lot,
    Karsten

  5. #65
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Carlisle - UK

    Posts: 1,956
    I'm Ken.

    Default

    Charles - A pair of V6 Vivid Duals arrived today.
    Hopping to compare with the V5 later in the week.

  6. #66
    Join Date: Jan 2015

    Location: Leeds

    Posts: 164
    I'm Dave.

    Default

    When I got back from holiday at the weekend there were a pair of V6 classics wating for me . Many thanks for the opportunity to try these!!

    Initial impressions are that they are indeed rich and warm sounding. I will run them in and assess further before coming to any conclusions.

  7. #67
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Carlisle - UK

    Posts: 1,956
    I'm Ken.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Starterman View Post
    When I got back from holiday at the weekend there were a pair of V6 classics wating for me . Many thanks for the opportunity to try these!!

    Initial impressions are that they are indeed rich and warm sounding. I will run them in and assess further before coming to any conclusions.
    I need to fit "Vivid" in my analogue active crossover, DSP in place at present.
    We should compare notes on the two types.
    What's your application?

    Ooops I see it is also an active crossover, who's are you using?

    EDIT: Just changed over to analogue crossover and fitted the "Vivid" Duals, running them in for a few days.
    Last edited by Qwin; 12-09-2017 at 14:19. Reason: note added

  8. #68
    Join Date: Jan 2015

    Location: Leeds

    Posts: 164
    I'm Dave.

    Default

    My analogue active crossover is by Audio Kits.
    This seems to be no longer available and all the info on the net seems to have disappeared.

  9. #69
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Carlisle - UK

    Posts: 1,956
    I'm Ken.

    Default V6 Vivid

    Review of V6 Vivid

    Application:
    Three way speaker, with analogue 2way active crossover (310Hz LR 24dB/Oct) split for bass, the high pass then going through a passive crossover to split for the mids/twtr.
    Sparkos Labs ss3601 discrete opamp for input buffer and combining of balanced input signals, V6 vivid duals for high pass and V5 duals for low pass. 1% Vishay PP caps, 1% Takman metal film resistors.

    Decoupling.
    Rather than put a decoupling cap across the dual rail power pins on each module, I used a 4.7uf Tantalum and 0.1uf Ceramic cap (in parallel) between each modules voltage pins and the PCB ground plane, soldered directly to the dip8 socket pins. After much experimenting with the V5 modules, I found this works better with a dual supply, increasing detail and transparency, compared to a single ceramic across the +/- pins.

    The V6 Vivid modules went through a three stage run in sequence, similar to what I experienced with the V5, but took a little longer for the final change.
    I experienced changes at 5hrs, 20hrs and around 90/95 hrs, so Bursons advice to run them in for 100hrs seems right.
    Between 20 and 90 hrs they had an overly rich and tubby sound with slight sibilance, prominence of the top and bottom end with the mids well back in the mix.
    Around 90 hrs and there was a very rapid change, within a few tracks everything snapped into focus, the mids were brought up to the right level, the bass cleaned up and the sibilance was gone. Quite a major change when it happened, prior to this I was thinking, these are too warm and soft, what the hell are the V6 Classics going to be like, if they lean even further that way.

    I think Bursons description/comparison using the bar graphs is an accurate one, compared to the V5 there is increased transparency and detail, not that the V5 is lacking, compared with monolithic op amps. But the Vivid sound is ultra clean and if accuracy is your goal these could be for you. As it happens, over an extended listening period, I found them a bit too top end forward in my set up, which is very slightly the bright side of neutral. I liked the extra detail, but preferred the tone of the V5 with my gear. I swapped them round and used V5 for high pass and V6 Vivid for low pass. This was much better, the bass is so fast and clean and the top end is now more to my liking. I know the down stream passive crossover is going to have a major influence on the mids/top but even taking that into account, the overall contribution of the V6 shines through. With my current set up I think the V6 Classic will be better suited for my high pass needs. The beauty is you can mix and match, tailoring the sound to work with your partnering gear. This set up works particularly well with my vinyl front end. I really, really want to try the Classic now.

    Congratulations Burson, V6 Vivid, Job well done.

  10. #70
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Carlisle - UK

    Posts: 1,956
    I'm Ken.

    Default

    Charles,
    This is the semi active speaker I used to evaluate the V6 Vivid.





    And this is the active crossover I use for development purposes.






    Close up, the V5 is at the front (hi pass) and the V6 Vivid at the back (Low pass)



    This configuration works very well, but I'm now curious as to what would happen if the V5's were replaced with V6 Classics?
    Note I am running these at +/-12vdc (Regulated).

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