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Opus Vs Ori Zhalou

post #1 of 66
9/28/07 at 5:02pm
Thread Starter 
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?
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post #2 of 66
9/28/07 at 5:33pm
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. One DAC alone can't offer a wide enough level of satisfaction for every occasion ( and I got a few of those as well).
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post #3 of 66
9/28/07 at 6:00pm
Thread Starter 
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.
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post #4 of 66
9/28/07 at 6:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spacemanspliff View Post
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.
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post #5 of 66
9/28/07 at 6:45pm
I've heard these 2 DACs head to head. So has Nebby, so you guys can ask him. To me, the sound is completely different, so it's hard to comment.
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post #6 of 66
9/28/07 at 7:26pm
Thread Starter 
I want a big sound stage and to hear more of the music. To get as close to reality as possible.
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post #7 of 66
9/28/07 at 11:08pm
Thread Starter 
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
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post #8 of 66
9/28/07 at 11:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spacemanspliff View Post
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.
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post #9 of 66
9/28/07 at 11:43pm
I'm still curious how the Zapfilter will effect the soundstage on the Opus. I'm getting much closer to knowing that first hand though.
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post #10 of 66
9/29/07 at 1:34am
removed a comment about the Opus resolution 21... my mistake...
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post #11 of 66
9/29/07 at 1:48am
If you mean the output terminals by DIN, I disagree with you. Just to clarify that we are talking about the same product: http://twistedpearaudio.com/opus/opus.aspx

-edit- after some quick research, I'm assuming you're talking about the Audio Opus 21
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post #12 of 66
9/29/07 at 1:58am
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!
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post #13 of 66
9/29/07 at 2:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SonicDawg View Post
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.
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post #14 of 66
9/29/07 at 2:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by swt61 View Post
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
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post #15 of 66
9/29/07 at 6:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by spacemanspliff View Post
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 View Post
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. One DAC alone can't offer a wide enough level of satisfaction for every occasion ( and I got a few of those as well).
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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