Oppo Sonica DAC coming Fall 2016

[Ric Schultz]

Just looked at the inerds of the Sonica (via pics on Oppo site) and the construction is typical Oppo.....meaning it will take a lot of mods to make this thing sound really good.....and still not as good as modified Gustard Pro. I emailed Oppo when this was first being discussed and bmoura had said that it would only decode DSD256. I told them that all my customers (slight exaggeration) are demanding DSD512 and they will not buy this unless it has it. Well....maybe my email worked or they got the message somehow because this thing will decode DSD512. However, the word is that you really want to use an external low jitter tweaked usb to I2S converter (modded Singxer or modded LKS, etc) and run I2S into a DAC and get rid of the internal usb board. You cannot do this with the Sonica....does not have I2S input. Also, I don't think there is access to all the different digital filters in the ESS DAC. Having access to different digital filters is a real plus. I will call them tomorrow and confirm.

 

With extensive mods this could be a nice low cost converter that does a lot of things.....however, will never sound as good as modified Gustard Pro....especially, if you are using usb....and or upsampling.

 

I have an idea to add a super headphone output on it as an add on mod option. You would have to unplug the cables going to the pre/amp so you are not driving two sets of cables.

[Ric Schultz]

There is no ESS Sabre glare/stridency. It is all in the implementation. It is an extremely revealing DAC (new ones way more so). So, every tiny thing to do to a machine with a Sabre DAC will show the distortions elsewhere. You need to remove the other distortions and the DAC will shine (the Sonica has a ton of other distortions that need removing). You are hearing a stock non burned in Oppo. It will mellow some with time but without mods it will not do its magic. I will be working up mods from $250 on up that will simply be outa this world. The $9000 Ayre DAC uses this same Sabre DAC chip and has no glare/stridency. My modded units will be the same. Super musical. Way more informative.

[Ric Schultz]

Certainly you have no idea what I can do.....that is understandable. However, if you search, you will find that I have had an enthusiastic following for over 30 years. Yes, I modded the first Philips CD players that came out back in the mid 80s and also manufactured DACs during the turn of the century. Been doing this a long time. Even my $250 mod would make you grin. But reality is in the sound. You will be seeing posts of those that have a Sonica modded from me within a month or two. There will be threads here discussing it. Much fun ahead. This DAC is the first to combine the new way more detailed ESS DAC with streaming and usb hard drive input and hand held smart phone application for very little money. It has super functionability and just needs some audio tuning. Modwright will be doing his $2500? tube mods if that is your thing. I will stay out of this thread until the modded units show up unless there is something I can clarify for someone.

[Ric Schultz]

Offering to mod the first Sonica for $100 plus my cost of parts plus return shipping. This is for any level of mod. I will have mods for $250 on up. This is a one time thing so one of you adventurers out there will get the ride of a lifetime.....he he.

[Ric Schultz]

Chopped Liver with Spam trimmings.....also K-rations from 1952 Korea (aged in Communist warehouse).

 

I assume you are asking what mods I intend to do......well, the sky is the limit. Check out my website for possibilities. No tubes.....Modwright will do that for you, if you like. But fet zero feedback buffers, transformer outputs, super clocks, damping, shielding, WA quantum chips, better regs, better jacks, caps, resistors, diode bridges, isolating and damping the transformer, twisting wires, on and on into infinity.

[Ric Schultz]

This is not the place to talk shop. Please contact me directly through my website: tweakaudio.com or through my regular email: [email protected] or via phone: 831-420-8819. Cannot remember anyone not liking what I do. And this is from modding for over 35 years.

[Ric Schultz]

This is just a guess. Many feel that upsampling via HQplayer to DSD512 gives the best sound available. Also many feel that using a usb to I2S converter (with mods, of course) that can pass DSD512 would be better than just using usb only. The Gustard has an I2S port that will accept DSD512.....the Oppo does not. Lots of posts already by people who have bought the Singxer usb to I2S converter and are saying that they are getting much better sound than the built in usb board in the Gustard......and this is with various sampling frequencies. By having a super low jitter converter off DAC running on its own power supply and then sending I2S into the DAC you have a serious thang.

 

The Gustard has 2 50 watt trannies and the Oppo has maybe a 25 watter and then a switching supply for digital (noise issues?). The Gustard is aluminum.....the Oppo is more than likely steel (magnetic). Everything you do makes a difference. I never have any cover on anything....sounds better nude.....he he.....she looks better too!

