Does Opus DAC upsample on its own?I know dual WM 8741 is capable of 24/192, but does Opus have an upsampler chip (like Crystal 8421) which brings 16/44.1 to 24/192?And can upsampling be bypassed, if one wishes to do so?

Also - Is it possible to take digital processed signal from digital board, before op-amps, and bring it to another analog board? I would like to do so, and use analog board of my Audio Note 2 DAC Signature.
I also wonder is this possible with Buffalo II DAC...Cause I would like to go that way.
Buffalo II DAC seems like the best option for me, but has anyone compared dual WM 8741 Opus to Buffalo II sonically?
What are the differences?

Anyone at all?

Yes. You can bypass it with the dip switches. No upsampler chip because the DAC can upsample on its own.



Some people at head-fi have compared it. In general, Buffalo is "cleaner" more "extended"; Opus is "warmer". It probably depends a lot on whether you listen with speakers or headphones...

Hi, Thanks for all your answers.They are very helpful and really apreciatted.
I am trying to change the digital board of my DAC.I am actually forced to do so, as my original digital board just died few days ago.So I am looking for the best option.
Generally, Audio Note DAC2 Sig has non-oversampling digital board, and uses two 6922 tubes as analog output stage.
I was thinking about putting in another DAC chip,and chose dual WM 8741.
It seems like an upgrade to me.
The option that user may bypass oversampling is great for me.So I can choose both 24/192 or 16/44.1 at will, with a few DIP switches.Superb

But then I came across the Buffalo II DAC.It seems even better, so now I am more in that direction.


I am not even sure what I/V stage is.I noticed that both B II and dual Opus have no op-amps, so digital signal can easily be brought to AN output analog tubed stage.

Why do you think B II will not work well in my AN DAC?What about Opus with 2 WM 8741?

To obtain the best possible performance of a DAC chip, you have to add an output stage with a correct load. If the output does not match with the chip, the output will become distorted. Don't get me wrong, you may still like the sound but if it's a mismatch the DAC certainly isn't performing at it best.
I don't have any data about the output stage in question other than that it's using tubes, so it could be a good match but also be a total mismatch to the DACs in question.

Are you 100% sure about this?
And how complicated is to bypass upsampling with DIP switches, do you need any tools?
And if the DAC chip upsamples on its own, how can you bypass it?
You always have to push signal thru the DAC chip...
Keep in mind, I am pretty new to all this, so maybe these questions seem stupid for most of you, to me your replies are very helpful.

Here is the output stage of my DAC :
So, the question would be - Buffalo II or dual mono Opus?
Both seem great to me -I am now a little more towards the "warmer" sound of Opus

Edited by user Sunday, February 13, 2011 7:02:27 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Hi,

I am more of a guy who likes to try things.Keeping my options opened (as to upsample or not) is a good thing for me, as I am willing to experiment with the sound.
I've also tried class-D (B&O ICE), does not cut it for me.I don't think op-amps are bad,or upsampling is.
I just like to keep all options opened.

Yes, I am actually dissapointed with the sound of ICE.
My friend also added tube buffer with 6922 tube, it helped a lot.
But still I am not for ICE modules.
Twisted pear is great for me, because of all the possibilities.

Does anyone know this about Buffalo II:

This means that I feed it with native 16/44.1 and it does everything on its own?
It resamples to more than 1.5 GHz?
And does it raise 16 bits to 24 or 32?

Only 1.5Mhz. :)

The Buffalos went on sale last Saturday, and as is typical, sold out very quickly (minutes). I really need to fix the code on the web page to update the timer stuff automatically, but at this point it requires that I go in there and manually update the text. I have been really busy with my real job these past few weeks, so getting web page text updates takes a back seat (sorry).