Oppo Sonica USB DAC and Streamer Review

[Billy Budapest]

FFS this ticks all my boxes at a crazy low price point ... and I was soo excited but then it no longer sells :-(

Anyone selling, pm me ;-)

Check The Music Room and the *audiomarts. I usually avoid eBay and Audiogon because of high prices. (FYI if you don’t know, The Music Room is an audio dealer that also sells a large amount of gear on consignment).

 

[Billy Budapest]

Here is one listed on usaudiomart.com:

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649759648-oppo-sonica-dac/

 

[glucenag]

Here is one listed on usaudiomart.com:

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649759648-oppo-sonica-dac/

Oh hey thank you both, guys! Didn't know about all this. I guess buying used in the case of a DAC is just fine. This OPPO really seems to me like a matrix audio mini i 3 but much cheaper! Cheers.

 

[glucenag]

Oh but wait, no remote on this baby, right? :-(

 

[Billy Budapest]

Oh but wait, no remote on this baby, right? :-(

Yes, there is a remote and there is also the Sonica app that you can use.

 

[glucenag]

Ah, good to know. Let's see if I can find it used then . Thanks!

 

[Billy Budapest]

You also will need the Sonica app for firmware updates. There hasn’t been one for a while, though.

 

[C. Cook]

Nice. Afaik this shares the DAC section with the UDP-205.

Yes, for audio it does. The UDP-205 I believe has either two or three of the Sabre chips for the audio/video stuff as opposed to the single one in the Sonica.

 

[C. Cook]

For what it's worth if anyone's still looking, I just listed a Sonica DAC on US Audio Mart. It's barely been used at all. The only reason I'm selling is that I bought it for the AUX (analog) inputs only to later discover that rather than just passing the analog input through to a preamp type stage, it converts it to digital and then reconverts it back to analog. The sound from that input is not great, which I can verify only through my subjective listening experience with an Oppo BDP-93 playing an SACD.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Yes, for audio it does. The UDP-205 I believe has either two or three of the Sabre chips for the audio/video stuff as opposed to the single one in the Sonica.

The UDP-205 has two ESS9038PRO chips.

 

[Billy Budapest]

For what it's worth if anyone's still looking, I just listed a Sonica DAC on US Audio Mart. It's barely been used at all. The only reason I'm selling is that I bought it for the AUX (analog) inputs only to later discover that rather than just passing the analog input through to a preamp type stage, it converts it to digital and then reconverts it back to analog. The sound from that input is not great, which I can verify only through my subjective listening experience with an Oppo BDP-93 playing an SACD.

It was included as a “utility” feature so that you could add an analog device to the Sonica streaming network.

Sonica was supposed to be Oppo’s answer to Sonos, or Denon’s HEOS, or Yamaha’s MusicCast, etc.

It worked well but I guess not enough people bought the Sonica products to make a dent in that market.

(I was a beta tester for all the Sonica hardware, firmware, and software).

 

[Billy Budapest]

By the way, you can still purchase Sonica speakers from Oppo. I guess they are selling off inventory. I linked the Sonica page below.

OPPO Digital - Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Players

Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, OPPO Digital designs and markets high quality digital electronics that deliver style, performance, innovation, and value to A/V enthusiasts and savvy consumers alike. The company's attention to core product performance and strong customer focus distinguishes...

oppodigital.com

 

[wrxified]

I had fun reading this thread and really appreciate all of the work amirm does to run these devices through their paces. After reading this I went and picked one up certified pre-owned from TMR Audio. It was between that and the Topping DS90SE. Ended up going with the Oppo for the Apple AirPlay feature and from what I've seen I like the interface. For the most part it'll be used with a storage device with mostly FLAC and DSD files.

Actually this is my first post but I've been lurking here for a couple months. I recently picked up an IcePower 1200 AS1 dual mono amp after reading amirm's bench test. Food Lord it has gobs and gobs of power. I managed to smoke one of my SB acoustic tweeters in a custom tower I recently built. By smoke I mean I literally almost lit it on fire showing off for my brother in laws. Was about a minute into Dire Straits - Money for Nothing and big puff of smoke came from the front of the tweeter on the right channel while the silk dome tweeter caved and proceeded to deflate like a balloon.

Kind of funny really. I've been doing audio for 30+ years. Always bought into the train of thought that it's usually too little power that destroys speakers. Never really had enough amp to overpower a set of speakers. The 1200AS is dangerous. It's got enough power to light 90% of the speakers I have on fire..

 

[C. Cook]

I had fun reading this thread and really appreciate all of the work amirm does to run these devices through their paces. After reading this I went and picked one up certified pre-owned from TMR Audio. It was between that and the Topping DS90SE. Ended up going with the Oppo for the Apple AirPlay feature and from what I've seen I like the interface. For the most part it'll be used with a storage device with mostly FLAC and DSD files.

Actually this is my first post but I've been lurking here for a couple months. I recently picked up an IcePower 1200 AS1 dual mono amp after reading amirm's bench test. Food Lord it has gobs and gobs of power. I managed to smoke one of my SB acoustic tweeters in a custom tower I recently built. By smoke I mean I literally almost lit it on fire showing off for my brother in laws. Was about a minute into Dire Straits - Money for Nothing and big puff of smoke came from the front of the tweeter on the right channel while the silk dome tweeter caved and proceeded to deflate like a balloon.

Kind of funny really. I've been doing audio for 30+ years. Always bought into the train of thought that it's usually too little power that destroys speakers. Never really had enough amp to overpower a set of speakers. The 1200AS is dangerous. It's got enough power to light 90% of the speakers I have on fire..