 

Also the Oppo currently has no access to the 7 built in digital filters that ESS has inside the DAC.....the Gustard lets you choose (they do sound different). Hopefully, Oppo will address this issue in a firmware release. I am going to email them about this issue.

 

Until I do serious mods to the Oppo and compare to the modded Gustard this is all conjecture. For sure, both will sound out of this world great....when modded, obviously. Until you do the surgery you really can only guess. Everything has its limitations.....you don't know what they are until you explore and compare.

[Ric Schultz]

Well, actually the Sonica has extruded aluminum top, aluminum front, plastic sides, and steel bottom & back. The wifi and bluetooth antennas are near the plastic side panel.

 

I'm finding the Sonica harsh too. With the Gustard DAC, modifying from generic to Fred ultra-soft recovery bridge rectifier diodes made it a whole lot more musical and listenable. I'm not going to touch my Sonica until I decide to keep it or not. The streaming etc. features over a pure dac like the Gustard X20pro compensate for sonic shortcomings making the decision harder.

 

What the Gustard Pro has that Sonica does not are: 1. Independant low noise voltage regulators for each stereo channel; Sonica shares +/- 12v 3 terminal regulators for both channels; 2. Discrete buffered outputs; 3. 8 paralleled dac channels for each stereo output channel (2x ES9028pro chips)- Sonica splits 8 dac channels (one ES9038pro chip) between L balanced, R balanced, L single-ended, and R single-ended outputs, I guess like they did in the BD-205 - you will probably find that Sonica's balanced outs sound better due to how dac channels were allocated.

 

The ESS reference design for outputs is a balanced design with differential to single-ended outs derived by going through an extra op amp. Oppo instead uses up separate DAC outputs for the single ended RCA outputs.

 

Fixed 3-terminal regulators are easily fixed in the Sonica by replacement with (~$40 ea.) very low noise discrete ones from (ie) Sparkos, but they will still be shared by both channels. The DAC channel allocation might be fixable by Oppo in software by letting a customer choose have balanced OR RCA outputs via menu.

 

Mark,

1. There is a single discrete regulator for each voltage for both channels in the Gustard. There are no separate regulators for each channel. Please recheck.

 

2. Discrete buffers are not needed....in fact, buffers of any kind are not needed. They just add more distortion.

 

3. Supposedly the 9038 is a bunch of DACs in parallel already on each output. That is why it has better specs. I have a call in to ESS to talk to them about this next week. So, little, if no advantage to Gustard there.

 

The Oppo also uses an extra op amp on the RCA outs to sum the phases. This is normal practice. However, balanced to single ended converters just add the sound of another op amp. I use just a single IV converter on each phase and no summing.....for best sound. On the balanced outs Oppo uses a balanced amplifier to filter and buffer after the IV converters.

 

I don't think there is a way for Oppo to re allocate the DAC outputs. I think there are only two modes......stereo out and 8 channel out. If the DACs in the 9038 are already paralleled then the way they do it is not such a loss. However, You can simply tie all the outputs together and use them all in parallel (you just jumper them). You can just remove two of the IV converter dual op amps and jumper the outputs from those pads over to the other two IV converters......pretty easy, really.

 

There are a million things in something that effect the sound. The only way to know what something can do is to mod it all out. Guessing as to what does what is just a guessing game. Both the Sonica and Gustard modded to the hilt will blow your mind.

 

Most people reading this and in general will never go for mods. So, lets hear more from those that have these things stock and how they compare to whatever things. A DIY tutorial is not what interests most here: I mean...how many people reading this are going to try their own mods? very, very few. When there are people with seriously modded units then we can start another thread.

 

Another words.....all these words by Mark and myself mean nothing to most everyone here. I am bowing out here......will only chime in if I can be really helpful. Design possibilities belong elsewhere. What most people want to know is how this thing performs stock. You can always check my website for info on mods to both DACs as development continues if you have the modding desire.

[Ric Schultz]

Oppo's reply is funny. They really don't design for sound at all. They are engineers. They just stick some (what they think is good stuff) in there and release it. There are no listening tweakers at Oppo. Every Oppo sounds this way. I can fix it. I have one coming in this week and I will make it sound very sweet. Having access to all the filters would be nice and if enough people bug them about it maybe they will do something. However, it is not the reason why it sounds the way it does (at least for the most part). Oppo does not have filter options on the 105 using the older ESS DAC chip and I made that thing sound pretty sweet.