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In Reply to: Oppo Sonica DAC with flagship ESS ES9038PRO SABRE DAC posted by RadioWonder on December 22, 2016 at 05:11:35:
"The new OPPO Sonica DAC improves upon the highly regarded audio performance of OPPO HA-1.... etc."
We can hope! I am looking forward to hearing this DAC.
I owned the OPPO HA-1 and I know of another inmate here who has (or had) one. I was very impressed with it's feature set and convenience of use. Unfortunately, to my ears it sounded a little clinical and sort of 'thin' in the lower mids. I used it primarily as a USB DAC in my music server setup where I've had many other DACs.... many others that I preferred over the OPPO HA-1. I sold the OPPO in fairly short order.
I still contend that while the DAC chip itself is important it is really up to the designer to focus great attention on the filtering, analog stage, and how the DAC is 'voiced' overall. I'll take a "lesser" DAC chip any day if the DAC itself sounds great! I don't get overly excited with new DAC chip of the month announcements.
Some marketing spin on OPPO's HA-1 from their website:
"The SABRE32 Reference ES9018 from ESS Technology is the world's best performing 32-bit audio DAC solution targeted for high-end consumer applications and professional studio equipment. With the ESS patented 32-bit Hyperstream™ DAC architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator, the SABRE32 Reference DAC delivers an unprecedented DNR (Dynamic Range) of up to 135dB and THD+N (Total Harmonic Distortion plus Noise) of -120dB, the industry's highest performance level that will satisfy even the most demanding audio enthusiast."
Blah blah, blah blah blah!
Too bad the HA-1 DAC didn't sound so great, IMHO. My PS Audio NuWave DSD DAC uses ESS Sabre32 Hyperstream technology but it sounds so much better. My Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC and even the previous gen PS Audio DAC that used an older Burr-Brown chip were better sounding than the OPPO HA-1.
I have high hopes for the Sonica DAC and plan to try one.
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Follow Ups
- We'll have to see about that. I'm anxious to hear one - AbeCollins 12/22/1610:21:41 12/22/16 (0)
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