Matt Coykendall installed Burson V7 op amps in place of the NE5532 op amps in a Fosi ZA3 amplifier.
He explains that op amp swapping has become popular enough to be considered a feature. Changing op amps does change the sound, and he compares it to how some people love the sound of tube amps: there is no right or wrong, just different preferences.
The video shows how to open the ZA3 and replace the left and right channel op amps. His key tip is orientation: on the Burson V7 you line up the ridge on the op amp with the socket. He also points out that the V7s are tall, so measure first to make sure they fit your chassis.
Swapping back and forth between the stock and Burson op amps, he heard a difference. “The best way to describe what I perceived was a more open sound,” he says, adding that the amp “sounded really good after the change”.
He found it “another fun experiment”. The V7s did not magically beat amps costing far more, but “they did change the sound character to what I considered an improvement”.
Discover the full features and specifications on the Burson Supreme Sound Opamp V7 Pro product page.
