Opus Vs Ori Zhalou
Sep 28, 2007 at 8:02 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 66

spacemanspliff

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I basically have decided to either go with the Opus(maybe with Zapfilter) or the Ori modded Zhalou.

I currently am leaning towards Ori b/c of sound stage which I love.

I have not heard either which is why I am posing the ?

Based on my setup which should I get? Any other Dac in that range which might go well with my Stax?
 
Sep 28, 2007 at 8:33 PM Post #2 of 66
Do you mean Stax electrostatic headphones? Then you are in a difficult position. Electrostatics are too revealing and need quite a bit of soft colouration in order not to sound harsh in any part of the audio spectrum. What about the Stello?
Or you can do like me and have different cans for different musical experiences. I have 4 sets of cans so far,and counting
lambda.gif
. One DAC alone can't offer a wide enough level of satisfaction for every occasion ( and I got a few of those as well
biggrin.gif
).
 
Sep 28, 2007 at 9:00 PM Post #3 of 66
lol my PS audio Dac is doing a fine job atm really. The SR-Lambdas I have are actually easy on the ears. I was actually looking for more detail than I presently have.
 
Sep 28, 2007 at 9:28 PM Post #4 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by spacemanspliff /img/forum/go_quote.gif
lol my PS audio Dac is doing a fine job atm really. The SR-Lambdas I have are actually easy on the ears. I was actually looking for more detail than I presently have.


I have frequently found that "more detail" means a compressed sound so that the lower levels signals are boosted or the higher levels are suppressed. you also have to determine in which part of the audio spectrum you need more detail. Is it bottom, mids, tops? The membranes on electrostatic cans are only able to move between two fixed points, otherwise they'll short out! So you can't boost them like you can do with "ordinary" cans. Give us an idea of what is missing in the detail that you hear, and that you are looking for. Perhaps you want a brighter sound, or more bass? Be specific. Otherwise you'll get all sort of dud recommendations.

For the record: I use 3 turntables, 4 cans, 3 power amps, 2 pre-amps, 4 DACs, 2 sets of speakers. I am currently looking for an additional set of speakers. I found out long time ago that no one system set up can cope with each of my taste from classical to rock, reggae, electro, etc. So it's a case of 1st selecting the play list, wiring in the appropriate parts together, and then firing up the fuses.
 
Sep 28, 2007 at 10:26 PM Post #6 of 66
I want a big sound stage and to hear more of the music. To get as close to reality as possible.
 
Sep 29, 2007 at 2:08 AM Post #7 of 66
Or an older high end dac? I am looking for someone with Stax knowledge who has heard either of these two abovementioned to comment if possible. I realize it is apple or an orange but since I can't hear for myself any opinion would be APPRECIATED GREATLY THANKS AND GOODNIGHT!!

lol
 
Sep 29, 2007 at 2:11 AM Post #8 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by spacemanspliff /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I want a big sound stage and to hear more of the music. To get as close to reality as possible.


the oritek has the bigger soundstage but the OPUS has better imaging, pretty much you can pinpoint where all the sounds are coming from on the OPUS.
 
Sep 29, 2007 at 4:58 AM Post #12 of 66
Like what Steve said, I am not sure how much my Zapfiltered Zhaolu's sound is from the latter of the former (namely its GREAT bass control and tonality). But I can be sure that zapfilter will not disappoint!
 
Sep 29, 2007 at 5:17 AM Post #13 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by SonicDawg /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Like what Steve said, I am not sure how much my Zapfiltered Zhaolu's sound is from the latter of the former (namely its GREAT bass control and tonality). But I can be sure that zapfilter will not disappoint!


I spent plenty of time with my Zhaolu stock, before Renato installed the Zapfilter. The transformation was incredible to say the least. The bass response, tonality and incredible dynamics are all due to the Zapfilter. While the Zhaolu was a good DAC considering the price, it was somewhat lackluster and drab IMO. I'm sure that's hard to believe if you've only heard the Zapped version.
That's why I hold such high hopes for the Opus with the Zapfilter. fierce_freak doesn't want to put impressions in my head. Instead he wants me to hear the Zapped Opus with no preconceived ideas. I think that's very cool, but at the same time I already know it must have been a great success, because I did manage to twist his arm enough into telling me that he plans to install a Zapfilter in his own Opus. And since he favored the stock dual differential Opus over the Zapfiltered Zhaolu, I can only assume that the Zapped Opus just widens the gap.
 
Sep 29, 2007 at 5:58 AM Post #14 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by swt61 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I spent plenty of time with my Zhaolu stock, before Renato installed the Zapfilter. The transformation was incredible to say the least. The bass response, tonality and incredible dynamics are all due to the Zapfilter. While the Zhaolu was a good DAC considering the price, it was somewhat lackluster and drab IMO. I'm sure that's hard to believe if you've only heard the Zapped version.
That's why I hold such high hopes for the Opus with the Zapfilter. fierce_freak doesn't want to put impressions in my head. Instead he wants me to hear the Zapped Opus with no preconceived ideas. I think that's very cool, but at the same time I already know it must have been a great success, because I did manage to twist his arm enough into telling me that he plans to install a Zapfilter in his own Opus. And since he favored the stock dual differential Opus over the Zapfiltered Zhaolu, I can only assume that the Zapped Opus just widens the gap.



What is this Opus source you guys speak off... I have been intentionally out of the dedicated source forum for a while
icon10.gif
 
Sep 29, 2007 at 9:53 AM Post #15 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by spacemanspliff /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I basically have decided to either go with the Opus(maybe with Zapfilter) or the Ori modded Zhalou.

I currently am leaning towards Ori b/c of sound stage which I love.

I have not heard either which is why I am posing the ?

Based on my setup which should I get? Any other Dac in that range which might go well with my Stax?



well the OMZ will have the huge soundstage, how it stacks up against the Opus in other areas though... no idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herandu /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Do you mean Stax electrostatic headphones? Then you are in a difficult position. Electrostatics are too revealing and need quite a bit of soft colouration in order not to sound harsh in any part of the audio spectrum. What about the Stello?
Or you can do like me and have different cans for different musical experiences. I have 4 sets of cans so far,and counting
lambda.gif
. One DAC alone can't offer a wide enough level of satisfaction for every occasion ( and I got a few of those as well
biggrin.gif
).



if you have high quality recordings and a high quality source, then i respectfull disagree, the ability of the stax to reveal faults is a positive, not a negative quality. imho it just means your components upstream are not up to scratch and the stax are simply making it more obvious
 

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