Oppo Sonica DAC Expected this fall

hikmer,

Do you feel the glare and harshness are gone because Sonica is warmer, more laid back or maybe a bit less extended in Hf?

The display is always on but I think there is a setting to change it, for me its not a real issue.  I don't think it plays gapless but when I listen to my DSD albums I don't notice lag between songs...I'll play Dark Side to find out for sure.

I don't think the Sonica is "warmer" at all, it is more natural and detailed.  Not more laid back or less extended, in fact I notice more depth and separation with the Sonica.  I hear the most improvements with DSD files, I hear very little improvement with lower quality movies and television.  However I have really analyzed or been critical of these recordings. 

The biggest improvements have been the ability to put all my networking audio gear in a more concealed location and thus reduce the digital interference I was getting through my speakers.   However I have found that my OPPO 105 surprisingly is now playing DSD via DNLA without dropouts...this may be due to a NAS upgrade I recently acquired but previously I could not stream DSD to my OPPO 105 without significant dropouts. 

Many thanks Hikmer for the description!

Seems like Sonica is a great Dac for playing DSD.

Sadly there are not much DSD selection for mortals.
Can you please try some PCM vs your 105 (or maybe some other player)?

Hi plutos... To answer your question about the HF for the Sonica DAC. I don't know if I would describe it as warmer. It is definetly not rolled-off. I would describe it as more defined. Comparing it to the 105, it has more detail, instead of simply hearing a cymbal in the music, I hear the strike of the cymbal and more decay. This is not only evident in the HF, but thought the hole bandwidth. I enjoyed listening to the 105, but I did find it a little fatiguing, definetly not the case with the Sonica. Hope this helps.

Thanks drewportland!

Seems that the new ES9038 chip has justified itself.
Have you ever tried it with TV (opt out) as a source?