[zilch0md]

  [snip]
 
... will the HA-2 work with walkman NWZ-A-10 (A17) USB digital OUT?

 
 

[snip]

Yes the HA-2 should work with the Wlakman.

 
That's true - OPPO has confirmed that the current prototype of the HA-2 works fine with the Sony NWZ-A17 via the (expensive) Sony WMC-NWH10 cable and a USB-A-Male -to- USB-Micro-B-Male adapter (or cable).
 

 

 
The cable and adapter would end up looking similar to the cable and adapter shown in this picture (of a different Walkman with an iFi Nano iDSD):
 

Image source:  http://cleartex.blog.jp/archives/1002166947.html
 
 
If the radius is too tight for your tastes, you could use a cable instead of an adapter...
 

 
Mike

 

[x RELIC x]

Actually a lot of percussion music and instruments have natural frequencies well above 20 kHz. Gamelan is a famous example.

How much of the resonance is heard though, and how much of an impact does it have on audible sound? Honest question, though not sure it belongs here.

Edit: A more specific question would be, what is the highest frequency of recorded and mastered gamelan music that we then play back on our devices?

 

[gerelmx1986]

Thank you @zilch0md
 
well godd o know i already have three USB micro B, the one  of the fiio x3, ne from a USB fan base fro laptop cooling, and one from my cybershot digital camera so no worries, just buy the WMC-NWH10
 
I tought you could connect the A-10 directly by using the included USB WM-port cable

 

[gerelmx1986]

How much of the resonance is heard though, and how much of an impact does it have on audible sound? Honest question, though not sure it belongs here.

Edit: A more specific question would be, what is the highest frequency of recorded and mastered gamelan music that we then play back on our devices?

so why people like you, the riches buy sennheisers HD-800 if you say humans cannot hear beyond 20Khz ?

 

[x RELIC x]

so why people like you, the riches buy sennheisers HD-800 if you say humans cannot hear beyond 20Khz ?

What? I never claimed to be rich and don't personally like the HD800. I don't 'say' humans cannot hear beyond 20kHz (approximately), Mother Nature does. Do some research.

I buy high quality audio gear within my budget because it presents details to me in the recording that brings me closer to being there. I enjoy going in to a musical coma and value the gear that does a good job of music reproduction and not glossing over details I am capable of hearing in the tracks. If it can not be physically heard I wonder what the attraction is besides marketing hype. I'm not claiming that I have super hearing and I assure you I am educated on the anatomy of the human ear. We simply don't hear above certain frequency ranges just like we don't see all spectrums of light. If the HA-2 can reproduce music humans can hear in a clean and engaging way then I am interested.

I was trying to engage in an informative discussion based on the value of frequencies we can or can not hear and have opened an invitation to other opinions.

Obviously not the right place to have such a discussion.

 

[zilch0md]

  Thank you @zilch0md
 
well godd o know i already have three USB micro B, the one  of the fiio x3, ne from a USB fan base fro laptop cooling, and one from my cybershot digital camera so no worries, just buy the WMC-NWH10
 
I tought you could connect the A-10 directly by using the included USB WM-port cable

 

 
 
Updated to provide more descriptive annotations.
 
Updated again to incorporate changes that now allow the HA-2 to support Hi-Res files from iDevices without the need for a CCK (Camera Connection Kit)

 

[jexby]

zilchmod,

So if you want 24/96 audio from an iPhone into HA2, you would connect Apple Lightning CCK cable to iPhone, and then a regular USB cable from CCK into HA2?
Thanks for confirming,

 

[miceblue]

How much of the resonance is heard though, and how much of an impact does it have on audible sound? Honest question, though not sure it belongs here.

Edit: A more specific question would be, what is the highest frequency of recorded and mastered gamelan music that we then play back on our devices?

Well nature is rich in content above 20 kHz. How much of that content is hearable is beyond me.
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm
http://www.tinnitusjournal.com/imagebank/pdf/v13n1a02.pdf

I think capturing these natural harmonics in music is important to preserve the fidelity of the original analogue signal, but for playback, it doesn't matter very much except for that they can be harmful to the playback loop due to non-linear responses, intermodulation distortion, etc.
http://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=13967

What kind of digital filter(s) the HA-2 uses and what kind of IMD it has, I'm not sure. Quite frankly, not a lot of DACs have these listed though.

