[Mhog55]

Did you listen to them? I did and chose Opus without much hesitation. He's got a combo of natural sound and dynamics. Cayin is more analytical and 120 is too V-shaped for my taste.

I haven't heard either of them. I really enjoy the Opus sound. Do you have any other thoughts or opinions on those two daps?

 

[ReAlien]

I haven't heard either of them. I really enjoy the Opus sound. Do you have any other thoughts or opinions on those two daps?

Well, I definitely was not impressed by Ibasso 120 as its sound was too simplified and artificial for me. Yet Cayin n5II was in the final round of A/B with Opus 1S. I decided that Cayin's sound is really clean, neutral and balanced but too analytical for my taste, Opus is also very tonally balanced but has a more engaging and lively sound signature. If there were no Opus to compare, I could have bought Cayin as it is also very good sounding DAP.

 

[Mhog55]

Well, I definitely was not impressed by Ibasso 120 as its sound was too simplified and artificial for me. Yet Cayin n5II was in the final round of A/B with Opus 1S. I decided that Cayin's sound is really clean, neutral and balanced but too analytical for my taste, Opus is also very tonally balanced but has a more engaging and lively sound signature. If there were no Opus to compare, I could have bought Cayin as it is also very good sounding DAP.

Thanks! How scooped are the mids on the 120 compared to the Opus? Did you ever find the treble on the Cayin to harsh or piercing? What was the power like on the Cayin? Would it drive the Massdrop Sennheiser 58x from the single ended? Also, how was the UI and processor in the Cayin? Was it buggy at all? Thanks a lot. This will help with my decision.

 

[ReAlien]

Thanks! How scooped are the mids on the 120 compared to the Opus? Did you ever find the treble on the Cayin to harsh or piercing? What was the power like on the Cayin? Would it drive the Massdrop Sennheiser 58x from the single ended? Also, how was the UI and processor in the Cayin? Was it buggy at all? Thanks a lot. This will help with my decision.

Sorry, don't remember details on mids for 120, did not pay it much attention.

Cayin's treble was not harsh or piercing for my taste, but I am a treble tolerant guy so YMMV. It is kinda bright sounding but within my personal thresholds. It is very detailed and clear. OPUS's treble is great as well but Cayin's clarity is more prominent.

I cannot comment on power comparison as I was comparing them through a powerful desktop amp, which I needed to drive my HIFIMANs to full extent. (I'm using my Opus at my desktop as an external DAC for my Roon most of the time these days. Cause I haven't bought myself a proper desktop DAC yet. I even have a special custom balanced interconnect cable that uses both SE & balanced outputs on Opus as per their manual.)
I did try to drive my HE560 from Opus directly using SE & TRRS headphone cables, however. I can tell that the difference between single end & balanced is almost inaudible on #1S. On specs, it is 3.1 vs 3.4 Vrms. In real life, with my planars, I cannot really tell the difference in volume or sound power between these outputs. I was perplexed about it at first but then I looked at Opus' system scheme and saw that it has additional amps for the single end that are not used with balanced output.

Cayin's UI was a bit confusing at first, but I quickly adapted. It is fast, easy to use. Opus' one is even faster if I remember correctly. So no problems of any kind with Cayin UI for me.

 

[gmahler2u]

I just love this engaging 1s. BUT I have to let go for now because it's just battery wasn't good.
It's just my luck I guess.

 

[Mhog55]

I just love this engaging 1s. BUT I have to let go for now because it's just battery wasn't good.
It's just my luck I guess.

How long did your battery last? Did you purchase the unit new? This is so discouraging. I literally can't find another dap that checks all the boxes for me. I don't want to start all over, especially not knowing if the sound is going to be on par with the Opus #1s.

 

[Mhog55]

I wonder if The Bit is replacing batteries for this with the same crappy battery they used initially. Does anyone know? It would be lame to have the battery replaced every 10 months.

 

[ReAlien]

I can tell my battery story. I bought the unit from Musictech in November, started using in the middle of January (long story). Upon opening the box I found the unit with 83% of charge, charged it to 100%. In the first cycle, a strange thing happened — after about six hours of listening, I saw the charge at 1% level. Decided to wait to see how soon would it die out after reaching 1%. It lasted for more than two and a half hours of constant play via line out! After that, I fully charged it again. And after that, there was no such effect ever. It dies out within five minutes of play after reaching 1%. At first, there was a difference between showings in turned on state and an indication in the turned-off state (like Android would show 35% and turned off charge would show 15%). But soon, this glitch disappeared too. Now it lasts for 7 hours of continuous play via line out and still has 35% of charge till zero. Quite enough for me. Hope this situation lasts. However, I do not believe that I'm going to have this DAP for more than a year, I'm too air-headed for that.)

