OPPO Digital have announced that the new Sonica DAC is ready for release. The newest entry into the OPPO family of digital audio products, Sonica DAC merges audiophile-grade performance with the latest network streaming technology, says the company’s recent press release.

With more and more music coming from digital sources, the DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) is one of the most important components in the playback chain. Sonica DAC improves upon the audio performance of previous OPPO products, such as the HA-1 headphone amplifier and BDP-105 universal player, and presents an upgraded DAC chipset, the flagship ESS ES9038PRO SABRE DAC 

As a network streamer, the companion Sonica app for iOS and Android allows you to conveniently stream music from your smart phone or tablet, as well as from network shares on a computer or NAS drive. As a traditional audiophile DAC, Sonica DAC features all of the inputs and features that you expect, including the ability to handle high resolution PCM and DSD audio formats. On top of that, its ability to function as a high-resolution audio player and decode files directly from connected USB hard drives and thumb drives enhances its versatility.

The main features of Sonica DAC include:

• Asynchronous USB DAC for Computer Audio: By bypassing the low fidelity, poor quality DAC of traditional computer soundcards, Sonica DAC turns any computer into a high performance multi-media source by converting digital audio to analog through the ES9038PRO chip. The asynchronous transfer mode uses the high precision clock inside Sonica DAC to drive the audio signal, not relying on the clock quality of the computer. The USB DAC input supports PCM up to 768 kHz 32-bit and DSD up to 25 MHz (DSD512).

• High Resolution Music Playback and Streaming: Play music files of many formats from USB drives attached to Sonica DAC, or from home network computers and servers connected via Ethernet or Wi-Fi. Stream music from your smartphone and tablet via Wi-Fi using the Sonica app. Sonica DAC is a high resolution audio player and decoder capable of decoding audio files up to 24-bit / 192 kHz from formats such as FLAC, WAV and Apple Lossless, as well as DSD files at 64x sample rate.

• As a member of the OPPO Sonica product family, the AUX input of Sonica DAC enables you to connect an existing analog audio source to the Sonica multi-room network. Add some Sonica Wi-Fi speakers and enjoy your favorite tunes anywhere in your home.

Sonica DAC provides both XLR balanced and RCA single-ended connectors for its audio output. The audio path is fully balanced from the DAC chip all the way to the XLR jacks. Even the RCA output signal is converted from the balanced output. The balanced design provides better common-mode noise rejection and improves signal quality. It also ensures better channel separation by eliminating the common ground return path. A toroidal linear power supply provides a very clean and robust power source to the audio circuitry. 

Sonica DAC is easy to setup and convenient to use. For the network connection, it offers both wired Ethernet and built-in Wi-Fi supporting 802.11 a/b/g/n and ac standards. The free Sonica app allows you to easily navigate your music collection and control playback, and it is available for both iOS and Android smartphones or tablets. Additionally, Sonica DAC supports Apple AirPlay and Bluetooth, enabling instantaneous wireless audio. Coaxial and optical digital audio inputs provide an easy connection to additional digital audio sources, while the 12V trigger input and output make it possible to turn on and off the entire audio system with one click.

Sonica DAC is available for $799