 

[x RELIC x]

Well nature is rich in content above 20 kHz. How much of that content is hearable is beyond me.
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm
http://www.tinnitusjournal.com/imagebank/pdf/v13n1a02.pdf

I think capturing these natural harmonics in music is important to preserve the fidelity of the original analogue signal, but for playback, it doesn't matter very much except for that they can be harmful to the playback loop due to non-linear responses, intermodulation distortion, etc.
http://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=13967

What kind of digital filter(s) the HA-2 uses and what kind of IMD it has, I'm not sure. Quite frankly, not a lot of DACs have these listed though.

Thank you for the reply. I am well aware of ultrasonic frequencies and the breadth of sound in nature. Some good links you posted. The question is, specificly to audio devices, why do we fall for marketing of super high frequency range capabilities when 1.) It is inaudible 2.) We don't play back these high frequency ranges from our media, such CDs and consumer digital files after they have been mastered. So headphones claiming 40kHz range is a moot point as the source is more than likely limited at 20kHz.

If the HA-2 reproduced frequencies of 20Hz-20kHz (+0/-0.04 db) like my HA-1 that would be more than satisfactory for me.

 

[miceblue]

why do we fall for marketing

Because we're only human.

 

[pataburd]

  It will not be identical to the PM-1/2. We are using a different driver which is allowing us to get the smaller size and closed back design that we wanted for a more portable (and hopefully less expensive) planar magnetic headphone. What we will be showing is a working protype, so there will still be a lot of tuning going on before the PM-3 is actually released.

May I please audition the PM-3?  [shameless self-assertive request]
Am curious to hear whether they will unseat my reigning portable champs, the Martin Logan Mikros 90.

 

[jexby]

  May I please audition the PM-3?  [shameless self-assertive request]
 

 
wait what What?
we can do that here- ask for auditions and hope the Oppo gods bless us?  

 
sign me up if so,

 

[zilch0md]

   

 
UPDATED on 15 January 2015 - to incorporate changes that now allow the HA-2 to support Hi-Res files from iDevices without the need for a CCK (Camera Connection Kit)
 

 
 

zilchmod,

So if you want 24/96 audio from an iPhone into HA2, you would connect Apple Lightning CCK cable to iPhone, and then a regular USB cable from CCK into HA2?
Thanks for confirming,

 
Short Answer:  
 
Yes, but you would connect the USB cable to the HA-2's USB Micro B female jack (labeled "B") - not to the HA-2's USB A female jack (labeled "A").
 
 
Long Answer:
 
If you are using a CCK with an iDevice, you are effectively converting the iDevice into a USB source, identical to the signal taken from a Windows PC or Mac machine's USB port - for use with a DAC that has a USB receiver.  And thus, you would have to connect the CCK to a USB cable (or adapter) and then to the Micro B USB jack (labeled with a "B" - out of focus - in the image above.)
 
UPDATED on 15 January 2015:  The HA-2 now supports the playing of Hi-Res files from Apple iDevices without the use of a CCK - just plug your iDevice into the USB A port and enjoy!
 
Similarly...
 
If you are using a Sony WMC-NWH10 cable with a Sony Walkman, you are effectively converting the Walkman into a USB source, identical to the signal taken from a Windows PC or Mac machine's USB ports - for use with a DAC that has a USB receiver.  And thus, you would have to connect the WMC-NWH10 cable to a USB cable (or adapter) and then to the Micro B USB jack (labeled with a "B" - out of focus in the image above.)
 
That USB Micro B jack (labeled "B") on the HA-2 really only supports two kinds of signals:  Android and USB.  The HA-2 has the ability to detect whether it is seeing an Android device or a USB source.  And thus, that jack supports the Sony Walkman NWZ-A17, for example, only through use of the Sony WMC-NWH10 cable - that converts its digital signal to USB format.  And... that jack supports Apple iDevices only through use of the CCK - that converts its digital signal to USB format.  
 
Either of these solutions will support PCM rates all the way up to 384 kHz as well as DSD - as long as you have a player app that supports those rates and the appropriate cable to emulate a USB source:
 
Apple Lightning CCK:  http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD821ZM/A/lightning-to-usb-camera-adapter
Sony WMC-NWH10:   http://www.amazon.com/Sony-WMC-NWH10-Conversion-Cable-Output/dp/B00FF086HE
 
UPDATED on 15 January 2015:  The HA-2 now supports the playing of Hi-Res files from Apple iDevices without the use of a CCK - just plug your iDevice into the USB A port and enjoy!
 
