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Op-Amps can sound great, or not so great. The basic knock on many is they were not designed specifically for high performance audio use ... many are general purpose amplifiers that are not ideal for our use.The LM38xx family are designed for audio. Therein lies the difference.
With a gainclone type amplifier, layout is critical to sonic performance. You can't just cobble together a PCB and expect stellar performance. As techs go, many are not layout savvy, preferring to build a PCB in a way that is convenient rather than optimized.
Always buy your semiconductors and passive components from known good suppliers with a paper trail for component sourcing. Needless to say, although it's painting with a wide brush, offshore suppliers are suspect and should be avoided. You won't really save much anyway; there is little point in the first place.
A lot of eBay amps just use the basic design notes as supplied by the chip manufacturer. This is a starting point, not an end point. But if further development isn't done, they will sound average and possibly worse.
Do the math and insure there is sufficient, and don't be afraid of over-sufficient, heat sinking. This is one area where design of chip amps is critical and is often overlooked by offshore offerings (heat sinks are heavy and expensive, two areas Chinese vendors strive to minimize).
Now, not all of this matters if you're buying a premade unit. But it does reveal why better sounding examples cost more than a casual perusal of the BOM might suggest.
Edits: 10/19/17 10/19/17
All "Gainclones" are just like almost all cables - colored to some degree. What is "best" in one system won't be "best" in another system. If you are getting "incredible sound", then don't worry - be happy. Anything else is just "audiophile nervosa".
On the other hand if you are impressed by spectacular sound but not finding yourself "lost in the music", then I would look for something besides a "Gainclone". I would guess that an old Dyna Stereo 70 would do that better than a "Gainclone" - but it won't have that "spectacular" detail and so forth. To get it all will cost more than a "Gainclone" or a used Stereo 70. It's just a matter of what works for you and fits into your financial priorities.
You consider gainclones colored but not amps with high output impedance and THD in the 3-4% range?
In the end, everything's colored, of course.
I have Lamm SETs here but the gainclones are truer to the music in some respects.
Do you have any experience with gainclones?
Cheers.
Have a couple of LM Chip amps.
One is Surprisingly good! the other not so much.
Design /Country of mfg makes a BIG difference
(as in an ebay one is more than likely(assuredly?) to be Junk)
Also owned an St70 from new and modded it 'till my wallet ran out.
Both Chip amps are either equal or much better; crisper highs and Far more solid bass / dynamics.
As above; if you've found a good one.. Enjoy:-)
Yeah - they are super crisp (great transients) but also relaxing and smooth - that is a VERY mean trick to pull off.
They also have amazing tonal color - better even than most tube amps and class A discrete amps.
All of this goes for only into very efficient speakers though - if you push them they are not special. I use them with single-driver speakers that are about 96 dB/W.
I like the DAL amps very much but these amps cost $500 new and I know better must be possible - just better parts in the power supply and other areas. I am not really a DIY'er anymore and do not understand why there are not more commercial LM3875 offerings. There are almost none.
I know a guy - an audio importer/dealer - who got rid of his $10,000 2A3 SETs after trying gainclones.
I agree Tonal "color" separates the men from the boys!
The first two that leap to mind these days are models by Clones Audio, and PTP (of modified Lenco fame).
Big J
"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."
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....do not understand why there are not more commercial LM3875 offerings."Possibly because it would be hard to charge audiophile prices for an amp revealed to be based on an inexpensive DIY friendly 20 year old power op-amp chip. There were at least a few audiophile companies way back when that sold LM3875 based amps for around $3000 +/-.
A few may still exist possibly using a newer chip. Sakura Systems only charges $10,000 for their chip amp. I wonder how many they sell. 47 Labs, Musical-Laboratories (defunct) also come to mind, and others that are now out of business.
The modern "Easy Button" for audiophile amp design has gone the Class-D OEM module route.
Edits: 09/27/17 09/27/17 09/27/17
But, of course, "Class D" (switching amps) sound *very* different than gainclones - or any other analog amp for that matter.
I've had all matter of digital amps, including N-Cores, the best so far but still with serious problems that gainclones do not have.
Op-amps have some serious advantages, actually, over discrete circuits (that Philip Holmes once spoke to in a review, incidentally). The fact that they're looked down upon in many quarters is simple audiophile bigotry/ignorance.
As for the actual chips, I can't say for certain nothing sounds as good or even better than the LM3875. I do know they all sound different - I know I do not like the 3886 as much, for example. And, of course, implementation matters (circuit and power supply).
I've had models from DAL and Clones. The Clones did not wow me, but it was an integrated with a cheap pot - that will ruin any amp. I run my current units with a Music First TVC line stage that costs quite a bit more than the amps.
I wonder if there are any worthwhile mods for the reasonably priced DAL amps? After seeing your post I checked out their website and I like their 'retro' style cage versions.
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The guy that runs the place will build anything you want.
My amps are stock.
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