whatever happened to the other reviews/reviewers? I understand Iron_Dreamer excellent script is a hard act to follow, but I'd like to hear what other headfiers think of the Opera!
(BTW I love mine )
__________________ Home Rig: Toshiba HD XA1 -> Corda Opera -> AKG K701 Office Rig:Onix XCD-88 -> Woo Audio 3 -> AKG K340 Portable Gear: [Nex II E, Sony D-11, Laptop] -> Total Bithead -> [Senn PX200, Senn HD25-1, v-moda Remix, Shure E500-PTH]
I must admit to being a bit lagging in posting my thoughts on the Opera.
First, thank you to Todd for setting up such an incredible program.
Unfortunately I lost the notes I made on the Opera so I'll have to go from memory.
Using the AT W5000 and comparing it to the Meier HAMKII SE. I found the soundstage and resolution of the Opera to be incredibly good. The soundstage extended further and wider than that of the HAMKII SE. On a good recording each musician seemed to float within their own orb of sound. A very cool effect. In comparison, although I didn't think it was possible the HAMKII SE was far less resolving and had a much more compressed soundstage. The HAMKII SE had a more forward sound as well.
Initially I found the bass to be very nice on the Opera, however the bass quantity seemed to be more on the HAMKII SE. I realized that I was using a different power cord on the HAMKII SE vs. the stock on the Opera. When comparing apples to apples, there's no lack of bass with the Opera in the least.
I knew I would and do miss the sound of the Opera. I was ready to purchase one and likely will (even writing these thoughts makes me want to go out and buy one) however I have been tempted by the Raptor W5000 synergy and want to see what that has to offer.
I can say without a doubt that the Opera is the finest headphone amp I have heard. It truly deserves the finest of reputations out there.
What were you using for your source (or transport), also what power cord\interconnects did you use?
I used an iMod iPod as my source playing lossless files connected using an ALO Jumbo Cryo mini to RCA. Power cords used were the stock, the Iron Lung Jellyfish and the Jena Labs...I think it is one of their basic cords. I thought for the price that the Iron Lung made a nice improvement. The Jena power cord was my favorite by far. Also used a cheap transport via Coax digital to check out the DAC.
Honestly every time I even think about it I want to sell my HAMKII SE and buy the Opera. Its mainly the head-fi sickness talking of course, but still, I love the Opera sound. And this is coming from someone that truly enjoys the HAMKII SE.
For the second time in two weeks some strange package arrives unexpectedly. I asked TTVJ to put me on the list, but never got a reply or indication that I got in. Further, the box i got had no instructions of who to send it off to. So once again, I'm making an educated guess that this is all related.
It looks gorgeous next to my stuff. Since I'm very busy with finals my current idea is to send it around Cal's head-fiers to get some quick impressions from as many people as possible. Kitaoji has it right now
Instead of working (as I should be), I took time today to compare the Corda Opera to my system, which consists of a Stello DA100 and a Mapletree HD150. I switched between USB DACs on foobar, and connected the Mapletree (a GE 12BH7A and GE 5751) to the Opera's pre-amp out.
I'm not a fan of crossfeed in general, as I feel that it muffles and dulls the music. I'm also a bit biased against the PCM1794 D/A chip that was present in the Opera.
Here are some notes:
-Opera headphone out vs. preamp out (to Mapletree)
This, I felt was the weakest part of the amp. The preamp on the Opera made my warm Mapletree somewhat lifeless and feeling as if the highs were rolled off.
The headphone out on the Opera however, is very nicely implemented, and I found it a very nice match with K701s. Very smooth (polished?), and it reveals the details, but there isn't anything too unpleasant with the details. One could argue that the Opera is forgiving, but not warm and gooey.
-Opera DAC vs. Stello DA100, through the Opera's headphone out
I've heard the PCM1794 chip on granodemostasa's VDA-2 and a PCM1798 on BESAudio's Icarus, and in both cases I've found the sound too thin for my tastes. The Opera's soundstage is wider than that of the Stello's, but the Stello's imaging is more 3-dimensional and has a deeper bass extension. The Opera DAC brought out the midranges (even more on my K701s), but I heard more of the lower-end through the Stello. Therefore I find the Opera's DAC to be somewhat boring.
That said, I don't find the Opera to be bad in any way (with the exception of the pre-amp out, that is.) I would seriously consider the Opera's amp (the analog out version) as a contender for a well done solid-state amplifier, as I really liked the Stello feeding into the Opera.
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Linear Mode
