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Oppo Sonica Dac

139.142.233.93

Posted on February 14, 2017 at 13:16:45
Jonesy
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Am anxious to read some reviews on this.

This is all I can find so far.

Cheers!

Jonesy


"I know just enough to get into trouble. But not enough to get out of it."




 

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RE: Oppo Sonica Dac, posted on February 14, 2017 at 14:15:13
John Elison
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Here is something in English:

 

RE: Oppo Sonica Dac, posted on February 14, 2017 at 14:34:15
Jonesy
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Thanks John. I've been watching that sight, but no consumer or magazine reviews on there yet. At least none that I can see. Am I clicking in the wrong spots maybe?

Cheers!

Jonesy


"I know just enough to get into trouble. But not enough to get out of it."




 

RE: Oppo Sonica Dac, posted on February 14, 2017 at 14:59:30
pbarach
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There are two threads about this DAC on AVS, and there are some consumer reviews:
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/173-2-channel-audio/2616641-oppo-sonica-dac.html

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-networking-media-servers-content-streaming/2736417-oppo-sonica-dac-hi-fi-networked-music-player-announced.html

I just purchased a refurb Marantz HD-DAC1, and I really like it.

 

RE: Oppo Sonica Dac, posted on February 14, 2017 at 16:57:49
Jonesy
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Great stuff. And thanks for the tip on the Marantz. Will have to give that a look.

Cheers!

Jonesy


"I know just enough to get into trouble. But not enough to get out of it."




 

RE: Oppo Sonica Dac, posted on February 15, 2017 at 07:53:49
standingstones
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Posts: 218
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I have had the Sonica DAC for about a week now. I have used it to listen to CDs and to play 24/96 files on a USB stick. Thus far, I am liking what I am hearing. Is there a vast improvement over Sabre 9018 DAC machines? I would say, no. One suggestion to any owners. Do not use silver coated innerconnects. Also, ditch the supplied power cord. Both of those made the music sound thin with a loss of bass content.

 

RE: Oppo Sonica Dac, posted on February 15, 2017 at 09:23:32
E-Stat
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One suggestion to any owners. Do not use silver coated innerconnects.

So, it retains the inherently bright characteristic of Oppo players (I have one myself). :)

 

RE: Oppo Sonica Dac, posted on February 15, 2017 at 11:14:01
standingstones
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When I changed over to a custom made power cord and pure copper XLR cables everything improved for the better. If you wish to blame it on the DAC, that is your choice.

 

I merely state, posted on February 15, 2017 at 11:22:40
E-Stat
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a commonly voiced "house sound" with their players. A change with the new DAC would be welcome!

 

RE: I merely state, posted on February 15, 2017 at 12:00:00
standingstones
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For $800 I find the Sonica a reasonably priced DAC for what it offers. Some may wish to wait for the UBP-205 player to see what occurs when it is released or try some completely different product.

The Sabre ESS 9038 is only offered in a handful of products as far as I know.

 

Not only that, posted on February 15, 2017 at 14:13:38
E-Stat
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For $800 I find the Sonica a reasonably priced DAC for what it offers.

It is more than *just* a DAC! Reading from John's link, it is also a WiFi enabled streamer. Just add your smartphone and free app. Functionally like the Squeezebox Touch / Music Hall DAC combo I use in the garage system.

Pricing looks pretty good, but I wonder which op amps it uses for analog output. The UDP-203 uses veritable NE5532s. There are some modestly priced DACs using a discrete based output stage.

 

Oi! I like the compatibility with alcohol..., posted on February 15, 2017 at 16:56:40
mr.bear
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Form that review, via Google translate:
"The sound quality of LAN is best for listening while drinking alcohol ♪
Dense (?) sound quality from USB Coaxial & optical cable makes it easy to listen to movie speech and no longer needs to use AV amplifier."

 

RE: Oi! I like the compatibility with alcohol..., posted on February 15, 2017 at 17:37:31
Jonesy
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LOL!

Reviewer was either brutally honest or maybe meant like a fine wine?

Probably the former.

I was hoping more reviews would show up under that link I found, but I guess it will take a few days/weeks.

Cheers!

Jonesy


"I know just enough to get into trouble. But not enough to get out of it."




 

RE: Oppo Sonica Dac, posted on February 16, 2017 at 21:27:59
jwnorbeck@cox.net
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I have had my Sonica for the past 2 weeks and it has about 100 hours of music driven time on it. My 105 is acting as transport and they are connected by a midlevel Audioquest optical cable. The 105 took about 200 hrs to break-in and the Sonica is acting similar. Each day I hear an improvement and as of right now it sounds like the equal to the 105. Of course I have hopes for an improvement and only time will tell. However bass and overall detail are up and wi-fi feed of Swiss Jazz is big improvement over bluetooth. Haven"t noticed any brightness, but there is some "dryness"(it is digital).

 

RE: Oppo Sonica Dac, posted on February 27, 2017 at 21:22:36
jwnorbeck@cox.net
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Now at 150hrs and all is well. The dryness is gone. Very musical and I am pleased!!

 

RE: Oppo Sonica Dac, posted on March 1, 2017 at 13:51:41
Jonesy
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Appreciate the follow-up!

Cheers!

Jonesy


"I know just enough to get into trouble. But not enough to get out of it."




 

RE: Not only that, posted on May 7, 2017 at 17:57:23
Mike-48
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WiFi enabled streamer perhaps. But reports are, Oppo still inserts gaps of silence between tracks when the DAC is used in that way (network streaming). This is a problem, eventually, for most genres of music and most users.

 

RE: Oppo Sonica Dac, posted on May 8, 2017 at 08:49:14
Roseval
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Some measurements by Archimago
The Well Tempered Computer

 

RE: Oppo Sonica Dac, posted on May 12, 2017 at 11:33:40
bondmanp
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This DAC is right up my alley - I can ditch my Squeezebox touch and my DAC and replace it with the Sonica. And the price seems reasonable. There is one issue - it does not do gapless playback with all sources. I confirmed this with Oppo. Having gapless playback from any source is an absolute requirement for me. I am hoping Oppo will fix this with a software upgrade.

 

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