[thyname]

   
A Sonica will stream files from a DLNA server, NAS drives and attached USB drives.  

But not through Roon. In my opinion, big omission. Many Roon users would scoop Sonica up in no time, if it were Roon Ready. Win-win for both companies. Bummer!

 

[nhtran1]

Correct.  You would need a separate Roon endpoint connected thru USB or SPDIF..but that kinda defeats the purpose of this dac if you ask me.
 
Also I forgot to mention in my original post, there is no physical remote.  You must use the Sonica app on your phone or tablet.  And the app drains the battery like you wouldn't believe.  It appears to run in the background if you merely switch to other apps on ios...you need to close the app completely to avoid battery drain.

 

[ekrauss]

Tell us more! I'm thinking of getting the Sonica or Node 2 or replacing everything with a Brooklyn 

I own an Ayre QB-9 and through many months of testing different iterations of the SDAC, found it to be very similar sonically to the Ayre. They are both fully balanced, with ESS chips and linear power supplies, so the similarities do not surprise me at all.

 

[ekrauss]

But not through Roon. In my opinion, big omission. Many Roon users would scoop Sonica up in no time, if it were Roon Ready. Win-win for both companies. Bummer!

Oppo doesn't currently support Roon and doesn't have any plans to do so in the near future. They probably view Roon Ready certification as a niche feature with limited appeal that would require engineering effort (and licensing fees, I'm sure) that they feel would be better spent elsewhere.

I would welcome Roon compatibility. I'm not crazy about some aspects of Roon--especially their pricing--but they do have a growing following. I like some of the technical options Roon gives you, although it can be a little confusing to use on initial setup and the metadata support is bad (at least in my case, many metadata errors that took me hours to fix).

 

[thyname]

Oppo doesn't currently support Roon and doesn't have any plans to do so in the near future. They probably view Roon Ready certification as a niche feature with limited appeal that would require engineering effort (and licensing fees, I'm sure) that they feel would be better spent elsewhere.

I would welcome Roon compatibility. I'm not crazy about some aspects of Roon--especially their pricing--but they do have a growing following. I like some of the technical options Roon gives you, although it can be a little confusing to use on initial setup and the metadata support is bad (at least in my case, many metadata errors that took me hours to fix).

I can tell you for sure that Roon does not charge any licensing fees on the manufacturers for having their products Roon Ready. 100% sure on this.
 
In terms of liking Roon, that's a personal opinion. I love Roon, but naturally YMMV

 

[ekrauss]

I have connected all my music server-type sources via an Ethernet switch--two Sonica speakers (each with USB thumb drives attached), a Sonica DAC (with a USB hard drive attached), and an Auralic Aries Mini with internal hard drive--and that switch in turn is connected to an Airport Express in bridge mode, connecting all that via wifi to the rest of my network. (My network has two other similar nodes wherein Airport hardware provides wi-fi connectivity to other devices connected to an Ethernet switch). Everything works like a charm without latency issues. Setup was frighteningly easy.

 

[ekrauss]

You must use the Sonica app on your phone or tablet.  And the app drains the battery like you wouldn't believe.  It appears to run in the background if you merely switch to other apps on ios...you need to close the app completely to avoid battery drain.

That is not normal behavior (battery drain). If you are playing music, the app will continue to run in the background, but if you are not playing anything, it should not be consuming any processor time (and not using any battery). I think you should delete the Sonica app and then reinstall through the App Store.

 

[thyname]

Got my Sonica today!

Using it in a "traditional " headphones setup with a headphones amp. "Feeding" music via Roon and microRendu as a endpoint (on USB input). Network is disabled on Oppo.

Question:

Do you guys choose "bypass all", and control volume through the Amp?

 

[Peterde]

If you have got your Sonica DAC then you are one of the lucky people to take delivery prior to the product being pulled from the market - at least that is the case here in Australia. Stay tuned for the official announcement in the next day or two.
 
I ordered five weeks ago and was getting fed up with waiting. Oh well, I'm going down to the Hi-Fi shop later on today to try out a Cambridge CXN.

 

[thyname]

If you have got your Sonica DAC then you are one of the lucky people to take delivery prior to the product being pulled from the market - at least that is the case here in Australia. Stay tuned for the official announcement in the next day or two.

I ordered five weeks ago and was getting fed up with waiting. Oh well, I'm going down to the Hi-Fi shop later on today to try out a Cambridge CXN.

What?? Really?

Do you know for what reason?

I got mine at a slight discount from an installer whose client pulled out late in the install process

 

[Peterde]

What?? Really?

Do you know for what reason?

