This is part 6 of an 8 part series comparing the Meier Corda Soul and Oppo HA-1. Click here for the introduction.

Thu 12/27; speakers, direct, no EQ

• Volume setting: the Oppo’s balanced analog output is louder than unbalanced
  • Now that I’m using balanced outputs from both Soul & Oppo, I need to re-check the matching levels
  • Soul click 31 / 12:00 → Oppo -16.5dB (1.5 dB different from unbalanced outputs)
• Continue listening to a variety of different music, not to hear differences but to see which is the most enjoyable and compelling presentation.
• Lyle Lovett; Joshua Judges Ruth; a great recording, far better than most popular music. Big natural dynamics, deep bass that is tight and not emphasized. The extreme highs are slightly off sounding, but not distractingly bad. Tracks 1 and 2.
  • Soul: super clean but a bit sterile.
  • The Oppo’s earthier presentation with a touch more air sounds ever so slightly less detailed (though the detail is there if you listen for it) but somehow fits this music and recording better.
• Beethoven Kreutzer Sonata; Ashkenazy & Perlman; Decca: an astoundingly awesome performance and incredible recording. Essential listening for all classical music fans.
  • Soul: the tone is more round and pure, more noticeable on piano than violin. But perhaps a touch too pure.
  • The Oppo tone has a touch more air. This could be perceived as grain or veil, yet with this particular recording the effect sounds more refined and natural.
• Chieftans 7; this classic recording is really better than it sounds! Its voicing has an edgy midrange presence. So much that a while ago I reburned the CD with a mild parametric EQ, -2 dB centered at 1 kHz, Q=0.67. Also added a mild boost to the lowest bass (20 to 40 Hz). This tames the edge, brings out the rich details behind it, and makes this fantastic traditional music more natural and enjoyable.
  • Soul: slightly greater apparent resolution, easier to hear the individual instruments.
  • Oppo: slightly warmer and softer; everything is there including all the detail but it doesn’t come to you; you have to listen for it. Overall, a more organic sound.
• Mozart Requiem; Levin; Dorian: a great recording: detailed, natural voicing, dynamic
  • no significant differences noted (listener fatigue, or just getting into the music?)
• Arnesen Magnificat; 2L; 96/24: a high-res recording with incredibly deep organ bass (to 20 Hz and below), but multi-miced so the image is amorphous and unrealistic
  • Oppo: bass slightly deeper, yet less tight & controlled
• Ayreheart; Barley Moon; 192/24: this is a great recording, very detailed and dynamic but the midrange is a touch edgy
  • Soul: voice is slightly more pure and natural
  • Oppo: softens the midrange edge, bass has more depth yet not as tight, slightly less dynamic
• Vivaldi; Recorder Concertos; Naxos 8.557215: this is one of those rare great recordings from Naxos; excellent natural voicing with layers of detail
  • Soul: slightly tighter, more dynamic and rounder tones
  • Oppo: more organic, refined
• Doug LacLeod: One Eyed Owl: same track from Wed, this time on speakers
  • Soul: clarity, tighter bass, vocal purity, punchy dynamics
  • Oppo: more air, bass depth, vocal refinement
• YoYo Ma/Edgar Meyer; Appalachia Waltz; Sony: a superb recording and performance, though a bit on the subdued side
  • Soul: rounder, fatter timbres, more detail, sweeter
  • Oppo: more earthy & organic voicing
• Schubert Violin/Piano; Lupu/Goldberg; Decca: a beautifully voiced recording, though with some technical imperfections
  • Soul: pure, tight, sweet
  • Oppo: more complex timbre, woodier
• Chopin Etudes; Earl Wild; Chesky: an otherwise good recording that suffers from an excess of echoey resonance, sounds like the result of less than ideal room & mic placement
  • Soul: so pure, a bit too round, aggravates the resonance
  • Oppo: a hint of extra air helps the timbre, tames the resonance
• Mapleshade; Boogeyin! A La Carte Brass; tracks 1 & 2: this is an “in your face” direct to analog 2-track recording of some “in your face” music
  • Soul: tighter, cleaner, huge effortless natural dynamics
  • Oppo: smoother, more refined, dynamics not as big as the Soul
• Ian Shaw; World Still Turning; track 1 “Alone Again”: a fantastic recording of voice & piano. Big dynamics, incredibly lifelike voicing, great detail without brightness
  • Soul: pure, clear, punchy, solid state
  • Oppo: air, refinement, less dynamic, like that tubulicious SET OTL sound
• Listening to tracks today on speakers, I was going for musical enjoyment rather than critical listening for differences.
• My perceptions of the amps were technically the same as before, but from an enjoyment and engagement perspective everything changed.
• I listened for hours with no fatigue, really enjoyed this session.
• I love this music and both DACs revealed each piece slightly differently. Instead of judging them, I just opened my mind and took it all in.
• About ¾ of the way through I had a flashback to a headphone amp I owned almost 20 years ago, the Wheatfield HA-2 designed by Pete Millet. It was an OTL SET amp I used to drive my HD-580, which at 330 ohms were perfectly suited to an OTL tube amp.
  • My epiphany was that the differences between the Soul & Oppo is of a similar character.
  • The Soul has a “solid state” sound while the Oppo is more “tubey”.
  • Of course, both are solid state with none of the euphonic distortions of tubes. The Soul and Oppo are more similar than they are different. But what differences they have, are of a similar nature to solid state vs. tubes, though they’re much more subtle in magnitude.
• At the end of today I realized that I really didn’t prefer one of these amps to the other overall. They are both excellent, each in its own slightly different way. If I owned both I would use them on different days, depending on my mood, the music I was going to listen to and my reasons for listening.

Next, subjective listening notes part 7 (day 6)