Question-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
What is an opamp, and what does it do? There are a lot of e-
stores selling opamp upgrades. They promise a wider, deeper
sound stage with a fuller sound. I have a Music Hall CD-25
player, and this machine in particular seems to be easily
upgraded. Thanks!
Answer -
Dear Coe,
I almost passed on this question (allexperts give us the option to do that) because explaining
what an op amp (Operational Amplifier) does requires a fairly extensive lesson in electronics
circuitry--not what allexperts is designed to do. So, I'll give you a very brief, very high level view
of an op amp and more importantly explain why purveyors sell upgrades and what those
upgrades mean in terms of sound and your wallet.
An op amp is an operational amplifier. These are quite literally tiny amplifiers which up- or
down-convert signals in any manner of electronic device. They have two inputs (+ and -) and
one output. Their value is that they can be put anywhere in a circuit where the circuit requires
amplification. They generally output with negative feedback which has been used in solid state
amplifiers to reduce the amount of distortion inherent in signal amplification. Before the
application of op amps to audio amplifier design, Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) could be as
much as 1-3% of the output, enough to be audible. After op amps (I think Walt Jung, currently
(NPI) with Parasound, is generally credited with the innovative application) THD was reduced to
tenths then hundredths of a percent, that is, to inaudible levels. Jung has edited several books
regarding op amp applications. For a sample go to this web site: http://tangentsoft.net/elec/
reviews/oaa.html. You can also try Jung's web site: http://home.comcast.net/~walt-jung/wsb/
html/view.cgi-home.html-.html.
Now, CD players and op amps. Yes, I've heard that upgrading CD players with Burr-Brown
OPA627 op amps does "wondrous" things to the sound, and I'm skeptical. Why? One modifier
claims that it takes away the brittleness of CD playback. Brittle versus what? LPs? This is a 20+
year old argument that has never been settled, and is not likely to.
Another claim is that new op amps bring CD playback to the best that the "Red Book"
specification allows. Maybe. But is it audible? Palpable? Real? Worth the money?
The home audio signal chain is fairly complex. You have the sound source, the preamplifier, the
power amplifier and loudspeakers. Solid state amplifier design has come so far in the last 20
years that few, if any, of the so-called audiophile literati can tell the difference between a Mark
Levinson behemoth and an entry level Adcom when asked to judge by the sound alone. Ditto
preamp and CD player design. (Frank Van Alstine, whose Audio by Van Alstine produces, for my
money, the most transparent amps and preamps in the business doesn't use op amps at all, and
takes a load of crap from the audio press for it--it's not the parts; it's how you use them.)
What matters most--have you heard this before?--is your selection of loudspeakers. That's
where the music meets your ears. Everything else is a matter of taste, because IMHO it's not a
matter of sound electronics. What you do is listen to a CD played back through your system and
most importantly your speakers in your room and then listen to the same CD played back
through a souped up Music Hall CD-25. If you can honestly tell yourself that the modded Music
Hall sounds "better", be it soundstage, imaging, frequency response or what have you, then your
money has been well spent. But I wouldn't spend the money unless I could hear the result for
myself ahead of time--one of the problems with etrade in general and audio etrade in particular.
Since you're buying sound improvements, seems to me you should hear what you're buying
before you buy it. The Music Hall CD-25 is a pretty expensive unit ($550-700 depending on
where you shop) to begin with. And one would think at that price Music Hall produced the best
machine it could come up with--or don'cha think they'd have stuck in the Burr Browns and
charged $900? Maybe Music Hall didn't think the upbump in price was worth the uptrade in op
amps? Maybe they didn't agree that putting in "better" op amps improved the sound? Have you
talked to them? Besides voiding your warranty, what's their opinion?
You didn't ask, but I don't even recommend stand-alone CD players any more. DVD players are
cheaper, have better electronics, and you can't tell the difference between them and CD players
during CD playback.
Where do we come out? I don't know. I really think you should hear what you're buying before
you buy it. There's an awful lot of audio snake oil and mytholigizing in cyberspace. I'm not saying
that installing Burr Brown op amps isn't a good thing or suggesting that they aren't SOTA parts.
They are. Revered and hallowed. However, I am suggesting that you should (1) listen to what
you're buying before you buy it and (2) be utterly convinced that what you hear is so profoundly
better that it's worth the cost.
If you have a Music Hall CD-25, you must have a pretty hefty rig. If I haven't totally turned you
off, I'd like to know what else you're using: amp, preamp, speakers. Betcha it's a killer.
Good luck. And thanks for choosing allexperts.com!
