[AudioMan2013]

 
When you say Ice Picks from the HA-1....did you hear it warmed up?   I say this because my HA-1 sounds harsh if not up to temp ( Have determined about ~ 45 minutes)....also what HP's did you use?   I think that Class A amp rocks and not the least bit harsh after warming up completely!...IMO!

HA-1 does sound harsh, sterile, uninvolving, and bright.  It is the sound signature of all ESS dacs.  I have the HA1, HA2, Ibasso DX100, Onkyo DP-X1, BDP105D, and the BDP95, they all have this signature sound.  Not that this is a bad thing, it is just different because there are all different kind of ears.  What makes a huge difference is pairing them with the proper headphones and speakers.  
 
My favorite dacs use a Burr Brown chips PCM1704U and second favorite is PCM1792A.  To my ears these are much more smooth and cause less fatigue. Perhaps I am a bit more sensitive in the high frequencies than other people.  I've spent so much on ESS dacs and they have their place.  I don't think I will be buying any more ESS based equipment for a while.  There hasn't been anything new from TI/BB in a while.  I would love to see a new version of the 1704.  I will branch out to Analog Devices, Cirrus Logic, and Asahi Kasei Microdevices.  

 

[purk]

  HA-1 does sound harsh, sterile, uninvolving, and bright.  It is the sound signature of all ESS dacs.  I have the HA1, HA2, Ibasso DX100, Onkyo DP-X1, BDP105D, and the BDP95, they all have this signature sound.  Not that this is a bad thing, it is just different because there are all different kind of ears.  What makes a huge difference is pairing them with the proper headphones and speakers.  
 
My favorite dacs use a Burr Brown chips PCM1704U and second favorite is PCM1792A.  To my ears these are much more smooth and cause less fatigue. Perhaps I am a bit more sensitive in the high frequencies than other people.  I've spent so much on ESS dacs and they have their place.  I don't think I will be buying any more ESS based equipment for a while.  There hasn't been anything new from TI/BB in a while.  I would love to see a new version of the 1704.  I will branch out to Analog Devices, Cirrus Logic, and Asahi Kasei Microdevices.  

Not entirely true about the 9018 being harsh.  The sound of the DAC is the sum of DAC chip and output stage.  You can easily can make any 9018 to sound warm by simply voicing the output stage to be warmer.  

 

[audiobill]

  Not entirely true about the 9018 being harsh.  The sound of the DAC is the sum of DAC chip and output stage.  You can easily can make any 9018 to sound warm by simply voicing the output stage to be warmer.  

Very good observation, and you also have to consider power supply design as well as the quality of other supporting circuitry. Accuphase uses ES9018 DACs in some of their digital gear and they don't sound in any way harsh, sterile, uninvolving or bright. They are at a much higher price point than much of the competition, but they pay attention to many other details of implementation which allows them to provide such exceptional sound quality. Selection of the DAC chip of course has influence on the overall sound, but it's just one ingredient of the entire recipe.

 

[purk]

  Very good observation, and you also have to consider power supply design as well as the quality of other supporting circuitry. Accuphase uses ES9018 DACs in some of their digital gear and they don't sound in any way harsh, sterile, uninvolving or bright. They are at a much higher price point than much of the competition, but they pay attention to many other details of implementation which allows them to provide such exceptional sound quality. Selection of the DAC chip of course has influence on the overall sound, but it's just one ingredient of the entire recipe.

Yup, a well regulated linear PSU and parts selection as well.

 

[erik701]

Looks like we will not be able to get Sonica DAC before Christmas 

 

[AudioMan2013]

Can't compare an $8,000 Accuphase to an Oppo.  Name one device that has an ESS dac that sounds warm and musical in the same price range as the Oppo?  Then compare that to a Cowon Plenue P1 or an Olasonic Dac ($500) using BB.  
 
And what were they thinking - using a switching power supply?  I returned a Nad M51 because it sounded so unnatural. So much potential ruined.  I've measured directly on a Tektronix analog oscilloscope an iFi switching power supply with their advanced noise cancellation technology to a cheap $40 linear power supply made in China from Amazon.  The linear power supply won.  
 
I have many Oppo devices and will probably end up ordering the Sonica to see what the big deal is about.  If it has the same ESS sound signature it will be going back.  

 

[audiobill]

  Can't compare an $8,000 Accuphase to an Oppo.  Name one device that has an ESS dac that sounds warm and musical in the same price range as the Oppo?  Then compare that to a Cowon Plenue P1 or an Olasonic Dac ($500) using BB.  
 
And what were they thinking - using a switching power supply?  I returned a Nad M51 because it sounded so unnatural. So much potential ruined.  I've measured directly on a Tektronix analog oscilloscope an iFi switching power supply with their advanced noise cancellation technology to a cheap $40 linear power supply made in China from Amazon.  The linear power supply won.  
 
