Very glad that you reviewed this and compared them to your other DAPs. Any chance you'll be reviewing the QP1R?

Oh man, what a nice review. Great job. Also would love to read a comparison to QP1R.

Thanks!

@ezekiel77 and @all999 : there is a possibility I might get a chance to review qp1r, just don't know when.  @NPWS : sorry, I wasn't able to reserve dp-x1 review sample (I respect their decision).

Good review... thanks.  Studies show that more choices are inversely proportional to happiness.  You can never know if you made the right choice if there are 500 choices, if there are 3 choices you can be happy you made the right one.  

did you forget the opus vs l3? since i see the opus was compared to n5. btw, i use um2 with volumn 12, making that hiss kind of unbearable.

@PoRidge : I didn't spend too much time with production L3 yet (quite familiar with pre-production unit only), though as you probably noticed - it is in a picture next to L5 Pro.

So which is it, the Opus or the X7?   

@KC33 : all is a matter of a personal preference, in terms of sound and pair up   Considering that I don't stream at the current moment, thus don't need wifi, I have been using Opus exclusively for the last few weeks.  X7 is a great dap, and I can't wait to test AM5, but currently I prefer smooth resolving sound of Opus.  There are more upcoming new DAP releases, more choices, harder decision...

Thanks, I hope I didn't put you on the spot but from your reviews, other reviews and what I've gleaned on my own these seem really close. My DX80 is not even close to a year old so I have some time and want to see if Fiio does in fact do an upgrade on the X7 and Ibasso's release of the 200.
 
It's always a pleasure reading your reviews!

@twister6 One of your image above is the Opus#1 connected to the Micro iDSD right? Is it optical or digital interconnect? Where did you get the interconnect? And will it work with the L5 Pro too? Thanks!

While its firmware still needs polishing, I hope you can get your hands on the new L&P L3 DAP.  My Indiegogo unit just arrived, and it is sounding great.  It seems very similar to the Opus in terms of output, connectivity, form factor, etc., but sells for more like $400.  I'm curious about the value proposition of both these players.  Thanks again for the great review!

@LenMargaux : L5 Pro doesn't have optical.  That Opus#1/Micro connection is using optical short mini-toslink cable from extreme audio: http://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Audio-Premium-Quality-Connectors/dp/B01AFIMKH2/

@rdaneel : I had L3 for 2 months already, first pre-production and then production units (look up in my review above where I have multiple daps in the picture, that's L3 to the right of L5 Pro ).  I'm quite familiar with L&P products, received and reviewed their LP5 Gold and L5 Pro, and will eventually get to L3   Don't feel it's ready to be reviewed yet until the next fw upgrade when touch swiping is going to be implemented.  L3 is great, but sound wise it's not in the same league, and I'm a bit upset they tamed down 2.5mm output performance from pre-production to production unit...  But, back to Opus#1 topic

Did you already post which amp you were using for comparison with the FiiO X7?  Was it AMP2?

@ASpencer : sorry, forgot to mention, i switched permanently to AM2 (the sideway shot in the last picture of the review has that mismatched colored am2 ).  Btw, I had am2 covered in THIS review.

Given the high quality of DAPs and lossless music available, it really does sound, no pun intended, like we’re beginning to split hairs with no player exponentially taking the lead over the other.  The Lotoo Paw Gold and X7 are both excellent and this newest entry now joins their ranks, in your appraisal, but the distinguishing features start to turn into minutia as well as mere personal preferences.  To me, the clearest attributes are their respective battery life and storage capacity.  The Opus was wise to double up those cards and slather in some internal memory.  I love the Lotoo Paw Gold, but would prefer not to carry an expensive brick in my pocket… despite women assuming I’m glad to see them.  Nevertheless, all these high end players really sound like dealer's choice with everybody winning.

Very well written review, clear and precise.

I'm tempted to ask, on purely sonic terms, how does the Mojo compare? I've had the Mojo for about two weeks to review and am looking at products in similar price range that sound just as good. Would be great to hear your opinions.

Thanks in advance, cheers.

I like the Opus #1 when auditioned for a while. But this review says impressevie battery while somewhere else I read it last only around 8 hours. Actually anything below 12 hours is not really acceptable, considering that it is 2016 already.

@BartSimpson1976 : "somewhere else" was my comment when I got it with initial fw, but after 2 consecutive fw updates filled with optimizations - battery life improved  I reviewed and continue to review most of the latest DAP releases, and for hi-res Android based DAP to get up to 11hrs of battery life is VERY impressive.  If you want a longer battery life you have to step down to mid-fi lower level audio players like NWZ-Ax and Plenue D that can give you double or more of battery life in comparison, but you are trading off sound quality.  If there is another touch screen android based hi-res dap with balanced output and higher battery life that I have missed, please let me know, I would definitely be very interested to review it.

@twister6 Thanks for clarification. Well, I am down in my decision for new DAP between the Opus #1, the DX80 and the NWZ-ZX100. All have their pros and cons in terms for my usage profile. Balanced output is not of much importance as my IEM cable is less than 10m in length. 
Really liked the sound of the Opus #1, did not so much like the cheap feel of it. Maybe wait for the #2?