Oppo Sonica DAC with flagship ESS ES9038PRO SABRE DAC

The version of sacd _extract included in the Sonore ISO2DSD Mac OS java application still exhibited the clicking issue for me. However, the two step process I described above works perfectly.

 

Actually, I don't think the click phenomenon has anything to do with DC offset although it was described that way on another board.

 

That's interesting, but as Kal said it could be up to the DAC. I have two DSD capable DACs and two that aren't, and have never heard a click.

 

No, with FLACs at least it is still not quite gapless. Close, though. I'm not sure about DSD via the USB input.

Anyway, today Oppo told me they have no current plans regarding MQA or Roon. Gapless support is possible but probably not in the immediate future.

 

I too have heard that it is dependent on the DAC. As far as your two non-DSD DACs, you wouldn't hear *anything* if you tried to play a DSF file!

I have too many DACs than I can name, but I have heard the sacd_extract DSF clicks on my Ayre QB-9 DSD. Luckily, it has been pretty trivial for me to reconvert ISO to DFF first and then to DSF.

 

Well, I figured the click might have been included in the PCM conversion. Which, in hindsight, isn't very likely.

 

Thanks for that news, Kal.
I'll look for an updated sacd_extract.
I haven't followed sacd ripping news in a long time as my routine works fine.
I never heard any clicks playing through my Oppo-105 but I started using the dfftodsf.exe anyway after learning about the "bug".
Maybe it's already well-known but you really don't want to use .dff files as they don't allow using cue and other tagging utlities.

 

So final thoughts...I am down to my last few days with the Sonica DAC under my 30 day trail with OPPO. Final verdict...I am keeping it. I love my digital for the first time in my life. DSD recordings sound "right" and I don't find myself turning the music down or switching to vinyl as quickly. I also plan to buy an OPPO 103D and getting rid of my 105 which should offset the price of the dac so I can have one that rips SACD and can serve as my media center. Since I don't use multichannel..the 105 is overkill at this point. Rather have the Darbee for the video.

 

Sincerely glad you've found your digital destination.

 

Thanks Billy. Hopefully Oppo will get with the times and have gapless as a standard. Well, they already have on the 105 (FLAC) and 105D (FLAC and DSD) so it looks a bit silly that with every new product it seems as some afterthought.

 

With the sonica app, is there a way to play songs in an album on USB drive in track order, instead of alphabetical?

 

If you are copying the tracks from a hard drive you can number them 1, 2, 3, 4 etc. to get the proper track selection.

 

If you are ripping them, make sure to set your application to format the song title with track number - song name...artist name optional but I tend to add it.

 

Converting PS3 DSD rips to PCM will result in clicks at the track boundaries, which aren't audible (in my set-up, at least) when playing the DSD files.

 

Point of interest for all the Australian and New Zealand Members...........


The OPPO Sonica DAC appears to have been withdrawn from sale in these Regions.

Here are my Email transcripts.........firstly with Interdyn Sales (Australian OPPO Importer)....... and then OPPO U.S. confirming some reasons why.


From Interdyn Sales Australia......


It is with sadness that we let you know the Sonica range will not be released in Australia.

While we thought the range performed impressively and were excited to bring it to you, OPPO Digital has determined that the worldwide market potential in the category will not be at a level to warrant ongoing investment.

Any pre-orders for the Sonica range will be unfulfilled. Please make contact with your local dealer to finalise any pre-orders that need to be cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused.

For the limited customers that have previously purchased Sonica products, Interdyn and OPPO will provide full warranty, product support, and firmware updates.

Moving forward, OPPO will be focussing on the soon-to-be-released UDP-205, and providing further functionality upgrades for the UDP series! Be sure to follow OPPO Digital AU and NZ on Facebook, and continue to check in at oppodigital.com.au and oppodigital.co.nz to stay up-to-date on these exciting developments.


Kind regards,


Joel Turner

Interdyn



From OPPO U.S.


OPPO Australia has decided to not carry the Sonica DAC because it would require a lot of engineering to rework the product for that region. In particular, they need to remove the current Tidal and Spotify integration and try to work on having services available in that region added to the application. So they have decided that the product, at this time, does not suit the needs of their market so they are not looking to sell the Sonica DAC.




Best Regards,

Customer Service
OPPO Digital, Inc.


162 Constitution Dr.


Menlo Park, CA 94025


[email protected]
Tel: 650-961-1118
Fax: 650-961-1119


Interdyn mention Sonica "range" which may also mean that the new Wi Fi speaker is also pulled from sale in Aust/NZ.