On the general note, I like the sound of Opus 1S but I love the sound of Opus 2. Wish I could have both as they are very different and Opus 2 does not quite replace Opus 1S, some things Opus 1S does better than Opus 2. Like liveliness and dynamics, bold sound signature, pleasantly punchy bass. While Opus 2 is much more relaxed and velvety; and it is on a different level of natural instrument timbres, scene detail and size, an intimacy of delivery.

 

[Mhog55]

I can tell my battery story. I bought the unit from Musictech in November, started using in the middle of January (long story). Upon opening the box I found the unit with 83% of charge, charged it to 100%. In the first cycle, a strange thing happened — after about six hours of listening, I saw the charge at 1% level. Decided to wait to see how soon would it die out after reaching 1%. It lasted for more than two and a half hours of constant play via line out! After that, I fully charged it again. And after that, there was no such effect ever. It dies out within five minutes of play after reaching 1%. At first, there was a difference between showings in turned on state and an indication in the turned-off state (like Android would show 35% and turned off charge would show 15%). But soon, this glitch disappeared too. Now it lasts for 7 hours of continuous play via line out and still has 35% of charge till zero. Quite enough for me. Hope this situation lasts. However, I do not believe that I'm going to have this DAP for more than a year, I'm too air-headed for that.)

On the general note, I like the sound of Opus 1S but I love the sound of Opus 2. Wish I could have both as they are very different and Opus 2 does not quite replace Opus 1S, some things Opus 1S does better than Opus 2. Like liveliness and dynamics, bold sound signature, pleasantly punchy bass. While Opus 2 is much more relaxed and velvety; and it is on a different level of natural instrument timbres, scene detail and size, an intimacy of delivery.

Mine were like this as well - at 1st. A few months later, it would go from 80 to 30 after 45 minutes of use. Unlike previously, when it got below 10%, the unit would just shut off.

 

[ReAlien]

Mine were like this as well - at 1st. A few months later, it would go from 80 to 30 after 45 minutes of use. Unlike previously, when it got below 10%, the unit would just shut off.

Ouch, that is not good news. I feel your pain. Well, I'll handle the problem as soon as it arrives. Two options I see: (i) send the unit to Korea and have it fixed by them, I know lots of people who did that with no problem, (ii) I find how to open it and change the battery myself with some proven option from aliexpress). I'm not gonna sell it just as a precaution, I like its sound too much for that.)

 

[Mhog55]

Ouch, that is not good news. I feel your pain. Well, I'll handle the problem as soon as it arrives. Two options I see: (i) send the unit to Korea and have it fixed by them, I know lots of people who did that with no problem, (ii) I find how to open it and change the battery myself with some proven option from aliexpress). I'm not gonna sell it just as a precaution, I like its sound too much for that.)

Yes, but as I pointed to earlier who's to say their not replacing it with the same crappy battery? So I guess at least you will get another 9 months of use out of it. It would be nice to know if they are replacing it with a better, solid battery.

 

[ReAlien]

Yes, but as I pointed to earlier who's to say their not replacing it with the same crappy battery? So I guess at least you will get another 9 months of use out of it. It would be nice to know if they are replacing it with a better, solid battery.

That is why I might consider the second option first. In order to save me time and the nervous system. An acquaintance of mine owns Opus 2 that died because of battery fail. He replaced it with some cheap $11 similar type and it serves him well, total time decreased around 10%, but everything is well as he gets 7-8 hours of play on it. It was around one year ago.

 

[gmahler2u]

How long did your battery last? Did you purchase the unit new? This is so discouraging. I literally can't find another dap that checks all the boxes for me. I don't want to start all over, especially not knowing if the sound is going to be on par with the Opus #1s.

I got this dap a month ago, I was happy with the unit. It is a brand new unit. Until last week, the unit started to shut off by itself and it won't start. It starts the unit with my mobile charger.
Now, I need to search for another dap like 1s...but what...it's a disappointment.

 

[rosiedog]

As a precaution I have also began looking for a possible replacement. Unfortunately, living in Canada greatly reduces my choices. Any suggestions on Pioneer or Onkyo. I can also get Fiio products but I'm not sold on that brand. I avoid Sony. I might find Cayin somewhere. Astell and Kern cost too much. I won't buy from outside Canada because Customs and taxes add 50% to the price.

 

[Airsculpture]

Agreed about Canada, even more so in the boonies where I decided to settle.

Hopefully my Metal Premium #1 lasts a while