Is the DAC in the Opera adequate?
Aug 22, 2007 at 12:58 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 5

Audio Jester

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I would put the Corda Opera as one of my dream amps, but there seems to be a mixed review on the DAC. To all those who have an Opera, do you use the Internal DAC or do you use another DAC? Possible suggestions for a good DAC to pair with the Opera?

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Aug 22, 2007 at 5:08 PM Post #2 of 5
What are your requirements for a DAC? Toslink? Want to use both Coax and USB without toggling a switch on the back?

The majority of people complaining about the DAC do so on the basis of the chipset/specs. Most of the complainers have not even used an Opera yet they offer opinions to confuse others which is sad.

I find it to be on par with the DAC of mid-priced CDP/DVD decks $400-600. It's not the best, its not the worst. It works and doesn't s*ck, it's just not earthshattering, wow, etc.

Think of it as a low cost bonus, because it probably added $150 to the cost of the amp. If it works for you great, if not, don't use it and spend the 500-whatever you'd have dropped on the DAC anyway.

EDIT: How about adding a 'use it, its good enough' option on the poll?
 
Aug 22, 2007 at 9:14 PM Post #3 of 5
I can say the DAC in the Opera sounds better than the Micro DAC. Once I sold my Opera and was waiting to get my HeadRoom Desktop I used the Micro DAC to get music off my PC and into my receiver. There was slightly less bass and treble than when I used the Opera as a preamp.

Admittedly the sound came through the Opera amp as well before getting to my receiver which might make part of the difference but if the DAC didn't provide the sound the amp couldn't reproduce it.

If you've heard the Micro DAC maybe this can give you a data point. It's one of the reasons I went with the MAX DAC in the Desktop because I knew the regular Desktop DAC wasn't as good as the one in the Opera.
 
Aug 22, 2007 at 9:46 PM Post #4 of 5
yes i do, and find it better than my sb3/sacdp/and slightly preferable to the 400. mhdt labs constatine dac i owned. as itsborken says, so long as you have no need for optical input which is its only limiting factor, imo... there are a few choices around the 400. price point however i believe they may be more aggressive in their treble than i would prefer, gathered from what i read, along with other subtle trade offs in their sonic signature. i do believe the 700. price point and above is where one would then begin to easily identify a more pleasing signatured dac, which remember, meier must have voiced this dac to work in tandem with the amps signature to his liking within its parts count price point.

of course there are valid criticisms and room for improvements which could be made to the this dacs sonic signature, as always, it only depends how much you wish to spend on another box and cables. when you read of the criticisms of either the amp or its dac look closely at the gear those people use as a referance. some of them are unsatisfied with 2000. amps and 1000. level dacs, is what i notice... if and when i do upgrade it will be for somethin with utility such as a rega Saturn or Apollo and until that point, i really am quite satisfied at each listening session, quite honestly ...
 

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