[ekrauss]

Anyone running it paired with the OPPO HA-1 ?

I have been for a while, connected via XLR. Nice upgrade to the HA-1.

 

[markk02474]

Oppo Sonica DAC for A to D?  Not really designed for that. Its an afterthought free feature thrown in using a mid-fi chip PCM1808 that will make analog always sound inferior to digital! Like the Sonica outputs, the AtoD goes through electrolytic capacitors.

 

[ekrauss]

Oppo Sonica DAC for A to D?  Not really designed for that. Its an afterthought free feature thrown in using a mid-fi chip PCM1808 that will make analog always sound inferior to digital! Like the Sonica outputs, the AtoD goes through electrolytic capacitors.

No, Sonica DAC as a DAC, HA-1 as a headphone amp.

 

[ekrauss]

How many user-selectable filters does the Sonica Dac have?

ZERO.

The ~$800 Gustard X20uPro (dual ES9028pro chips) and the ~$300 Breeze Audio (single ES9028pro with swappable op amps) both offer the following pre-set filters:
For PCM, the display reads FIR Apodizing (best to my ears), Brick wall, M-sharp, M-slow, L-sharp, L-slow, and Hybrid.
For DSD, the display reads IIS 47K, 50K, 60K, and 70K.

We don't know what filters Oppo choose, and in an email response to a poster, Oppo said they don't plan to offer any filter choices. Its sort of moot as long as Oppo chose the apodizing filter because I never change PCM filters after finding the best one, but some people might choose different filters based on the quality of a recording. I've not played any DSD files yet, so have no preference on those filters.

Why does it matter that there are no selectable filters in the SDAC? The SDAC sounds like what it sounds like. How do you know that the best (or worst) sounding filter for the circuit was the one that was chosen? You don't. Plus, do the built in ESS filters sound any different than one another in the circuit? You do not know these things and therefore your complaint about inability to manually select a filter is not very meaningful. Either you like the sound of the SDAC or you do not.

 

[wood1030]

Seems to me that markk is just trolling this thread with info that probably 99% of us couldnt care less about. It either sounds good or it doesn't.
If you don't like the engineering of the Oppo, then just move along please.

 

[jayband]

I recently took a delivery of SDAC, one thing interesting I have discovered is that it will not play DSD file from the beginning which doing a little "hack".
 
I am a MAC user which I use Audirvana Plus (2.6.6) as the player for all my files (especially DSD format). Every initial time when I play the DSD file after powering up SDAC, I can see the screen stream coming in as DSD xxxxMhz but no audio output. I have to play a downgraded track, anything that's not DSD (e.g. Flac), hear audio and switch back to DSD, then it will be ok.
 
Not sure if other MAC/SDAC/Audirvana user seeing this issue. Maybe I should try using Jriver

 

[ekrauss]

@wood1030, I understand his concern that some people might want to experiment with filter settings, and Oppo could have chosen to make the ESS filters selectable but did not. However, this begs the questions whether Oppo is even using the built in ESS filters, or whether they are using the filter that sounded best in their circuit, or whether the filters all sounded similar. Only Oppo knows these answers. I do know, however, that Ayre chose not to use ANY of the ESS filters in the QB-9, and that Rega chose to implement choices for only 3 of Wolfson's 5 filters in the DAC-R. All 5 (ten, really, if you count the red book and hi-res filters separately) were available in the original Rega DAC but were made unavailable in the DAC-R revision because most did not sound noticeably different and only caused consumer confusion. In the end, the product sounds how it sounds, and if there was any appreciable benefit to allow the user to choose between filters, I am sure Oppo considered it before deciding not to include that feature.

 

[ekrauss]

@jayband, I suggest you update the SDAC firmware via the Sonica app. It should fix this anomalous performance. If it does not, post here.

 

[LarryMagoo]

It would great to hear some one compare the DAC in the HA-1 (ESS9018) to the one in the Sonica (ESS9038)....hopefully an improvement?
 
I'm going to try and run a Schiit Gungnir MB with the Amp in the HA-1.   See if the Gumby will leave the Sabre DAC in the dust or not..... A lot of folks comment on the Sabre Glare...I don't hear it myself on my 800S's, but I am hoping the Schiit DAC decides that argument before I head down some other rabbit hole...

 

[markk02474]

No, Sonica DAC as a DAC, HA-1 as a headphone amp.

You may want to read the Sonica DAC manual or look at the back panel again. I was responding to post #208, labeled as a test of the Sonica Analog to Digital conversion.
 
