Minimax DAC opamp upgrade

[ianlenco]

A little package from Hong Kong arrived today surprisingly ignored by Customs and Excise so I didn't have to wait for them and the Royal Mail to spend days adding on import duties and "handling charges" :grin:

In it were four Burson opamps which have duly been fitted into the EE Minimax DAC which I bought from Jake's friend, thanks Jake.

https://i.imgur.com/hst8hiBh.jpg#gWPQG

Apart from checking where the dual and single opamps went and making sure they were the right way round it was an easy job.

The standard Eastern Electric Minimax DAC is not slouch but adding the Bursons has raised the game considerably. Bass has got deeper and mid-bass has more slam to it e.g. Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tin Pan Alley - "I heard a pistol shoot" Thwack has gone up to THWACK! . Voices are a touch clearer, in fact everything is. Quite an upgrade for not too much money. :)

[mikeyb]

Don't count your chickens, I've had customs bills arrive in the post much later than the parcel.

[ianlenco]

Recent bad weather meant I was compelled to listen to more music. Either I was listening more carefully or the Burson's have burnt in - I don't even know whether opamps do this. Either way I did a fair bit of listening to gentle female vocals such as Emiliana Torrini's Fisherman's Women LP. What was very apparent was that the delicacy of vocals have gone up a notch. Voice is rock solid in the centre of the soundstage and subtle intonations are more obvious bringing even more realism. At the other end of the spectrum bass notes have more depth and texture. I was very happy with the Minimax's sound pre the Bursons but things have definitely improved.

[CageyH]

I have also found that the Burson Opamps are superb.
They really do,lift things to another level.

I am just contemplating a V6 classic or vivid for may CD player. This may need a soldering iron to fit though, so I may fit a Dip-8 socket onto the PCB.