Kindest regards,
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
Thank you very much for agreeing to take on the question. your answer is both informative
and easily understood. ( a true acomplishment when it comes to this stuff.) My system includes
the MH CD-25, an NAD T-753 receiver, a B+W 200.2 amp, a REL Q-108 sub, and Audio Physic
Tempo speakers. If you are familiar with those speakers you know I very much agree with you on
spending the most money there. I now use the NAD (a home theatre unit with pre-out RCAs) as
a pre-amp only. I had a very brief foray into 5.1 chanel audio, and was very unimpressed.
The problem with all the upgrade chatter out there is that it seems to make sense on a certain
level. Upgrading female RCA jacks makes sense when you just plunked down 200.00 bucks on a
pair of 1m interconnects. Then it makes sense that you might want to upgrade the wire inside
the CDP after you did the first two things. Then what comes next? The list is endless. I don't
buy into all of it, and besides, I spent the $550.00 I could to buy the best piece I could get for
the money. If I'd have been able to spend $1,500.00 and still sleep next to my wife that night, I
would have come home with a different player all together. (The Creek CD-50 comes to mind.)
I think maybe my next big purchase could be a Mcintosh Amp in the 125 WPC range. What do
you think? Also do you think power cord upgrades make sense?
I liked your point about Music Hall deciding that the opamps it uses were good, or they would
not have sent it out the door that way. I have thought that very thing myself from time to time.
Does it not follow that the power cord that came with the player sounds equally good? I don't
know. It makes sense on a certain level that a PC with better characteristics COULD do
something, and the audio press thinks these things make a difference. I have also seen a couple
of blind study results that say it's complete BS.
Different gear for sure has unique sonic differences, and listening is the only way to find out
what you like. There is no return policy that I know of for these opamps, so that would just have
to be a gamble I guess. These things seem very delicate, so that makes a certain amount of
sense. In any case, thank you so much again for your knowledgeable response to my initial
inquirey. I very much appreciate your time.
AnswerDear Coe,
Glad the first response was helpful. Gee, you sure have a nice rig. Must be a genuine pleasure to listen to.
I haven't heard the MacIntosh unit, so no comment. And, yes, the Tempos are renowned for their musicality. Also their price.
Okay, power cords and wire (interconnects and speaker wire). I'm afraid I'm on the side of "they don't make no difference no now". Even though audio writers, whose work I generally respect, have gushed over the revolutionary changes in the sound of their system once they replace a power cord, I simply can't believe them. Why? Take a $5,000+ system and insert a $100 power cord, and it makes a profound sound difference? Sorry, I'm not buying it (NPI). When you think about all the precision engineering that goes into a component and all the costly circuitry, do you think that the manufacturer would toss it all to the wind for want of a power cord? Really. Believe the ABX (double blind testing) guys: upgrading power cords is upgrading someone else's profit margin at the expense of your wallet.
You didn't ask, but you did mention $200 on a 1 meter pair of interconnects. I'm sorry, but I have yet to see any hard scientific data that proves that pricey interconnects sonically outperform the cheap stuff. Yeah, I know. When you've got all those high end brand plates on your stuff (B+W, NAD, Music Hall), you don't want to admit to your audio buddies that you've only got Radio Shack interconnects. Oh, the shame of it! Truth is the Radio Shack stuff is very good, very well made, and sonically indistinguishable from the Hyperlitz, Kimber, AudioQuest, and so on. I have Kimber and AudioQuest interconnects. Hey, they "sound" great, but when I switch 'em out with the gold-plated Radio Shack stuff, I can't hear any difference in the sound. (BTW, system = (original) Sunfire amp, AVA Omega Star III EC preamp, Parasound C/DP 1000 CD player, and Legacy Classic speakers). Neither can any of my buddies.
And I won't wax lengthy on speaker wire. IMHO, generic 14AWG 99.99% pure oxy free copper wire is more than enough. All the rest of it is best designed to separate you from your hard earned cash. And when you can get 14AWG generic at $0.33/ft. (!)--(http://www.hometech.com/learn/spkrcbl.html)--why condsider anything else?
I know it's tough to get beyond all the audio press hype, especially when some of the most respected "names" tout some of this stuff as the tweak of the century. But you gotta get past it. Remember, if Music Hall ships a component with an interconnect, it feels (just like the op amps it used in the CD player) that the interconnect is going to bring out the best its component has to offer. Again, why trash a $600 product for the sake of a $10 set of wires? It's the wire makers, backed with little or no scientific evidence, who want you to believe that you have to spend more to get more. That's why they're in business, to sell product. And, sadly, audio magazines are in the business to promote audio gear. It's in their interest to jump on the bandwagon, no matter how wobbly the axles. Lots of mutual back scratching between the two.
Coe, you have a great system. Don't fret about the ephemeral "what if's" the audio press throws your way. Enjoy it! Isn't that why you bought it?
Have a great life!
Kindest regards,
Kevin
