[leftnose]

No, I'm not asking if one is better than the other!

What I am wondering is how their sound signature compares. I have heard a Move and I like it's sound a lot. It's nice and warm but still has a good up-front sound.

I have experience with RSA amps and there is a definite house sound to them (except the Hornet sounds more up-front than the others to me). Is there a Meier house sound and do both the Move and Opera have it?

Thanks.

 

[mdarnton]

You can see what I'm playing them though, below.

For me, the Opera has a warmer, thicker sound, with an extremely smooth upper end. The Move is less smooth on the top, not quite as dark, and very percussive. Myself, I prefer the bottom end of the Move, which sounds more real to me, without artificial lushness. This is not a consistent thing though--the Opera seems to respond much more differently to my various sources than the Move, which sounds about the same with any source I put into it. Perhaps this is an indication of the different DACs rather than the amps themselves? The Opera has more space and air--a higher quality of sound, but the Move isn't bad at all.

Those are tonal things. I'm not into soundstage, so that'll have to come from someone else. I'm not at all disappointed with either, but I'd give up the Opera before I gave up the Move, considering the cost of each.

"Chicagoland" where?

 

[itsborken]

The Opera is as good as your sources. Match it with a decent CDP and a good set of headphones and it really shines. The sound quality is really smooth out of the Opera as previously said. My CDP sounds a lot better than my PC/Opera DAC so I don't use that part very often.

If you don't need a portable amp you will be better served with an amp served by a decent power supply/transformer if you really want excellent SQ.

 

[Dan Millheim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by itsborken /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you don't need a portable amp you will be better served with an amp served by a decent power supply/transformer if you really want excellent SQ.

Agree! Highend protables are wonderful. I have owned the RSA sr-71 and have heard the Move. Both are very nice and both have wonderful build quality but batteries will NEVER be able to impact SQ/detail like a dedicated home amp with a beefy PSU. Just my impressions. I own a HR Maxed Home Amp/Dac and it is not fair to compare it to a portable. I would imagine the same goes for the Opera?

 

[ManAtWork]

Besides of the comments from the folks above, in additional, I found that sound of MOVE is well-tuned specific for IEM; and Opera is tuned for mainstream headphones like Beyerdynamic, AKG etc. I believe this is just the synergy issue.

 

[riceboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdarnton /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can see what I'm playing them though, below. For me, the Opera has a warmer, thicker sound, with an extremely smooth upper end. The Move is less smooth on the top, not quite as dark, and very percussive. Myself, I prefer the bottom end of the Move, which sounds more real to me, without artificial lushness. This is not a consistent thing though--the Opera seems to respond much more differently to my various sources than the Move, which sounds about the same with any source I put into it. Perhaps this is an indication of the different DACs rather than the amps themselves? The Opera has more space and air--a higher quality of sound, but the Move isn't bad at all. Those are tonal things. I'm not into soundstage, so that'll have to come from someone else. I'm not at all disappointed with either, but I'd give up the Opera before I gave up the Move, considering the cost of each. "Chicagoland" where?

Thanks for your impressions. I've been looking at the Move and Opera as well. In any case they are great amps

.

 

[lerio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by itsborken /img/forum/go_quote.gif My CDP sounds a lot better than my PC/Opera DAC so I don't use that part very often.

CDP

 

[Henry Flower]

CD Player!

 

[lerio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by heretical /img/forum/go_quote.gif MP3 generation

A CD Player who sounds a lot better than a PC/Opera DAC ????????

 

[itsborken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lerio /img/forum/go_quote.gif A CD Player who sounds a lot better than a PC/Opera DAC ????????

The onboard DAC's analog sounds better than its direct coax out to Opera DAC. This was the case with the mh25.2 unmodded, then RAM modded the analog stage which removed the opamps and replaced them with transformers. Now the analog side sounds even better.

As far as the PC side of the house, I've tried both spdif and USB to the Opera DAC and found that the MH25.2 beat both in analog.