Oppo Sonica DAC

[academia50]

I tell you my experience: First I tried with Tidal and effectively the issue of the gapless is insufferable. I THINK THERE IS NOT A NORMAL PERSON who really likes music (that's why we spend on a dedicated DAC, no?) That does not get irritated by this DEFECT.
Tidal's version was proof. But in another forum they told me that Spotify plays gapless, in the Premium version. Take the promotion they do for a few months of it and it's true! There is in the application the possibility to select even if we want gapless or not!

 

[Route 66]

Today is a good example. I listened to classical nearly all day--the segues between tracks leave a nasty pause between them--the reverb trail of one movement is cut abruptly off before a pause, then resumes a second or two later, if not portions of the music.. Live albums have a break in the sound for a few seconds, often clipping off the beginning or ending of songs. Forget trying to listen to some of the Pat Metheny albums like Song X (20th Anniversary edition) which is tightly sequenced, or The Way Up which is a four-part suite that flows all together. The Phil Collins Face Value album has three tracks (which originally filled out Side 1 of the LP) that flowed together, and some Genesis songs continue without a gap, like "Home By The Sea"/"Second Home By The Sea." It throws continuity on many of my albums right out the window. For a few albums, I had to save them as a single WAV file so they would play back properly. For something as unmusical as an unwanted silent gap, it is a bug I don't care to tolerate any more than I have to.

I wanted to let you know that it's taken me a while but I've come around to your way of thinking. I rarely ever had to deal with silent gaps when listening to records or CD's. Now that I've had the Sonica for a while, those gaps are beginning to drive me nuts! I stream a lot of live jazz recordings and it's jarring to be really into a song and have it cut out when the applause starts, for no good reason. Now that Oppo is on the decline, I'm not hopeful that this will ever be corrected but I'm right there with you Wildcat.

 

[Wildcat]

I wanted to let you know that it's taken me a while but I've come around to your way of thinking. I rarely ever had to deal with silent gaps when listening to records or CD's. Now that I've had the Sonica for a while, those gaps are beginning to drive me nuts! I stream a lot of live jazz recordings and it's jarring to be really into a song and have it cut out when the applause starts, for no good reason. Now that Oppo is on the decline, I'm not hopeful that this will ever be corrected but I'm right there with you Wildcat.

I am thinking it is probably better to find a nice, dedicated streamer at this point, and use the Sonica only as a DAC. It does sound nice! And perhaps a dedicated streamer might have more available features than the Sonica does. Could be win/win. But still, that nagging feeling that I really wanted to have all of the digital stuff in one component...I hate having all sorts of clutter in my main system.

 

[academia50]

We have very bad news.
Oppo has closed its audio section. Apparently they will be dedicated to telephones only.
The reason ? Well, they give this explanation.

Farewell
April 2, 2018

It has been 14 years since we established OPPO Digital in the United States, and with the support of our customers, technical partners, and movie/music studios, we produced many award-winning Hi-Fi audio products and universal disc players, spanning three generations from DVD, Blu-ray, to 4K UHD.

As our latest 4K UHD players reach the pinnacle of their performance, it is time to say goodbye. We are proud to have made such well-regarded products and to have served the enthusiast community. Without our customers' suggestions, encouragement, and support, we could not have accomplished these achievements.

Though OPPO Digital will gradually stop manufacturing new products, existing products will continue to be supported, warranties will still be valid, and both in-warranty and out-of-warranty repair services will continue to be available. Firmware will continue to be maintained and updates released from time to time. Customers can rest assured that they will continue to receive the high quality service and support that they have come to expect from OPPO Digital.

We greatly appreciate the opportunity to have developed such exciting products for our customers. It has been an honor.

Best regards,

All of us at OPPO Digital

https://www.oppodigital.com/farewell.aspx



But I think it's because of the new policies regarding China. The costs do not allow us to continue manufacturing exclusively in the USA.
I wonder how many audio companies that have partially or totally moved their production to the Asian country will follow the same path......