NE5532 vs SS3602 vs MUSES02! Different Op-Amps Showdown on the Fosi Audio V3 MONO Power Amp!

[@matytinman]

It would be better if the video was in 4K because KZbin offers the audio in AAC 192kbps. While in HD/1080p only in AAC 128kbps, the difference is noticeable in good recordings.

[@indridcold4210]

I played this over several times, and mostly the difference was in a couple of db of volume of the different op amps. When I adjusted for the change in volume(so trying to eliminate perception changes due to the Fletcher Munson Curve) on my headphone amp they all pretty much sounded the same through my beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO headphones. I'd stay with the 5532 personally. ss3602 might have been just a tiny bit less clear sounding.

[@RemontKvartir39]

вот именно, что разница слышна только в хороших наушниках и дорогих колонках. за эти деньги что они продаются лучше взять качественные наушники и вы будете слышать все сокровища музыкального шедевра

[@aldepal]

Even tho the SS seemed to have more dynamic detail the Muse's softer edges made the music more pleasant sounding more musical to me.

[@xlr82bgr8]

Coming from the two ZA3s with SS3602 that I sold while waiting for my V3 Monos which came last Thursday . ZA3’s were great but also left a veil on the sound, but better than the stock opamps. I have been burning in the V3Ms totally of 15, maybe 20 hours. At first the V3Ms sounded a bit bright on my set up (WiiM PP, Weiss DAC 205, connected to stunning Stereolith M232 single stereo loudspeaker, with a Stereolith passive subwoofer.Now since yesterday afternoon the sound has changed noticeably to the positive, to the point where I am gob smacked. The sound now has much more bass and warmth, the voices, and instruments are just incredible. I am still contemplating getting just 2 Muses 02 for position 2 in the V3Ms, and have the best of both worlds, NE5532 and some Muses 02 subtly blended together. Would this make sense?

[@D1N02]

Sparkos of your speakers/pre amp combo are on the warm side, Muses02 if they are on the bright side.

[@Mister-Salieri]

I've ordered a muses 02. Can't wait to hear it against the NE5532.

[@justinmanny86]

Do you like it better with the muses?

[@Mister-Salieri]

@@justinmanny86 The NE5532 has more bass, the muses 02 sounds more detailed, so yes, I prefer the mouses 02.

[@xlr82bgr8]

@@Mister-Salieri Thanks for your feedback. Just got my V3M’s on Thursday. The NE5532 sound great after now 20 hours of burn in. You confirmed my belief that it could make sense to get just two Muses02, and put them in slot 2 of each V3M. A mix of both seems like a good compromise, at least for me anyway.

[@Mister-Salieri]

@@xlr82bgr8 Does these op amps have a burn in time?

[@10sassafras]

Didn’t like the sparkos, didn’t mind the muses, preferred the standard ti op amp. I love the confusion this creates between objective measurements and subjective responses to branding and price signals.

[@salookie8000]

Exactly. Audio quality differences between the SS3602 and muse is subtle; almost negligible to me and that's subjective not fact.

[@Lif-999]

Yep, a properly conducted, double blind ABX trial would certainly separate [if at all] the 'wheat from the chaff', so to speak. But I am sure Fosi are aware of this. And, no doubt Fosi also knows that any 'test' conducted through the utube compression wall makes trying to discern any differences across op amps a flight of placebo fantasy. But, hey! Let's give them the benefit of the doubt here. I suspect that this has less to do with op amp selection and more to do with an excellent way to ensure that the kickstarter for the V3 Mono remains as high profile as possible. And there is nothing wrong with that! Addendum: I am also an advocate for null testing. The null test removes all physiological ambiguities from the results. This is a very good thing!

[@meaninthemirror]

NE5532 still stands with confidence after all years...

[@obiwan007]

Wish they would add some kind of testing via measurements. Where is the distortion actually kicking in. What is the opamp actually doing with the signal? Hearing these subtile differences is really really difficult - especially on YT where the compression, my own speaker/amp and the recording microphone is changing so many more pronounced variables that the opamp is probably neglectable...

[@matytinman]

1080p/AAC 128kbps Second track SparkosSS3602 - 100 points (the winner, easy to detect) MUSES02 - 85 points NE5532 - 80 points 👉With AAC 192kbps the differences will be greater and easier to differentiate, especially between the two cheap ones

[@andreasr6632]

Felt like the SS3602 gave a fuller sound with a discernible depth in contrast to the other two.

[@SurferAntonio]

If I use RCA input only which OP amp (there are two on front side of the board) should I replace?

[@DavidYoungSpace]

It makes me happy to think the sound is better after i tnker with the opamps. That's a good thing, right?

[@Zeck88522]

i was trying to research, I see in video that it has 2 op-amps. Does that mean it needs 2 op-amp per amp, so I would need 4 in total for Stereo? that baffles me, because on old v3 I just need 1 op-amp per channel.

