Quote: Originally Posted by dmk005 Got into my office this morning and I hear nothing coming out of the Opera. The DP LED is blinking slowly which is indicating no digital feed coming through.I have no idea what has caused this problem between my Mac Mini and the Opera. In the...

Opera has both usb and spdif inputs, and uses both a PCM 2704 for the usb to spdif reciever, then a PCM 1794 for d/a conversion. Aria has the PCM 2704 usb only. I can't do the wiring diagram justice as to how exactly the opera uses both of these chips. Perhaps 50% of the sound quality...

PC 0404 souncard vs Opera. (from a few posts back) Seems clear to me that the dac in the Opera is outdoing the analog out of the dedicated sound card. Both scenarios are using the analog loop of the Opera, only the cables and dacs are changed here. (both the analog in and the output of the...

Quote: I'm sure it will be a huge leap over the DAC in my Audigy2 ZS. xfi is a huge leap over the audigy2. Zhaolu 2.5? I have found some reviews on the net that compare an xfi platinum vs the Zhaolu. The Opera has been compared to 3 or 4, $4000 sources in the past 300 posts. I...

The usb volume vs. my cd player are exacly the same. Both usb speaker volume set to 100% and WMP set to 100%. The comparison was difficult while I had them set to 60%, with the louder allways being the better of the two. Crossfeed on or off will not make any difference since it will affect...

Is there a way to utilize the s/pdif from my laptop? I use a mini plug to rca cable. The sound card just needs to have a digital out that leaves the signal raw. You could buy an external soundcard too I guess and plug that into the laptop via usb.

Quote: chances are though, that WMP does not play decoded HDCD 20bit stream to S/PDIF (or does it?), so we might be getting 14bit compressed output after all It is decoding it in wmp10, although it has to upconvert the file to 24 bit to capture all the information. Spdif does get it...

Mine was shiped with a power cord and the correct (6 foot) usb cable. I need nothing to hook my Opera up to a computer. Analog rca's and spdif rca is the only cables not included (for the Canadian bound kit). This was for a 120 volt application. Oh and the usb is a standard usb to printer...

If your home speakers are toed in zero degrees (90 to the back wall) and you sit real close, vs sit back 4 more feet (centre of the triangle) and tip them inwards 5 degrees. This may let you decide what you like before even auditioning crossfeed. I think headphone sound is nice, but to call...

Newsflash. I rolled back WMP11 to version 10, and boom everything works as posted previously. I recomend that you wait on upgrading to 11 since it is not yet supported, although it claims to be. The very same settings in 10 works, but not in 11. I can also verify that 16 bit transfer...

I can not get the hdcd logo at all unless I use the default wmp settings. Everytime I enable the device, speaker, use 24 bit audio cds, it takes my logo away. Are you using 11 or 10? My soundcard is the xfi gamer that has the digital out. I am certain it is set right since the downloadable 24...

Quote: RBCD converted to 24/44.1 still gives 16 bit resolution This makes sense now. (I posted in haste) There is a chance my decode is not decoding as well in wmp11 for some reason. Still not able to get a green logo palying hdcd's. Lou

Quote: First download and Install Chronotron Inc WAV Output Plugin for WMP. Open WMP and goto plugin's and chose the Chronotron and point it to your preferred output directory Then in WMP goto Tools>Options>Devices>Speakers> Select 24 bit Now load your HDCD into your Rom drive and...

Nero does not decode it just makes an exact copy of the file. It shows it as 16 bit? As a wave file a regular cd and the hdcd look the same under the file information. 44.1khz 16 bit. http://www.linnrecords.com/linn-down...ing-to-cd.aspx edit If the cd was anything but red book many...

hdcd is 20 bit not 24. EDIT(ops you guys knew that) I have played one to hardrive converted to flac, decoded flac to wave, and nero back to a cd-r...and yes if it is bit perfect an errorless my player sees the ripped cd as hdcd and the light illuminates. Usually the HDCD sounds better than...

The DAC I am very impressed by the Operas DAC. After a/b with the mode switch, with a wave file vs the cd on my player the results are better than I was expecting. My player is no slouch as many can atest to. Linn has a decent reputation for cd playback. Now granted the operas chip is much...

Crossfeed.......hmm interesting stuff this is. A first for me. My first impression was negative. It does indeed narrow the soundstage, and when looking for change, it is the most apparent change. Switching between the 2 had me feeling that crossfeed was taking away some of the big hall...

Ha! Somebody was listening. It is Friday and my wife has reported that yes indeed the amp has come in. 25 days via mail, and the nasty post office was kind enough to Jack me for 40 more dollars brokerage fees ?? The whole point of using mail was to avoid these fees...Canada, there is just no...

Hmm after 22 days I am still waiting for the package. Maybe Customs has it on their desk and is putting some burn-in time on it. LOL. Hey, put it back in the box and buy your own. Keeping my fingers crossed for a Friday mail delivery. (that would be 25 days) Canada is a slow moving...

Code: Now, they're linked to Opera's preamp output. I tried playing a pair of CDs/SACDs to do a comparison between SA-17S1-->Speakers vs SA-17S1-->Opera-->Speakers. The difference is VERY noticeable. I am a bit confused as to the flowpath here. Your cd player with speakers is using the cd...

If anyone is not finding desired results, I'd say the first step is to listen to enough different setups until you do find differences. Going to a meet where there are say 20 different amps/headphones, gear etc would be a great place to get some sort of reference for what you like, and what...

Well mine is making the ole route via the old fashioned (better) mail route as of tomorrow It won't be number 001, but then again it must be in the top 50 from the pile. I can't wait to get it burned in. The rig will be looking its best at least while I wait for the optimum sound to...

LOL serial number 000. (I am going to pay a jewelers shop to make up an altered plate...who knew there were two 001's!) Very nifty pictures btw. SS looks so simple on the indside. Lou

After spending more than too much time looking into an amp purchase...The Opera won me over. (paypal and Jan have my coin) I was intrigued by the SP extreme, and ZOLT threads, but had to make a decision. I'll be running Linn Ikemi, Opera, HD-650s for the short term. Adding a new can cable...