[JLM]

Might be in the market for a new DAC/preamp and was surprised to see no mention of it on the Oppo site.

Seems odd to sell headphones and give up on a great DAC/preamp with no replacement.

thanks in advance

[Armaegis]

Maybe it sold poorly?
Maybe there's a replacement in the works.
Maybe they'd just rather stick with their new Sonica.
Maybe they'd prefer to focus on their portable devices to pair with their headphones.

Personally I though the HA-1 was... a poor performer. It meshed reasonably well with their headphones, but not much else.

[tvyankee]

hey,

i just say this. thought you want to take a look.

https://www.techbargains.com/deal/441592/teac-usb-dac

[ajayrav]

The PM2 also seems to be discontinued….

 

[JLM]

The Sonica does not have a headphone jack/amp.  While headphone use is quite secondary to me, the real worry is that opposition dropped the HA-1 without warning (and could do the same with any other product).

Thanks Armageis regarding the HA-1 headphone performance. 

Yeah, I saw ajayrav that the PM2 was also discontinued, but not being a headphone guy since college dorm days and that they still offer headphones, that's less of a concern to me.

[JackD]

I suspect they dropped it because they are not using that DAC chipset in any other current product.  If it reappears it will be with one of the two ESS chipsets they are currently using, but you could just e-mail them and ask as they are very responsive. Once they get the 205 to market something will probably be announced. Nuprime DAC-10H would be a better choice especially if the preamp section is important.

[JLM]

NuPrime DAC-10 is $500 more, DAC-10H is $900 more, they lack the latest Sabre chip that Sonica has, and from what I understand can't accept input from a hard drive like Sonica can.  But they do include a remote.

[JackD]

Like you I am not a headphone guy and really haven't used mine since my son was small many years ago so don't know anything about the headphone sections.  I do own both the DAC-10 and the Sonica and while the DAC section in the Sonica may be a step ahead the preamp section of the DAC-10 is far superior so you have to chose which parts are most important to you.  In my second system in the FR I use the DAC section of the Sonica into the preamp section of the DAC-10. Tried it both ways and that was the best combo.  If Oppo decides to stay in that market they will re-release with newer chip I suspect.

[JLM]

Thanks Jack.

[adydula]

I actually asked Oppo about this and got this reply:

"The main problem was that it was a hard unit to manufacture and the amount of sales was just not meeting our expectations. So at this time we are looking to just support a DAC product only."

Alex

Note: this is a recent timeframe.

[JLM]

Thanks Alex.

[ajzepp]

Just speculation...but maybe they realize that portable audio is where they want to focus? The HA-2 is a ridiculously good portable dac/amp. It does such a good job with my two main planar headphones (LCD-X and HE-400i) that I do a double take each time I listen.

[steve in jersey]

I actually asked Oppo about this and got this reply:

"The main problem was that it was a hard unit to manufacture and the amount of sales was just not meeting our expectations. So at this time we are looking to just support a DAC product only."

Alex

Note: this is a recent timeframe.

I think it's a move in the right direction to move away from a "Damp".

Now all they need to do is  to better implement the Sabre DAC chips they're using to make them sound more "Musical". Or better yet choose a different DAC chip to build around "& start over"

[JLM]

I think it's a move in the right direction to move away from a "Damp".

Now all they need to do is  to better implement the Sabre DAC chips they're using to make them sound more "Musical". Or better yet choose a different DAC chip to build around "& start over"

Please explain your comments, I'd like to understand what you mean and why you said it, thanks.

[steve in jersey]

Fair enough !!

By calling it a "Damp" I was referring to it as  Hybrid (or Combo) component as it's combining a DAC & Headphone Amplifier into a single unit. I'm not a big fan of this type of arrangement as being a "Receiver"(Preamp/Amplifier/Kitchen Sink ??/etc.) type of Component. There are exceptions ,but for the most part, I prefer not to compensate the individual operational parts of my Listening setup. (If I don't have to !)

I do my Headphone listening exclusively through my singular home Audio System. (Which already contains a seperate DAC (Metrum Hex) that sounds a lot more "Highly Detailed Analogue" sounding than any DAC section of any SACD/CD player I've had/have) Early on I had some "Angst" worrying about giving up DSD playback ,until I started to recognize the SQ that was available from everything that I listen to through this DAC. Which brings me to my comment about the DAC chip sets Oppo is using.

It may be an unfair comparison but I am basing my opinion of Oppo DAC chips on the performance of my Oppo SACD player compared to how my Music (99.7% Acoustic;largely Orchestral) sounds through my Metrum Hex DAC.

I understand that SQ is extremely subjective but my Oppo player doesn't draw me into the Music in the same manner. The Music doesn't contain the same amount of dimensional characteristics as it does through my external DAC . (Or maybe it just doesn't translate as well through the several $K of line conditioning I have sitting in front of my entire playback setup)

The other option of course is I'm "Off my Rocker" (& that is also very Subjective; but that's OK as long as I'm enjoying myself in the process)

[ajayrav]

Which brings me to my comment about the DAC chip sets Oppo is using.

It may be an unfair comparison but I am basing my opinion of Oppo DAC chips on the performance of my Oppo SACD player compared to how my Music (99.7% Acoustic;largely Orchestral) sounds through my Metrum Hex DAC.

I understand that SQ is extremely subjective but my Oppo player doesn't draw me into the Music in the same manner. The Music doesn't contain the same amount of dimensional characteristics as it does through my external DAC . (Or maybe it just doesn't translate as well through the several $K of line conditioning I have sitting in front of my entire playback setup)

I'm don't think it is the DAC chip in Oppo units.  I found the BDP-105 2 dimensional as well.  However when Modwright modded my unit with a tube output stage, the music became dramatically more dimensional and organic….In a word outstanding!  So at least in the BDP-105 the DAC chipset wasn't the limiting factor.

[steve in jersey]

I'm don't think it is the DAC chip in Oppo units.  I found the BDP-105 2 dimensional as well.  However when Modwright modded my unit with a tube output stage, the music became dramatically more dimensional and organic….In a word outstanding!  So at least in the BDP-105 the DAC chipset wasn't the limiting factor.

Yes, I've come across this statement about similar type of overall improvements on several different web forums. So you are absolutely right in correcting my placing the blame exclusively on the DAC chipset.

The limiting factor is how sensitive the Equipment Designer was to correctly implementing the chipset in whatever equipment they're using them in. I've heard that getting the best results from the Sabre chipsets is simply not as straightforward as just installing it.

The "Circuits" that Oppo is implementing these chipsets in may need some added revisions or precautions to get better results.

Oppo equipment in general is a solid brand & a good "platform" for something closer to Designer level performance.

[JLM]

Thanks steve and ajayrav for your insights to the HA-1.

I must confess that being cheap I've been suckered into buying a couple combo DAC/preamp units.  It was the Class A design and tube output that drew my attention to this "reasonably" priced DAC/preamp.

Yes, much has been written regarding that the implementation of the DAC chip can supersede the quality of the chip itself.