[@waffle911]

Only need 1 per output channel.

[@SoenartoChristian]

❤ please..what is the first song ?

[@michau_12]

On my loudspeakers and dac MUSES02 gives clear voices

[@zitric999]

on my speakers the sparcos gave more detail and air, beter dynamics, but the muse gave a fuller sound, mids are more relaxed as well , its going to be a toss up bet the 2, an existing warm sounding system would merit the sparcos, but a neutral to bright one will need the muse...

[@phantomplastics6582]

You got it.

[@justinmanny86]

Apparently Fosi is giving MUSES02 chips to alot of the V3 kickstarter backers. I ordered 2 units with 2 power supplies. Does anyone know when they start shipping? Do you think the v3 mono amp will be strong enough to power a Martin Logan ESL? The specs match well, I'm just not sure if the ML will sound like it should or not

[@JukeboxAlley]

Yes, the fosi won't have any problems with the ML ESL, that'll be a fairly easy load for them.

[@LEGOBubuS]

MUSES02 4ever! 😊🎉❤

[@anlab3163]

To my ears NE5532 sounds clean and neutral.

[@Lif-999]

That is because the 5532 IS clean and neutral! But be careful! A remark such as yours is in danger of cutting through all the nonsense in this thread!

[@lorenz5352]

Would it be possible to make comparisons including MUSES 03? I found references that it sounds better than 3602, at a cheaper price.

[@dn2888]

are you swapping both opamps in one V3 Mono? Or just in 1 position in combination with the NE5532?

[@fosiaudio]

Just one. The sound signature could be more obvious with both chips replaced. :)

[@AddictiveHiFi]

Great review! Please tell me what the three positions of the op amp in V3 Mono do. And in this video clip, which op amp did you change?

[@fosiaudio]

The V3 Mono's mainboard houses a total of three op-amps. One is located near the RCA input and is used to convert the RCA signal into a balanced signal. The other two are situated close to the amplifier chip. By replacing just one of the two, we can achieve the effect of sound signature tuning. Of course, if we were to replace both op-amps, the adjustment would be even more pronounced.

[@Lif-999]

Well, if, and only if, you can - in actuality - hear any difference. And therein lies the rub!

[@tonym8358]

​@fosiaudio So how many opamps where replaced 1 or 2. Thanks

[@phantomplastics6582]

@@Lif-999 it is very easy to hear differences between op amps.

[@Lif-999]

@@phantomplastics6582 Except where differences in volume - due to different amplification factors across devices - are allowed to skew the results, properly conducted double blind tests show no correlation to that effect, I'm afraid. Indeed, contrary to expectation, expensive discrete devices can be considered to be inferior for reasons of being noisier than the cheaper but monolithic op amp devices they are supposed to replace. And then there are physio-acoustic effects to complicate our considerations even further. There are two very good reasons why the 5532 is so widely used across the audio industry from recording studios to domestic kit: it's cheap and it's very well specified! It is, to all intents and purposes, transparent! Not in the oft used, audiophile, nebulous sense, but in the sense that it adds no colour to the signal being processed. This then makes a mockery of the whole 'differences between devices' debate. Declarations for example to the effect that device x sounds better because it has "firmer bass" or "a sweeter treble", are anathema to any notions of transparency. In my eyes [ears] the superior device would be the one that is simply more sonically 'invisible'. Well, I have rambled enough! Please don't think I am saying you are wrong just to be confrontational. I am not! Perhaps we are just at cross purposes in the use of our terminology. Perhaps your ears are more discerning than mine. Whatever, I am struggling to understand what it is that you are [or are not] hearing!

[@michaelcampbell9459]

NE was good, Muse was better and SS was best as it had more refinement and resolution, plus more separation between notes, you can hear the subtle cymbal hits best with SS; it's subtle so a blind test would be hard to tell, but that doesn't mean there are not differences to be heard. Lots of people who have tried rolling with the SS3602 on class D amps have liked the improvement so I may try them as well, why not, playing around with our gear is one of the fun things about this hobby.

[@andrews4379]

1$ can't good 😂

[@mahdimortazavimoghadam9993]

It's important that where to use which ... but the muse was best to my ears cause it was more comfortable and more headroom

[@bornfe5127]

😮 5532 is amazing

[@JukeboxAlley]

MUSE sounds a little more relaxed and tubelike, musical, and less sibilance than the others. Ive had a pair of the za3 and have 2 v3 monos now, and they are all very good amps.

[@yoelstrikovsky]

it would be great if you can do the compare with movies tracks.

[@TheMrColak]

It is very simple -> record with an ADC output with each of the OpAmps -> put the three recorded wav files into audacity and see if there is any difference. I bet you a six pack of the best beer that you will see NO DIFFERENCE.