That's interesting and seems like maybe it was a flaw in the tweeter. I've been using a 1200AS2 at very high volumes with some Buchardt Audio S400s for over two years and never had any issues. The tweeter on this speaker is also smaller than usual and I would suspect subject to failure but so far all's good.

Wish I had known there was a market for the Sonica as well here at ASR. I just sold one in brand new condition in box for $600 last weekend.

 

[wrxified]

That's interesting and seems like maybe it was a flaw in the tweeter. I've been using a 1200AS2 at very high volumes with some Buchardt Audio S400s for over two years and never had any issues. The tweeter on this speaker is also smaller than usual and I would suspect subject to failure but so far all's good.

Wish I had known there was a market for the Sonica as well here at ASR. I just sold one in brand new condition in box for $600 last weekend.

Could've been a tweeter issue although the speaker measured perfectly during the tuning process of the crossover network. I built the towers about 4 years ago. I'm using the SB Acoustics TW29R. Funny you mentioned the Burchardt Audio speakers. Beautiful speakers by the way. I know they mostly use drivers manufactured by SB Acoustics which is what a lot of my builds have been made with. The midwoofer in the S400 is the NAC Woofer made by SB Acoustics. I don't recognize the tweeter although it looks like one of their Satori tweeters in the custom waveguide.

Who knows. Power handling isn't that high on them and tweeter is usually going to be the first to go. We get the drivers wholesale so I'm not that worried about it but I am definitely being a little more careful. I set the max volume on my preamp much lower to hopefully avoid another mishap.

 

[C. Cook]

That is one fried tweeter, LOL. Nice speakers otherwise though. My guess is that you can replace it with like and it will be fine; probably a hidden defect. How much T-M and of which type did you do on the tweeters themselves?

I've caused a couple of tweeters to fail in my lifetime (and some woofers - Here's looking at you, Wharfedale) but usually due to running high volume content with distortion on a low to medium powered amplifier. Last one I remember was a Paradigm of some kind using an Onkyo integrated amp.

What's that LP propped up on the left tower? That's some interesting jacket art! Also, if that's "Morning" (Phase I think? - I always thought it might be a play on words "Mourning Phase") down there on the floor, we seem to have similar taste in music. That album will test your woofers for sure.

P.S. yeah I really quite like the S400 v.1s and I hear they've been improved in the v.2. I'd also like to give a listen to their active versions, but it's so hard to actually find an audio showroom these days and $2K+ is a lot to shell out even if you can return it free. BTW, I had always thought that the woofers on these things was made by Scanspeak. Guess I was wrong.

 

[wrxified]

That is one fried tweeter, LOL. Nice speakers otherwise though. My guess is that you can replace it with like and it will be fine; probably a hidden defect. How much T-M and of which type did you do on the tweeters themselves?

I've caused a couple of tweeters to fail in my lifetime (and some woofers - Here's looking at you, Wharfedale) but usually due to running high volume content with distortion on a low to medium powered amplifier. Last one I remember was a Paradigm of some kind using an Onkyo integrated amp.

What's that LP propped up on the left tower? That's some interesting jacket art! Also, if that's "Morning" (Phase I think? - I always thought it might be a play on words "Mourning Phase") down there on the floor, we seem to have similar taste in music. That album will test your woofers for sure.

P.S. yeah I really quite like the S400 v.1s and I hear they've been improved in the v.2. I'd also like to give a listen to their active versions, but it's so hard to actually find an audio showroom these days and $2K+ is a lot to shell out even if you can return it free. BTW, I had always thought that the woofers on these things was made by Scanspeak. Guess I was wrong.

Yeah I already replaced them. The new ones in the tower are just the black ring version. Sorry I'm not understanding what you mean by how much T-M?

LP propped up is Santana Abraxas. One of my favorites.

Scanspeak may be used on some of their drivers but that aluminum cone driver is for sure the NAC SB. I know on the S300 if you pull the drivers they're all labeled SB Acoustic. The tweeter is the SB26STAC which I've used on an MTM design. Great tweeter.

 

[C. Cook]

Sorry I'm not understanding what you mean by how much T-M?

My bad; I meant test and measurement. What measurements did you take or what tests did you run on the tweeter (and other drivers for that matter) for the x-over design?

Yeah, I was wrong - they are clearly the SB Acoustic woofers you linked. I don't know why but I've always associated those striations in the woofer cones as something Scanspeak does.

Ah, yes. That's a great Santana album. I guess I've only ever listened to it via streaming services and must've missed the album cover.

 

[wrxified]

My bad; I meant test and measurement. What measurements did you take or what tests did you run on the tweeter (and other drivers for that matter) for the x-over design?

Yeah, I was wrong - they are clearly the SB Acoustic woofers you linked. I don't know why but I've always associated those striations in the woofer cones as something Scanspeak does.

Ah, yes. That's a great Santana album. I guess I've only ever listened to it via streaming services and must've missed the album cover.

Oh got it. We use a few programs. Primarily DATS & OmniMic.

Yeah the NAC is reminiscent of the ScanSpeak Revelators.

 

[C. Cook]

We use a few programs. Primarily DATS & OmniMic.

Makes sense for your purposes. I doubt many people actually run power handling and other tests that the mfg is supposed to already be doing.

https://www.scan-speak.dk/datasheet/tech/Scan-Speak_Technote02_Powertest.pdf

I still think the issue was likely one of QC and the tweeter just giving out, but I don't know anything about your x-over design or components. Might also have smoked the other tweeter if it really was just too much power...either way, good chatting. Have a nice evening.

P.S. I bought one of the first 2002 WRXs off the boat back in the months before 9/11/2001. I had the Sedona Red Pearl color and after the warranty expired I did a bunch of mods and got it up to 300WHP. I assume your handle is a reference to the car.