[luvdunhill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swt61 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't have an answer Al, but I think I may be just days away from hearing my dual differential Zapfiltered "Epic Opus". I've got a PS Audio Lambda transport sitting here waiting for the initial test drive, and I'm quite curious to hear the combo.

cool! I'm interested in hearing about all the updates you've done to your system! Hopefully I'll be able to find your post when you get around to writing something up

 

[dwk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianDonegan /img/forum/go_quote.gif I need a couple weeks to build up enough stock for what I think the response will be (scared actually). Lets call it Sept 3rd for now.

Gadzooks! I've been following this over on diyaudio, where my take was that there is a lot of interest but not an overwhelming number that are sitting around hitting 'refresh' on the Opus page waiting for the order link to finally show up. After reading this thread, though, I'm a bit concerned about getting shut out of this run. You guys look to have a winner on your hands.

Sept 3 would be bad, though - Labor Day, and I'll be out of e-touch. Wait until the 5th

 

[Nebby]

I'm planning on building another dual differential opus dac for my bookshelf rig, and then for fun I think I'm going to see how small I can make an opus dac

 

[swt61]

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvdunhill /img/forum/go_quote.gif cool! I'm interested in hearing about all the updates you've done to your system! Hopefully I'll be able to find your post when you get around to writing something up

Well Jim told me he's shipping it tomorrow, so you won't have long to wait. I'll PM you a link to my post once I've had a chance to listen a bit.

 

[Nebby]

I'm also looking forward to your impressions

 

[swt61]

I think I'll post impressions in this thread then, or at least link to it in here.

 

[swt61]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nebby /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just quick impressions for now...more details later. With headphones they are very detailed, and IMO more detailed than Aaron's Oritek modded Zhaolu. On the other hand the Zhaolu seemed to have a much wider soundstage. After switching the Apache to preamp and listening to Aaron's Av123 Mini Strata's powered by a Pass Aleph 30, I am inclined to believe that the DAC excelss much more at imaging with speakers than with headphones.

I just went back to the beggining of this thread, and your post grabbed my attention. I was surprised that the Aleph 30 could adequately power the Mini Stratas. With the ribbon drivers I assumed they'd be very power hungry.

 

[pabbi1]

Just sitting on the Opus site, pounding refresh...

 

[philodox]

Can't wait to hear about your 'Epic Opus' Steve.

 

[Nebby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swt61 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just went back to the beggining of this thread, and your post grabbed my attention. I was surprised that the Aleph 30 could adequately power the Mini Stratas. With the ribbon drivers I assumed they'd be very power hungry.

I have no doubt that they would improve with more power, but what I heard from his current setup was no slouch. I never felt like the speakers were constrained. Of course, I don't have too much speaker experience to reference to, so my opinions are extremely skewed when it comes to speakers.

I'm curious how the opus does with and without the zapfilter

 

[swt61]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nebby /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm curious how the opus does with and without the zapfilter

Well fierce_freak was gracious enough to offer up his Opus boards so I wouldn't have to wait for them to be available again. So his impressions will be without benifit of direct comparison. He says he does have some impressions, and I gather they're favorable, but he won't give them until I hear the DAC myself. That's cool, so I can hear it without any preconceived ideas. Once I give some impressions I'm sure Jim will chime in with his ideas of the Opus vs. Zapped Opus. I'm curious about the soundstage myself.
I believe the "Epic Opus" uses a different transformer too. We talked about it anyway as per Renato's advice.

 

[luvdunhill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pabbi1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just sitting on the Opus site, pounding refresh...

is this for your office setup, or are you going to hang it off your Eastsound?

 

[johnsonad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swt61 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just went back to the beggining of this thread, and your post grabbed my attention. I was surprised that the Aleph 30 could adequately power the Mini Stratas. With the ribbon drivers I assumed they'd be very power hungry.

Steve, I was very surprised too with the Aleph. When speaking with the makers of the speakers, they felt that 30 watts should drive them just fine as they sell the speakers with a 39 watt tube amp. For the moment, I am quite happy with the sound but am looking to upgrade to a larger balanced Pass Labs amp in the future. The Aleph 30 sounds quite good with the Strata's but I only have a 30 year old amp to compare it too right now

The difference between sources was truly impressive and the forward presenting soundstage (almost holographic) with the Opus DAC is what sold me on it. I'm looking forward to your impressions and please let us know your opinion through your speaker rig too.

Aaron

 

[Nebby]

I wish I could hook up the the monoblocks I'm building to your speakers Aaron, I'm very curious to hear how they compare. Alas it looks like they're going to end up too heavy to ship economically, with the transformer alone weighing in at 10lbs

I am also curious how having the ballsie with filter enabled will sound compared with the zapfiltered opus and stock opus.

 

[pabbi1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvdunhill /img/forum/go_quote.gif is this for your office setup, or are you going to hang it off your Eastsound?

No, it will have a dedicated transport, like this:

The designers have mentioned I can run the Ballsie and the OPUS both from the dual PSU (using the 15v toroid)... and using the + rail to power the DAC. Anyone else have experience with this idea? The constraint is space, and I have enough for two toroids and one psu board, but not two - anyone else being this aggressive?