Frustrated with ASR's view on op-amps

[Tano]

I have been experimenting with op-amps in my Fosi P4 and can clearly hear that after all the ones I tried, the Sparkos SS3602 sounds excellent. I previously thought it sounded harsh and bright, with boomy bass, but even if this is true to some degree overall it is best choice of op-amp I've tried in this application. Why is it then, that folks here deny the benefits of op-amp rolling? My ears are not lying to me. The only challenge is to choose a single op-amp to stick with, but having tried five so far, I am tired of experimenting. So I plan to leave things alone now. That's my goal, to achieve the best result and leave it alone.

Using the stock op-amp did not provide the most musical enjoyment, and that's my point, why can't people here recognize this? Put your measurement devices away for a second and try listening to music.

You have great imagination. You should try writing a book or painting.

 

[Multicore]

but I'm glad I've finally stopped rolling op-amps after arriving upon my favorite. I was searching for closure, and I've found it.

Are you sure this closure doesn't open other doors?

There are a lot of tweaks you can make to a system that will make it sound better if you believe in them.

 

[Tano]

Op-amps rolling saved my life

 

[5-pot-fan]

Perhaps we can leave this poor guy alone for while, to lick his wounds, or whatever?
There will be another one along soon!

 

[Steven Holt]

I'm havin' my coffee and shakin' my head. Here's an idea : roll cookie dough instead of op-amps. You'll save money and be happier!

 

[Robin L]

I'm havin' my coffee and shakin' my head. Here's an idea : roll cookie dough instead of op-amps. You'll save money and be happier!

Speaking of rolling:

 

[Soniclife]

You know what no one talks about?

Code carries the acoustical signature of the room it was written in.
Especially libraries. You think it doesn’t matter? Oh, it matters.

Picture this:

• One function written in a perfectly treated studio — smooth frequency response, low RT60, grounded developer.
• Another banged out in a concrete cube of hard reflective surfaces, on a machine without a power conditioner, with fans whirring like a wind tunnel.
• And the third? Slapped together in a Starbucks, with ambient muzak playing, espresso machines hissing, and someone two tables over loudly Zooming.

Now link them into the same binary.
Now run your DSP chain through that.

It’s like listening to a jazz trio where:

• The bass was tracked in an anechoic chamber (dead and joyless),
• The guitar sounds like a barista blowing the steam wand,
• And the piano bounces early reflections off every flat surface into your soul.

Unlistenable.

I can't even

This brings back memories of some of the old CD ripping tales, how ripping at single speed produced better sounding wav files than high speed rips, even if the resulting files were identical.

 

[IPunchCholla]

Are you sure this closure doesn't open other doors?

There are a lot of tweaks you can make to a system that will make it sound better if you believe in them.

You just made me realize that some of my favorite art came about from people painting books and from writing paintings.

 

[egellings]

View attachment 464859


JSmith

If he believes that a particular jellybean sounds better than the rest, then to him, and him alone, it will, as long as the belief lasts.

 

[DVDdoug]

An adage from my analog design days:
If you want a high gain amplifier you frequently end up with an oscillator.

I once built a preamp that turned-out to be an RF oscillator.

It wasn't that funny at the time but it was a good learning experience. I hooked it up and I was really impressed with myself because it was super quiet. But then I don't remember exactly, but I might have heard a little "pop" and I realized one side of my power amp was blown.

I didn't have a 'scope at home so I only deduced what had happened. This was in the early days of op-amps and they needed "compensation" for LOW gain. I thought I was smart putting the volume control pot in the feedback circuit.. Turn it down and you've got an oscillator.

I eventually got working and was able to repair the power amp. And now I'm a bit smarter!

 

[Joe0429]

A while ago I built a headphone amp and tested op-amps in it. I used these instructions:

How to Build the CMoy Pocket Amplifier

tangentsoft.com

I made a 'power amp' without a volume control, and powered it with a 24V 5A power supply.

I used solid silver wiring and silver bearing solder.

Wow, a Cmoy! That really reminds me of the old days when people talked about circuits instead of just blindly swapping components.

 

[Curvature]

I second that.

But it goes deeper. Much deeper.

Let’s talk about the C code used in DSP filters. You think the loop structure doesn’t affect the sound? Think again.

• goto: crude, direct, unfiltered — perfect for punk rock.
• while: introspective, elegant, academic — ideal for classical and chamber music.
• for: balanced, controlled, versatile — the everyman of loops, suitable for anything from jazz to indie pop.

Don’t even get me started on do-while — you don't hear it, you feel it, like free jazz.

And now for the real rabbit hole:

Ask me about the use of the register modifier for function-local variables.

Yes, yes — I know the compilers say it’s obsolete.

But I beg to differ. I hear the difference. Especially in high-resolution FLACs and with well-matched op-amps. Try it with a Baroque fugue or some gritty doom metal. It’s there.

They’ve been hiding this from us for too long.
The real audiophile secrets are buried in compiler flags and microcode.

So tell me this:

• Do static inline functions sound warmer, or just smeared?
• Are recursive functions better for ambient, or are they strictly prog rock territory?
• And what’s the best compiler flag for jazz?

Let’s compare notes.
Hardware matters. Code structure matters. Music genre matters. The rest is lies and marketing.

There is more that the industry's been hiding from us.

Resist!

I wish people weren't doing stuff like this but they are. They are actually editing registry entries.

Some unscrupulous dealers were also selling special SATA cables.

I think these things have fallen off as explanations of digital systems proliferated online.