The Sonica DAC has one analog stereo input that feeds a PCM1808 A to D converter after going through electrolytic capacitors. That's why I wrote that ADC was just an afterthought feature. Its not a strong point of the product.
 
The ESS stock DAC filters do indeed sound mostly the same, but a couple stand out as superior. This on a modified Gustard X20Pro, which using 8 ES9028pro dac outputs in parallel for each stereo channel is like having the same or doubled channel stacking of the Oppo using only the 1 or 2 ES9038pro channels Oppo uses for each output. The Gustard has an advantage over Oppo by not having electrolytic capacitors in the signal path, discrete output buffers, and better, lower noise voltage regulators.
 
Additionally, filter differences were noticed using full range stereo speakers and not headphones, which more fully express image height, width, and depth compared to headphones. It may well be that using headphones, you couldn't tell any difference in any of the canned ESS filters or Oppo programmed/chosen custom filter into the DAC. Given the other software issues with gapless and all they try to take on with connectivity, I doubt Oppo took on filter design challenges. Oppo tends to whatever canned software chip providers given them.
 
In the end, the Sonica DAC does not sound as good as my Gustard DAC, so I shipped it back to Oppo this week.

 

[lauandyuen]

http://download.oppodigital.com/sonica-dac/USB-0110/USB_DAC_firmware_windows.zip
 
Oppo Sonica Dac new xmos usb firmware !

 

[PitBul34]

  So @PitBul34 which one do you like best? Oppo Sonica or Denafrips Ares? did you make a determination? you said you are keeping them both. Thanks!

I can not say which one, they sounds different of each other. I use them both: Sonica is for network streaming and offline high quality PCM or DSD jazz records, Ares is for all other music (include rock-n-roll, classic rock, heavy metal etc). And, as i mentioned before, Sonica is very good with my tube headphone amp + Sennheiser HD800.

 

[zilch0md]

  http://download.oppodigital.com/sonica-dac/USB-0110/USB_DAC_firmware_windows.zip
 
Oppo Sonica Dac new xmos usb firmware !

 
For anyone wanting to read the instructions (Mac vs. PC) before downloading this or other files, go here, first:
 
http://www.oppodigital.com/sonica-dac/sonica-dac-Support.aspx

 

[PitBul34]

You may want to read the Sonica DAC manual or look at the back panel again. I was responding to post #208, labeled as a test of the Sonica Analog to Digital conversion.
 
The Sonica DAC has one analog stereo input that feeds a PCM1808 A to D converter after going through electrolytic capacitors. That's why I wrote that ADC was just an afterthought feature. Its not a strong point of the product.

 
Yes, I've tested this feature here. My vintage AKAI 4000 GX Reel-to-Reel tape recorder was connected direct to the Sonica analog input. The sound quality after A-D conversion isn't so bad, it can be described as 48kHz Tidal Hi-Fi or FM quality. This feature make sense if you need to share your analog source throught your wireless wi-fi speakers.

 

[ekrauss]

You may want to read the Sonica DAC manual or look at the back panel again. I was responding to post #208, labeled as a test of the Sonica Analog to Digital conversion.

The Sonica DAC has one analog stereo input that feeds a PCM1808 A to D converter after going through electrolytic capacitors. That's why I wrote that ADC was just an afterthought feature. Its not a strong point of the product.

The ESS stock DAC filters do indeed sound mostly the same, but a couple stand out as superior. This on a modified Gustard X20Pro, which using 8 ES9028pro dac outputs in parallel for each stereo channel is like having the same or doubled channel stacking of the Oppo using only the 1 or 2 ES9038pro channels Oppo uses for each output. The Gustard has an advantage over Oppo by not having electrolytic capacitors in the signal path, discrete output buffers, and better, lower noise voltage regulators.

Additionally, filter differences were noticed using full range stereo speakers and not headphones, which more fully express image height, width, and depth compared to headphones. It may well be that using headphones, you couldn't tell any difference in any of the canned ESS filters or Oppo programmed/chosen custom filter into the DAC. Given the other software issues with gapless and all they try to take on with connectivity, I doubt Oppo took on filter design challenges. Oppo tends to whatever canned software chip providers given them.

In the end, the Sonica DAC does not sound as good as my Gustard DAC, so I shipped it back to Oppo this week.

Trust me, I am familiar with the Sonica DAC manual. If you didn't like the sonics of the Oppo SDAC, no problem, different strokes for different folks. The SDAC isn't just a DAC, it is also a network streamer/source component/digital preamp, hence the analog input (including a grounding screw).