The Ian Canada OPA861 is a special transconductance operational amplifier with a very high slew rate of up to 900V/µS over a wide bandwidth up to 80MHz. The performance of the OPA861 is ultimately very similar to that of a super-transistor. In input current / output voltage mode with zero feedback, the input impedance can be less than 10Ω. This very low input impedance (closed to short circuit) and its ultra high speed make this module the almost perfect solution as an I/V converter. In particular, it has been validated with great success as a SE I/V stage for the TDA1541 DAC.

This Ian Canada module is the first fully balanced I/V stage of the OPA861. Unlike all other active I/V stages, the OPA861's I/V stage is closer to passive I/V stages such as a resistor or transformer, but with much better dynamic performance.

The sound style is also totally different from what traditional I/V stages offer. It provides a clear, detailed and extremely rich sound. The sound stage is also more open and better spatialized. The restitution becomes particularly lively and dynamic. It does not color the music, however, and is as close as possible to the original sound.

This Ian Canada OPA861 I/V stage can be an excellent option for high performance current mode and balanced DACs such as the ES9038Q2M, ES9028Q2M, ES9038Pro, AK4499, PCM1704 or TDA1541 for example.

Key features :

• Zero feedback.
• Fully balanced.
• Impedance less than 10Ω.
• 80MHz bandwidth and 900V/µS slew rate.
• Balanced output level : 4Vrms @ 0dB
• High precision and low noise metal film resistors.