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Empire Ears - Discussion & Impressions (Formerly EarWerkz)
Apr 21, 2017 at 11:11 AM Post #7,317 of 40,724
Missing my zeus R universal on my side! can't fait for the zeus XRA...Still some weeks to wait!!!!! it's damn too long
 
Apr 21, 2017 at 1:32 PM Post #7,318 of 40,724
I just got an Opus#2 yesterday and now I'm only waiting for my 1960s cables to arrive.
I have always been looking for a source to complement my Zeus R since the day I got it, but a suitable one seemed hard to come by. I like full-bodied sounds, and entries such as the AK line-up or the iBasso DX200 do not satisfy me, as I find them to be too soft and aloof. When I listen to music, I like my music to have an earthy texture, if there is such a way to describe sound. AK and the iBasso are champions in their own rights but to me, they sound too lightweight. It is somewhat comparable to texture of muffins (the sound I prefer) vs that of spongecakes (the AK/iBasso reference sound). You can say that I look for a hint of colouration in my sound signature.
At first, I used Mojo. It has a good sound but is barely portable to me. Since I use my smartphone as a transport, I used a rather stiff microusb-b OTG cable to connect the mojo, and the result was a ultra-thick stack of electronics that not only feels awkward in the hands, but also gave me a compromised smartphone user experience, as I had to accommodate the music files in the microsd card. Then I tried a few DAPS and shortlisted Lotoo Paw Gold and the Opus line-up.
I loved the Lotoo Paw Gold sound! It is a rather aggressively detailed sound that displays a forward presentation across the audio frequency range. The soundstage is not the widest but the imaging is precise and overall it just sounds exciting. However, the turn-off for me is the ever-noticeable hiss. Perhaps the LPG is too powerful, it hisses pertinently once I plug in my IEM.
Opus #1 #2 and #3 are all good with Zeus R. No noticeable hiss when the player is not playing any sound, but there is a slight hissing once the music starts or a few seconds after it stops. #1 has a sweet, analogue sound that emphasises on the low end. Not that it is skewed, it is definitely coloured. The drawback of this tuning though, is an early treble roll-off or the lack of airiness. #3 sounded similar to iBasso dx200. Clear and transparent, with a little bit more rumble in the bass than the AK players. Also, although it has the same DAC chip as LPG, it sounds very different. Yes, it is good sound, but not unique. You can find it in other similarly priced DAPs or even smartphones. #2 was the one that really blew my mind. This DAP is very smooth but yet It has a unique low end rumble. It doesn't have the air and separation of AK380, but it is definitely enough to squeeze out the goodness of Zeus R. One issue about the Opus #2 is the availability of streaming apps. I am on the latest firmware but I don't seem to have access to spotify/tidal. 
 
Apr 21, 2017 at 1:49 PM Post #7,319 of 40,724
dingding123 said:
  I just got an Opus#2 yesterday and now I'm only waiting for my 1960s cables to arrive.
I have always been looking for a source to complement my Zeus R since the day I got it, but a suitable one seemed hard to come by. I like full-bodied sounds, and entries such as the AK line-up or the iBasso DX200 does not satisfy me, as I find them to be too soft and aloof. When I listen to music, I like my music to have an earthy texture, if there is such a way to describe sound. AK and the iBasso are champions in their own rights but to me, they sound too lightweight. It is somewhat comparable to texture of muffins (the sound I prefer) vs that of spongecakes (the AK/iBasso reference sound). You can say that I look for a hint of colouration in my sound signature.
At first, I used Mojo. It has a good sound but is barely portable to me. Since I use my smartphone as a transport, I used a rather stiff microusb-b OTG cable to connect the mojo, and the result was a ultra-thick stack of electronics that not only feels awkward in the hands, but also gave me a compromised smartphone user experience, as I had to accommodate the music files in the microsd card. Then I tried a few DAPS and shortlisted Lotoo Paw Gold and the Opus line-up.
I loved the Lotoo Paw Gold sound! It is a rather aggressively detailed sound that displays a forward representation across the audio frequency range. The soundstage is not the widest but the imaging is precise and overall it just sounds exciting. However, the turn-off for me is the ever-noticeable hiss. Perhaps the LPG is too powerful, it hisses pertinently once I plug in my IEM.
Opus #1 #2 and #3 were all good with Zeus R. No noticeable hiss when the player is not playing any sound, but there is a slight hissing once the music starts or a few seconds after it stops. #1 has a sweet, analogue sound that emphasises on the low end. Not that it is skewed, it is definitely coloured. The drawback of this tuning though, is an early treble roll-off or the lack of airiness. #3 sounded similar to iBasso dx200. Clear and transparent, with a little bit more rumble in the bass than the AK players. Also, although it has the same DAC chip as LPG, it sounds very different. Yes, it is good sound, but not unique. You can find it in other similarly priced DAPs or even smartphones. #2 was the one that really blew my mind. This DAP is very smooth but yet It has a unique low end rumble. It doesn't have the air and separation of AK380, but it is definitely enough to squeeze out the goodness of Zeus R. One issue about the Opus #2 is the availability of streaming apps. I am on the latest firmware but I don't seem to have access to spotify/tidal. 
Click to expand...

 
You gonna enjoy #2 with 1960 and Zeus-R
wink.gif
  Thanks for sharing your impressions about pair up with other DAPs!  Btw, all Opus daps have a deep sleep mode after a few seconds of idling, thus you can't hear any hissing.  The best way to test it is to hit Play and turn the volume down to zero.
 
Apr 21, 2017 at 2:23 PM Post #7,320 of 40,724
Just in case anyone is interested I just posted my review of the Linum Super BaX with my Empire Ears Spartan ADEL here.
 

 
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