I have many Oppo devices and will probably end up ordering the Sonica to see what the big deal is about.  If it has the same ESS sound signature it will be going back.  

I wasn't comparing them and pointed out the significant price differential, but you were the one that said: "HA-1 does sound harsh, sterile, uninvolving, and bright. It is the sound signature of all ESS dacs." The only thing about the Oppo Sonica that seems exceptional to me at this point is that it incorporates the latest TOTL ES9038PRO DAC at such a low price. Since it's not even out yet we don't know how it will actually perform, but given its price I'd expect the implementation to be "less than optimal". Only time will tell and I look forward to hearing from early adopters once it is actually released. Hope it meets all of your expectations if you try one!

 

[Svperstar]

I just found out about this DAC today. I am debating getting it but I am wondering if the difference between my Dragonfly which has the 9023 and this would really be that big. Same DAC family after all. 

 

[purk]

  I just found out about this DAC today. I am debating getting it but I am wondering if the difference between my Dragonfly which has the 9023 and this would really be that big. Same DAC family after all. 

Again, how about a proper power supply and a well designed output stage?

 

[AudioMan2013]

  I wasn't comparing them and pointed out the significant price differential, but you were the one that said: "HA-1 does sound harsh, sterile, uninvolving, and bright. It is the sound signature of all ESS dacs." The only thing about the Oppo Sonica that seems exceptional to me at this point is that it incorporates the latest TOTL ES9038PRO DAC at such a low price. Since it's not even out yet we don't know how it will actually perform, but given its price I'd expect the implementation to be "less than optimal". Only time will tell and I look forward to hearing from early adopters once it is actually released. Hope it meets all of your expectations if you try one!

The TOTL ES9038PRO Dac chip that you are talking about is not expensive - It costs less to design and manufacture than an $2 ARM SOC computing stick from China.  A higher price does not mean it is better.  Pop open a $5k Luxman D-06 dac or an Esoteric unit and take a look inside at the design.  Those Luxman caps aren't any better than Panasonic ones. In fact the Panasonic ones outperform them with lower ESR. They almost all use standard op amp output stages.  A few will use tube output or a discrete design (which is real audio design).    Sure those units "look" expensive to justify the price.  My best dac is a Lite Dac - 60 and outperforms $20k units.  It cost me $400 plus a few modifications.  There is an entire thread on it here - http://www.head-fi.org/t/740362/lite-dac60-pcm1704-r2r-tubed-dac-mod-project
 
People including me fell into the ESS fad because they were new and offered an alternative to TI.  ESS Technologies is an aggressive company and I don't blame them because they brought something new to fill in a gap.  Many manufacturers of audio equipment also jumped on this wagon to offer their customers something new but not necessary better.  Yamaha and Esoteric are 2 examples.  They are expensive because of marketing.  If you are familiar with Yamaha pricing, they pretty much doubled their prices when they switched to ESS.  Why, products with ESS sell as people are still buying into the fad. They are still trying to catch up to TI's 1998 release of the PCM1704 dac.  
 
Try this dac for $476: https://www.amazon.com/Olasonic-NANO-COMPO-converter-black-NANO-D1B/dp/B00GOJA696/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1481125250&sr=8-4&keywords=olasonic
It will run circles around anything Oppo has including it's headphone amplifier when concerning tonal balance, neutral sound, smoothness, and fatigue free listening to music nonstop.  Try listening to the HA-1 using a pair of Fostex TH-900 headphones, one will learn the meaning of harsh.  Then try the same on this Olasonic. Throw away the switching power supply and use a linear one and it takes the Olasonic even further.
 
I have nothing against Oppo as they have made incredible products at their price point (except for the 105D, which they made a big design mistake for not using a dedicated dac for their stereo outputs, the 95 is better for playing SACDs).  I just wish they would branch out to use other dac chips. If they released a BB or AKM version of the HA-1 I would be the first person on the list to purchase.  

 

[AudioMan2013]

  Again, how about a proper power supply and a well designed output stage?

Most manufacturers don't really design output stages anymore.  They use standard op-amp outputs as indicated by the reference circuit outlined on the dac's datasheet.  

 

[Svperstar]

 
Try this dac for $476: https://www.amazon.com/Olasonic-NANO-COMPO-converter-black-NANO-D1B/dp/B00GOJA696/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1481125250&sr=8-4&keywords=olasonic
It will run circles around anything Oppo has including it's headphone amplifier when concerning tonal balance, neutral sound, smoothness, and fatigue free listening to music nonstop. 

 
Thoughts on Schiit Multibit?

 

[AudioMan2013]

Thoughts on Schiit Multibit?

I cant say because I have never heard it. I do have the Schiit Wyrd (actually 2 of them) and they do help clean up the USB signal.

 

[AudioMan2013]

Anyone have pictures of the internals of the Sonica Dac?

 

[AudioMan2013]

A good office setup: