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Opamps improve CD Player's Sound

dr*audio

dr*audio

Fish fingers and custard!
I have been using LM833N opamps for years to replace NE5532 opamps and others to improve the sound of preamps and CD players. I have found the LM833N provides a smoother sound with much clearer sounding high end, better imaging than the NE5532 and TL-072 opamps. When used in a preamp, while the original sounded very dirty, with mushy sounding highs and vague imaging; replacing all the opams with LM833Ns made the preamp sound like a wire with gain, completely neutral. I put the preamp into the tape monitor loop of my system and you could switch it in and out and hear no difference.
I have found another opamp I like, the OPA2228P. It is a low noise, high slew rate opamp I have been wanting to try. I tried this in a Onkyo DX-702 CD player which as stock sounded lifeless, rather midrangey, with not enough bass. After I replaced the 5532 opamps with the OPA2228P opamps, now it has better bass, is overall more warm sounding, and the imaging is better. I put 8 pin sockets in so I can compare different opamps, and I intend to try the LM833N's in there but for now I am very satisfied with the sound.
I realize this is very subjective, and I certainly can't explain the improvement in the bass. I have, however, made measurements in the past that prove the LM833N has lower distortion than the NE5532 and TL-072.
 
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VERY good info, Doc! And I thought the TL-072 was good, better than the 4558's usually used in a lot of equipment.

I have a bunch of 1458's I could put on ebay as "vintage" audio upgrades... :D

Seriously, are the voltage specs close enough that you can simply swap in the new op amp for LM4558 and TL-072?
 
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It's my understanding that NE5532 is still a pretty good replacement for some of the early Op Amps from the 70s used in the phono section of many receivers. Preamps and CD players definitely could benefit from those more advanced Op-amps. The key is being able to find a compatible match.

Ebay is actually a pretty good place to pick up small bulk quantities of these op-amps at a good price
 
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Most dual opamps work on the same voltage range, so they are plug - in replacements. Some older 8 pin opamps are single, such as the LM741, so you have to know what it is you're replacing. Yep, the NE5532 is better than some older opamps, and they are made by more than one manufacturer, and they don't all sound the same. I can tell you that the Signetics and JRC ones don't sound so hot. The JRC's are better than the Signetics, though. I am sitting here listening to Paul McCartney's "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" on the player I just modified, and it sounds like he is right here in the room. I was listening to Prokofiev's "Alezander Nevsky" earlier and I just kept wanting to crank up the volume. That's always a good sign (unless you're going deaf...)
 
my favorite dual *at this time* are the ad826 or the ths4032 -- favorite singles are the ad797
 
I just replaced the pair of Op Amps in my Yamaha CDX-550. The originals were C4570C. I dropped in a pair of BB OPA2604. I noticed a significant improvement from this little upgrade. Nicer sounding high end. Only about $3.30 each for these.
 
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I replaced all the slop amps in my old Carver tube CD player with BB (2134?) and AD (275?). They seemed to improve the sound over the JRC op-amps that were in the unit.
(Those AD/BB op-amps are probably getting a little long in the tooth nowdays...)

The Carver died, and the op-amps were used with sockets, so all the devices are in a vintage Onkyo CDP now. They improved the sound I suppose, but jacking up the capacitance is more noticed to me. The CD player has bass......
 
I was always a fan of the AD712 upgrade over a TL072. It is tough to beat a workhorse like the NE5532 but I should check out some of the newer opamps though. I usually just leave the 5532 in place. I built a dual 9V CMOY awhile back and was quite impressed with the drive capability it had on headphones.

Here is a nice sheet on general audio applications regarding it -

NE5532/34 Application Notes
 
I just read the CMOY article, it's a really awesome little headphone amp that's about the size of an iPod. It looks like a cinch to build, and should be fun for beginners. Props to whoever put the website together also, it explains everything clearly. Well, it's not tube, but I suppose it _could_ sound all right :thmbsp:
 
Hi,
In my Yamaha CDX-993 CD player I replaced original NJR 4558 with AD826 and it influenced the sound for the better. i think the most obvious benefit is better separation of instruments, more open sound, and better soundstage. i can't tell bass is much better (but it's not worse either), but anyway it was worth the effort and money :banana:
 
I have been playing with some combinations in my dac. Recently I hit upon using the lt1357 for I/V with a opa627 as the buffer. I must say I am very impressed with this combo. Before that I was using a opa604 with ad797.
 
Tact said:
Hi,
In my Yamaha CDX-993 CD player I replaced original NJR 4558 with AD826 and it influenced the sound for the better. i think the most obvious benefit is better separation of instruments, more open sound, and better soundstage. i can't tell bass is much better (but it's not worse either), but anyway it was worth the effort and money :banana:
Click to expand...
I think the ad826 is a great opamp. It sounds great and is very forgiving about what circuit it is thrown in (at least I think so). My other favorite the ths4032 needs lots of help to sound right and if you hate caps in your output it is definatly not for you.
 
So, how do you guys do this?
Are these things socket or surface mounted?
I read about swapping these out on the Toshiba SD-3950/3960s, but those puppies are surfaced mounted with litle bitty feet and certainly not something for any kind of newbie (me) to try. Heck, I even tried DE-soldering a surface mount on a computer card and that was a total failure!

What are the tricks, guys??
 
The op-amps I was talking about are 8 pin DIP type. They look like the following:

lm386.jpg


These are relatively easy to desolder and remove and then replace with a new op-amp. You need to ensure that the new op-amp is compatible. You can then just plug in the new op-amp and solder them into place. Make sure you take note of the orientation of the op-amp so that you don't put it in upside down. It might be worth getting a pen sized solder iron so that you can get in there and make these small solder joints more easily.
 
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