I got mine at a slight discount from an installer whose client pulled out late in the install process

 
Not exactly sure in regard to the reason - something about not being happy with the software, even after extensive tweaking. God only knows what the official story will be ...

 

[ekrauss]

Sounds like you have been the victim of "fake news." It is not being pulled from the market to my knowledge. The software is the exact same app as used for the Sonica speakers, and it has already been out for a year or so. Of course, it gets updated regularly just like any other iOS or Android app.

 

[wood1030]

Got my Sonica today!

Using it in a "traditional " headphones setup with a headphones amp. "Feeding" music via Roon and microRendu as a endpoint (on USB input). Network is disabled on Oppo.

Question:

Do you guys choose "bypass all", and control volume through the Amp?

That's how I've been using mine, in "Bypass All Input" mode, with the outputs feeding my HA-1. XLR outputs going into HA-1 XLR in. I have both units connected to USB Async port, however, so I can compare both units simultaneously to playback coming out of my MacMini. 
 
Got mine this past Saturday and for the most part, it's nice, but I'm not convinced that I'll keep it, not because it isn't a great sounding unit, it is, very much so, but in my system, it's really a redundant device that doesn't make a whole lot of sense for me to keep but the jury is still out on that, so we'll see.
 
Lately I've been primarily listening to Tidal HiFI as my main music source so I've been able to compare the built in Tidal stream of the Sonica to both the desktop version through the USB port from my Mac and also the desktop version feeding into my HA-1 and in addition to that I have an Oppo BDP 105 w/ the built in Tidal app of it feeding to my HA-1, so I can actually compare al 3 units through balanced output with my PM-1's (and other HP's)
 
There is so much similarity (to me) in the sound between the 3 devices that it's nearly impossible to tell a difference if I were to do an A/B/C blind test. They all sound fantastic to me. No Sabre glare, no harsh highs, just satisfying mids, deep bass, and smooth mids. I know that others have their own opinions about the ESS sound, but to me it's very pleasing. I think a lot of that has to do with the smoothness of the PM-1's. If there is any winner in sound, I suppose it would an ever so slight edge to the Sonica DAC in sound stage and separation, but it's in no way a large advantage, just slight. 
 
The main drawback for me against the Sonica DAC is not the sound but the lack of a physical remote control. I know, I know, it has the  app that pretty much controls the device completely but in this age of high end electronics, it just makes no sense at all to me to not include a remote. My HA-1 has a remote that works beautifully and I've even mapped it's functions into my Harmony remote and of course the BDP 105 has a remote as well and is a more capable all-around player.
 
Would I recommend the Sonica to potential buyers? Well, maybe. It depends on your needs. If you need an outstanding, well built, stand alone streaming player that can be networked for local playback and has Airplay, Bluetooth and multiple digital inputs then absolutely I would recommend. It sounds fantastic and would make a great addition to most buyers racks. If you're like me and already have multiple, similar devices that already have most or all of the features that you'd get from the Sonica and are happy with the sound that they are producing now, then I would say, think long and hard before making your decision. You could do like I've done and give it a test spin for 30 days before making your ultimate decision to keep or not, (my decision is not concrete yet but I think I already know which way I'm leaning).
 
I'm gonna continue to play with it in the weeks to come, as well as try some other configurations, like connecting to my floor standing speakers through an Emotiva amp and do more comparisons with my other devices for more listening test and I'll see how it stacks up while playing 2 channel music.
 
I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[ekrauss]

Got my Sonica today!

Using it in a "traditional " headphones setup with a headphones amp. "Feeding" music via Roon and microRendu as a endpoint (on USB input). Network is disabled on Oppo.

Question:

Do you guys choose "bypass all", and control volume through the Amp?

Yes, I bypass the SDAC's digital volume control and instead use the analog volume control on the HA-1.

The SDAC's volume control utilizes the ESS 9038PRO's internal digital volume function. ESS claims that its implementation is lossless and outperforms all but the highest performance analog volume controls. That may or may not be true--I would rather have my signal be subjected to attenuation only once, so that's why I bypass it when I am listening through the HA-1.

 

[thyname]

Thanks guys! It sounds bypassing volume control on Sonica and letting the Amp do it is the way to go. I have a Matrix M-Stage HPA-3B as an amp.

I also disabled networking completely.

Now, why you guys have the HA-1 and still bought Sonica is beyond my under:atsmile:standing

Maybe Oppo hardcore fans?

Anyways, I also like the ESS sound. A lot. People say it is "glare-y ", but I don't think so. It is a bit harsh now out of the box, but I am totally aware that break in is needed