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^ Perfectly OK - you're judging the Sonica DAC's fit to the rest of your gear and your tastes. Every opinion is valid!
Just got my Sonica DAC today. I'm using it as a preamp for my power amp.
Was anyone else thrown off by the volume slider display? Most volume controls get loud really fast, so I'm used to setting my volume around 9 or 10 o'clock on the dial (e.g., on the HA-1).
So when I first hooked up and powered on the Sonica DAC, I thought something was wrong because I couldn't hear anything, even when I had the volume indicator at the halfway point. I turned up the gain on my power amp and I could just barely hear something, so I turned the volume slider almost to the end and I finally got some normal volume.
However, I see that the volume shows -23dB with slider almost all the way to the right and the volume is very moderate (like 70dB at the listening position). On my HA-1, -23dB would be about 9:30 on the dial.
The specs on the pre-outs for the Sonica are just slightly lower voltage than for the HA-1 so I'm assuming this difference is just due to how they've scaled the volume control. Does this match others' experiences?
Also, the sound seems brighter and thinner than with my HA-1. I'm not a huge believer in break-in for solid-state electronics, but I hope the sound warms up and fleshes out some. But it sounds very clean and detailed.
Not sure if this is a mistake, but in the What Hi-Fi review (https://www.whathifi.com/oppo/sonica-dac/review), they mention that there is an optional remote control for the Sonica. I have never heard of this, but if it is true, it would sway me to purchase the Sonica. For me, not having a remote control was a deal-breaker.
2/4K DACS cannot be justified? Hardly. PLENTY of justification for the best DACs in that price range. Now, if you want me to agree with you, you need to add a zero. Its the 20/40k (and more) DACs that could be considered unjustifiable, in my opinion.
Amp recommendations please.
I would like a low-gain, fully balanced, amp only, since I'm getting pre-amp functionality from the Sonica. -- why pay for duplicate capabilities.
Don't need a huge amount of power, and low gain is a must, since I have some sensitive IEMs I'l like to keep using. If I eventually move to something more demanding, I'll replace the amp if needed. But right now no such plans.
Amps I've glanced at (just getting started):
Schiit Jotunheim (best match?? Low output impedance, low gain setting is low enough. Too right?)
Schiit Mjolnir 2 (a little less Schitty top end than Jot? Price)
Violectric 280/281 (can't afford)
Violectric 181 (discontinued, but might find used one at price I can swing)
Matrix M-Stage HPA-3b (too much gain?)
Audio-gd NFB-1
Cayin iHA-6 (output impedance too high? Maybe to bright to pair with Sonica?)
Others I need to investigate:
Little Dot Mk III
Cavalli Liquid Carbon
Feel free to offer opinions on these, and to suggest others.
Thanks in advance.
The Metrum Acoustics Aurix can function as a very quiet passive pre, with 0 dB of gain, or with 10 dB of gain. It's design is much like one a power amp designed by Nelson Pass, using transformers for gain, instead of transistors or tubes.
And... It's currently on sale at a crazy low price (for people in the EU, but if you ask nicely, Metrum might ship to the U.S. - I really don't know.
See https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/metrum-acoustics-aurix.689743/page-17#post-13549488.
Not sure if this is a mistake, but in the What Hi-Fi review (https://www.whathifi.com/oppo/sonica-dac/review), they mention that there is an optional remote control for the Sonica. I have never heard of this, but if it is true, it would sway me to purchase the Sonica. For me, not having a remote control was a deal-breaker.
Thank you for your recent enquiry. We have in fact just received the Sonica DAC remote control. The cost is £24.00 including VAT and a cost of £5.00 plus VAT for postage and shipping making a total cost of £30.00.
If you would like to proceed with ordering one then please email orders@oppodigital.co.uk and give your full name and shipping address so that a pro forma can be created for you and once payment has been received we will ship the remote to you by DPD.