[mrphilibere]

Hi,

As the title suggest, I own a Opus #2 and I want to travel to TOTL territories.... without breaking my wallet

First question: is it worth it? Will I get a substantial increase in sound quality, details, timbre, soundstage etc. ?

Second question: if the answer to the question #1 is "yes", which DAP would be a direct upgrade of the Opus #2? I only use my DAPs with IEMs, so the power output is negligible (I think?). All I want is A GOOD SOUND. I don't care about features like a nice GUI, 4.4/3.5/2.2mm inputs, android-based, Tidal ready, streaming ready, MSEB, 3G/4G/5G, DSP, DSD, etc. I listen mostly to FLAC and 320 Kbps MP3s trough SE output.. plain and simple! I seek enjoyment, not "reference sound".

I listen to music for the emotions it gives me. I want to "feel" the instruments. I want a "wow, I'm here with the musicians". I want to ear things I didn't know were there (fingers sliding on the guitar/bass? keys moving on a clarinet?). I want to have the feeling that the singer is singing for me. I don't aim for an "analytical listening".

From what I read in all the reviews, my first guess would be: Shanling M8 > Hiby R8 > Fiio M15

So, I'm open to your recommendations even if it's not a DAP mentionned in the title of my thread!

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: I listen mostly to rock, prog-rock, prog-metal, metal, djent, some jazz, some ambiant, some electro, some classic, some movies's OST.

 

[Nolbert0]

I'm sort of in the same boat as you (except I don't own an Opus #2). I'm eyeing the Cayin N3pro, myself. It's got both SS and valve amp. Haven't heard it yet but sounds like fun, no?

 

[vodanhkhack]

Hi,

As the title suggest, I own a Opus #2 and I want to travel to TOTL territories.... without breaking my wallet

First question: is it worth it? Will I get a substantial increase in sound quality, details, timbre, soundstage etc. ?

Second question: if the answer to the question #1 is "yes", which DAP would be a direct upgrade of the Opus #2? I only use my DAPs with IEMs, so the power output is negligible (I think?). All I want is A GOOD SOUND. I don't care about features like a nice GUI, 4.4/3.5/2.2mm inputs, android-based, Tidal ready, streaming ready, MSEB, 3G/4G/5G, DSP, DSD, etc. I listen mostly to FLAC and 320 Kbps MP3s trough SE output.. plain and simple! I seek enjoyment, not "reference sound".

I listen to music for the emotions it gives me. I want to "feel" the instruments. I want a "wow, I'm here with the musicians". I want to ear things I didn't know were there (fingers sliding on the guitar/bass? keys moving on a clarinet?). I want to have the feeling that the singer is singing for me. I don't aim for an "analytical listening".

From what I read in all the reviews, my first guess would be: Shanling M8 > Hiby R8 > Fiio M15

So, I'm open to your recommendations even if it's not a DAP mentionned in the title of my thread!

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: I listen mostly to rock, prog-rock, prog-metal, metal, djent, some jazz, some ambiant, some electro, some classic, some movies's OST.

If you only care of sound and don't care about streaming, tidal, bluetooth ... so on and so on, go for the Cowon Plenue L!

Cowon Plenue L is just for purist music. It is also much lighter and smaller, slimer ( and more elegant to me) than the Shanling M8 or Fiio M15