[ExpatinJapan]

Great review. Very readable.

I will check out your other reviews!

 

[goldtuba]

Just got mine in.  Listening to the usual tracks with my LZ-A4.  Will come back later with some impressions.  Very positive so far.

 

[Nick1971]

Hi I have one issue with my opus 1 and that is I can't access the storage via USB from my pic. That's either sad card or internal storage. I think I am on v2 lollipop firmware.

What am I doing wrong ?

Tia

Nick

 

[Shlonglor]

I got my Opus#1 today and I'm quite disappointed so far. Might it be faulty?

I have
1) Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10 Pro
2) Denon AHD2000

1) iDSD Micro
2) Oppo HA-2
3) Cowon D2

Both phones sound better on the first two (Micro & HA-2) and sound comparable on my 10 year old, then half price, Cowon D2.

Sound is quite closed and uninspiring. It's not _bad_, just not what the reviews make it out to be, and not the $400 step up I thought I'd be getting over my ancient D2.
I EQed the upper range up a bit and it sounds a bit more alive now, but still hardly what I was expecting.

Were my expectations too high or is this a bad unit?

Thanks.

 

[m8o]

Shlonglor, you upgrade to the latest firmware? Do it right away if you have not.

I have a cowon D3 and there is no comparison to my ears; in favor of the Opus 1 if that was not obvious. (Tho, I thought that even when I was on the early firmware)

Lack of sparkle is the last thing I'd attribute to this player. That's the same using Massdrop TH-X00, K7XX, Focal Spirit One, and every IEM I own. The only Headphone I did not like with this is the Final Sonorous VI as the impedance is just too low at 8 ohms.

Have you listened to any HD tracks? This player is good enough to illuminate the shortcomings of low bit rate lossey music files vs. high bitrate lossless flac (or other file formats).

 

[Shlonglor]

Yeah, running 2.0.3.

 

[twister6]

  Yeah, running 2.0.3.

 
Let it burn in for a few days, just set it to play a song in a loop with headphones plugged in.

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

1) iDSD Micro
2) Oppo HA-2
3) Cowon D2

Both phones sound better on the first two (Micro & HA-2) and sound comparable on my 10 year old, then half price, Cowon D2.

Sound is quite closed
Were my expectations too high or is this a bad unit?

Thanks.

 
 
I own those 3. #3 is gone but still have another Cowon.
 
I use a Note 4 with a dac/amp on it's back. You must have a problem unit.  I would rank those in the order you did with stage width am I right? iDSD can be wide as hell...way out of head almost too much with certain genre' Oppo is smaller in stage and Cowon close to Oppo but still 3 in your #1, 2, 3
 
If we see that the same (stage) then maybe we generally agree on sonics a bit?
 
The OPUS is just below the iDSD which would make it #2 in stage. You say the sound is quite closed. That is a variable we can drill down on. I am obsessive about staging. If the presentation is narrow the instruments have no space between them. That is a deal breaker for me.
 
I paid for my unit at a reduced price but it still cost close to $500 for the Metal version.  My opinion is based on comparing with all the new gear out there besides the DX200.
I live in Japan. Access is easy.
 
Different strokes for different folks but:
 
Sound is quite closed
 
That is not right...something is wrong. The Cayin i5 has an intimate/compact stage. The FiiO X5iii is not very wide and spatial. The OPUS is.
 
I tried to sell of my OPUS because my PHA-3 with a Note 4 is just unreal in balanced mode and I like a 5.7" screen...and I hate multiple gear since i feel like a geek but Mojo was my binky in 2015 and the OPUS is my 2016 Binky.  The only thing against the OPUS is it doesn't have a 5.7" screen.

 

[lotech]

Hi I have one issue with my opus 1 and that is I can't access the storage via USB from my pic. That's either sad card or internal storage. I think I am on v2 lollipop firmware.

What am I doing wrong ?

Tia

Nick

I had same issue when using certain USB cables with Win7 laptop. when I use the supplied USB cable I can access the SD card and internal storage.

 

[Marcofra89]

Hi, i'm interested in buying this dap. I have a question, does it works as usb dac for macos?
Could you please tell me what other competitors there are in his price range?
 
Regards,M.

 

[Shlonglor]

  Hi, i'm interested in buying this dap. I have a question, does it works as usb dac for macos?
Could you please tell me what other competitors there are in his price range?
 
Regards,M.

It does.
 
This one is better, though my Opus may be faulty...
https://www.oppodigital.com/headphone-amplifier-ha-2SE/

 

[Raketen]

Hopefully it is better with OSX than my experience with win7, would be cautious if USB DAC is important feature to you.

 

[ncristia]

Sound quality only, is it a step up from Shanling M5?
Thank you

 

[Raketen]

Sound quality only, is it a step up from Shanling M5?
Thank you

believe nmathies made a few comments on this comparison not too many pages back

 

[ncristia]

I saw where he said they were finds of 2016 but didn't see comparisons, I'll look back further. Thank you