[@wilsonlee5590]

please dont share any info and do the blind test, let see how many people can determine that the amp has been swap to different op-amp😚

[@DatsNotALegitRescueVid]

I can clearly hear that the NE5532 gave a boost of 0.00001dB at 3 Hz, and the SS3602 has a dip of 0.02dB at 69,420 Hz, while the MUSES02 dynamic range was increased by 7.82%....

[@tofffsymagic1099]

How old are you? You maybe should consider consult a ENT specialist, upgrade your speakers or headphones. Sound differences are subtle, attenuated by KZbin compression but are there. If you can't hear them be happy, you will save money.

[@Lif-999]

@andylaw5826 Hahaha. Sometimes a little sarcasm can be justifiable.

[@tofffsymagic1099]

@@Lif-999 yes ypu are right! Have a nice weekend!

[@ryanchappell5962]

Oh thank god, I thought I was the only one who heard that.

[@Hitsujiomeguruboken]

I don’t buy it! Nobody has such good ears…. Well -sharur maybe!

[@brunobassi2440]

Unfortunately, the 5532 that sounds well NXP 5532A BPA is not easy to find. Muses02 is superb but overpriced. The best compromise between price and performance OPA1656

[@Grooverski]

213,231,231. Overall 2 for me.

[@fredapril8384]

Another channel has made a lossless recording with high level equipment and to my surprise, the Sparkos were very good, better than Muse02 and some inexpensive option like Oracle II did well so I ordered them to test....but I will not convinced myself to invest more then 50% of the amps price, now way. I'd rather keep my money to buy a Dartzeel clone and access the next audiophile level!

[@Ab20222]

Listening again…this time on 4 x V3 mono (bi-amping via xlr splitter) and to me the voices and instruments , especially on the first track, sound natural on the default op amp vs sparko or vs muses. You guys sent me 2 x muses with my order, thank you, I didn’t bother to try them yet bcz ’m very happy as is. The harsh reality is the bad tracks sound flat, harsh and as bad as possible and the good recordings sound amazing and 3d like.

[@xlr82bgr8]

Got mine on Thursday evening and been running them in and I agree totally. Still running in but already has opened up quite a bit. I would be curious about the Muses and am considering buying 2 pcs, one for each on socket 2. Would love to know how that sounds before I order them. I don’t suppose you could try this variant and give us opinion. Pretty sure a lot of people would also be interested in this. Cheers!

[@xzxzt4]

tried this also test those fet amps its very miniscule difference an ordinary person will not hear the difference and the sound stage they say is big but almost the same not worth it, on the price of those op amp it is better to buy a realy good amp you can hear the differnce much pronounce, just a waste of money better invest it on a very good sounding amp

[@thedonfranz]

Muses02 and Sparkos Sounds similar.

[@ColocasiaCorm]

5532 is good.

[@carloporfiri6334]

no differences

[@odis929]

There is no difference ,must try the jrc 2068 dd..

[@steven2809]

No difference....of course! 🙄

[@michau_12]

It depends of your loudspeakers and dac, is it a good quality, then you can hear difference. MUSES02 gives more clear voices through my loudspeakers and dac

[@obudaifourty9]

This amp does have potentials, but these 3 samples are only toys. Why don't you try a real OPT amp like the LIEEWHO SA200 Hi-End Fully Discrete Dual OPT-AMP. Now that makes any amp way better, and try hearing it by clicking my name for some samples without any other digital equipments.

[@KeithHeinrich]

Its not going to fit in the case.

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

Anyone who thinks they can hear a difference i challenge you to a ABX double blind test and i bet my entire system that you fail the test. If you fail, i get your entire system. Anyone want to take up the challenge?

[@Lif-999]

Yep. Agreed. My own comment addresses this.

[@MiG-40i]

i did no hear a shit and i'm usually really good at it! with 40+ years i still can hear frequencies up to 19khz...

[@beprotishen]

NE5532P is cheap crap

[@Lif-999]

Cheap? Most certainly. Crap? absolutely not. You are making the audiophiles classic, oft imaginary correlation between price vs performance. The fact is that a large proportion of the music that you [all of us] have, are and will consume has been produced by utilizing many of these devices in the audio chain. The 5532 is ubiquitous in the industry. Get over it!

[@Negatywny2]

fosi please stop this opamp bulshit.

[@phantomplastics6582]

Op amps make clear differences. Try it before making such an unfair and offensive statement against the company.

[@Negatywny2]

@@phantomplastics6582 It is not something you "try", it is something that is measured, where are the measurements then?

[@Lif-999]

@@Negatywny2 Hear hear. Some of these "I can hear a difference" claims are made with a fervour usually reserved for that of the religious zealot! It's all about the science, baby!