To play Hi-Res files on iDevices, some of the HA-2 Beta testers have been using an App called Onkyo HF Player, available from the App Store, as described here:   https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/onkyo-hf-player/id704139896
 
Others are using the App called Accudio, also available from the App Store, as described here:  
  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/accudio-free/id551297705
 
If you are not interested in supporting playback of Hi-Res files from an iDevice, you can use either a 30-pin-to-USB-A cable (for the older iDevices) or a Lightning-to-USB-A cable. Either of these cables would be plugged into the USB A female jack of the HA-2 (labeled "A"), as indicated in the annotated photo above, but until further notice, this direct connection to iDevices will not support resolutions higher than 48-kHz/16-bit - this is an Apple limitation, not an OPPO limitation.
 
UPDATED on 15 January 2015:  The HA-2 now supports the playing of Hi-Res files from Apple iDevices without the use of a CCK - just plug your iDevice into the USB A port and enjoy!
 
I'm not sure what rates are possible using Android devices and apps written for Android, but they must use the USB Micro B jack (labeled "B").
 
For all sources, if you are willing to use their internal DACs, you can take a Line Out from the source device to the 3.5mm Line In jack that's on top of the HA-2, selecting "C" with the source selection switch. This will bypass the HA-2's ESS9018M2 DAC, but allow use of its amp section.
 
By the way, the HA-2 can charge an iDevice while playing - whether using the "A" jack (low-res) or the "B" jack (hi-res, via CCK).  
 
Mike

 

[good sound]

 

  It will not be identical to the PM-1/2. We are using a different driver which is allowing us to get the smaller size and closed back design that we wanted for a more portable (and hopefully less expensive) planar magnetic headphone. What we will be showing is a working protype, so there will still be a lot of tuning going on before the PM-3 is actually released.

May I please audition the PM-3?  [shameless self-assertive request]
 
Sure, just show up at the next audio show that Oppo will be attending, wherever and whenever that is. I don't remember hearing anything about Beta testing, but considering how close to the actual product release we are, i would assume that any beta testing that took place has already been completed.
 
Am curious to hear whether they will unseat my reigning portable champs, the Martin Logan Mikros 90.
 
I haven't heard the Mikros, and I am sure they are fantastic for the price, but the Oppo's are in a completely different price class and therefore, taste and preference aside, should outperform the Martin Logans quite handily. I know price is in no way an absolute arbiter of sound quality, but in my experience it is extremely rare and unlikely for a company, especially one with the reputation of Oppo to release a product that is multiples in price of another that doesn't outperform it. I'm sure it has happened somewhere, but it is not a common occurrence by any stretch. I am currently using NAD Viso HP50, which are very highly regarded in their own right and deservedly so, with a FiiO X5 and when I was able to compare the HP50's directly against the PM-3 prototype at TAVES in Toronto in early November, there really was no contest. It took no time at all to determine that the Oppo's were the superior set of headphones. I already have the cash set aside for a pair as soon as they become available, I was that impressed by them.
 
Of course none of this means that I would suggest, or recommend, that you purchase the PM-3's without an audition first.

 

[jexby]

I am currently using NAD Viso HP50, which are very highly regarded in their own right and deservedly so, with a FiiO X5 and when I was able to compare the HP50's directly against the PM-3 prototype at TAVES in Toronto in early November, there really was no contest. It took no time at all to determine that the Oppo's were the superior set of headphones. I already have the cash set aside for a pair as soon as they become available, I was that impressed by them.

 
sitting here listening to NAD HP50 driven by GO450, and also awaiting PM3 release, glad to know the improvement via PM3 was substantial.
 
do you recall in November if your PM3 experience was the more "open sounding/neutral" flavored PM3?
at RMAF Oppo had about 2 or 3 tunings of PM3, which I eagerly gave feedback in favor of the wider, neutral sounding set.
 
about the only deal killer for me would be if the Released version of PM3 was the warmer (less detailed?) version.
time will tell as 2015 approaches, but it would be great to know before/at release date what PM3 version made it to production.
 
Thanks.