FWIW........OPPO U.S. only mentions the Sonica DAC.

Not OPPO's fault at all as this is clearly a decision made by Interdyn Sales Australia.
Maybe another import mob will put their hand up and save the day.

Personally I didn't give a fig about Tidal or Spotify anyway!!!!........LOL

Business as usual for all you guys in the U.S. though!!!!!

 

I couldn't resist picking up a Sonica DAC from the Oppo facility in Menlo Park on my drive home last Friday. My original plan was to join the 21st century and stream FLAC from a DLNA server. Well, my son has a Spotify service that I am paying for anyway, so I used the SDAC as a Spotify Connect device for testing. Worked flawlessly and I was amazed at how easy the integration was. The best part is no desktop computer required! I controlled the SDAC with an old iPad. Very convenient, so we now listen to Spotify, radio stations (via airplay), etc. all day for background music. I also discovered several new Jazz musicians by browsing Spotify. I used to dismiss streaming but am now a fan, because the SDAC is so convenient to use with streaming services (still deciding whether to get Tidal). I will now look for these streaming features for any source that will join my turntable rack. And the DLNA music server plan is now on hold indefinitely.

To play CDs, I used the coaxial SPDIF input (from a TASCAM CD-200) to feed the SDAC . With CD or FLAC (from an attached USB drive), the SDAC is very open and revealing without being too fatiguing. It does not have the warmth/fluidity/musicality of my Meridian G08 or Audionote Kit DAC 4.1 LE (with NOS output tubes), but is definitely more resolving. I actually preferred some CDs (Wailing Jenny's Live at Jim Thorpe, PA) with the SDAC. And the SDAC is 100 times more convenient for streaming! That's progress in DAC technology, but I still prefer vinyl .

Highly recommended .

 

Pick up a NAS (like a Synology) and run the DNLA services. It will stream to the Sonica and you can ditch your transport and cables....the wireless functionality is awesome.

 

Hmmm...ditching the transport would free up rack space for an external phono stage . Will definitely look into this again.

 

If you go this route, make sure to research the possibilities of setting up Roon. While it wasn't for me (at this time), it is nice to be able to explore the technology but the NAS needs to fit their minimum requirements. Check out Tidal too...you can get a free month or two with various promotion codes.

 

The Sonica DAC does not support Roon, out of the box at least. You could buy a Sonore Microrendu, configure it through its web app as a Roon endpoint, and then hook up its USB output to the SDAC DAC input. Not sure if it would be worth all the extra expense.

You could also install Roon Core on an NAS that meets Room's requirements and then hook it via USB out to the SDAC.

 

This is what I meant...but using USB to connect the NAS is somewhat defeating the wireless features of the Sonica and I would look for another DAC if I was looking for a true Roon endpoint. However, it is worth playing with the technology so see if you want to explore Roon in the future...the price to get a fully functioning Roon setup is somewhat high.

 

Understood, but that's the only way you'll be able to use Roon with the Sonica DAC. You can't use Sonica's wireless or Ethernet networking with Roon--you can only attach it as a USB DAC to a Roon endpoint or to an NAS running Roon Core.

 

I am considering a purchase of the Sonica DAC - primarily for use as a streamer for NAS based files. I am wondering if anyone would be able to pass along feedback/observations on the app that is used to interface with the music librarary. For me, this is a very important "make or break" component of a streamer. I am currently using a Sonos Connect and their app -though it has shortcomings - outperforms anything else that I have used. I borrowed a friends Cambridge Audio streamer when he was getting ready to sell it and I was surprised at how shockingly awful the app was. I mean REALLY bad - as in ca. 2001 Beta version 1.0 bad. I was rather befuddled at this, given their heavy focus on the streaming market. At any rate, this made me realize how vital the app was to these devices. The Oppo app for the BDP 103 that can be used to stream is actually even worse. I get the impression that the app is kind of an afterthought as the BDP is clearly intended to be a video device, and I would expect the Sonica DAC app to be a fair bit better, but I am still wondering. If anyone can pass along some thoughts that would be great!

 

The Sonica app is ok, nothing to write home about. It wires up Tidal pretty nice and I can play all my songs using my iPhone 5s even with its little screen. Buy it from OPPO and you can return it in 30 days if you don't like it...I kept mine, it sounds pretty good and does everything I need.

 

Cool...thanks for the feedback. I'm good with the app being "just OK", as long it is not borderline unusable - as was the case with the Cambridge Audio app. Have you worked with any other apps that it could be compared against?