the bit Opus#1 DAP Review – A Portable Mastering Quality Sound Audio Player

More and more entry to mid-level portable audio players is being poured into the market. Some of these are good, sound quality is there but the problem is either they don’t aesthetically look good, or they got a bad user interface or plagued with firmware issues. It was only AK that produced a well-executed DAP with great sound and great user interface. But the big problem with AKs is that they will cost you your liver for a DAP! What I mean is, they are usually expensive and you have to pay for the premium. This basically leaves the consumers with lesser options. Enter Opus#1 from the bit. Today we are going to review a new DAP, the Opus#1 from a Korean company called the bit (the Best Internet Technology). The Opus#1 is a portable mastering quality sound audio player that is capable of playing high-res audio, and at the same time offer a smartphone-like user interface that won’t cost you your liver. Are you in the market looking for a high resolution portable audio player? Do you want a DAP with a very user friendly interface? Or do you need a DAP that has an optical out and balanced out ports aside from the usual 3.5mm output? Then stick around and learn more about the bit’s first DAP, the Opus#1, in our review below.

the bit Opus#1 Hi-Res Portable Audio Player Review

First let’s discuss the technical aspect of the Opus#1 Hi-Res audio player. This DAP or digital audio player, is basically the first from the bit. Well, that’s why it’s basically called the “Opus#1”. The company has another product called Opus#11 but it’s a portable DAC with headphone amplifier geared towards mobile users.

The Opus#1 is capable of delivering 24bit/192kHz high resolution sound thanks to its, not just one, but two Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC. It also features a 32bit core processor and is powered by an ARM Cortex-A9 quad core CPU clocked at 1.4GHz, paired with 1GB of DDR3 memory. There’s also a 32GB of internal memory, but you will be happy to know that this has two external microSD card slots that can support a 200GB microSD card on each slot, for a total of 400GB external memory.

The bit’s Opus#1 supports up to 24bit/192kHz bit to bit decoding and high definition audio files. It can play audio files that are in formats like FLAC, WAV, ALAC, AIFF, WMA, OGG, APE, DSD and definitely MP3 as well. The Opus#1 has a 3.5mm out, 3.5mm optical out and a 2.5mm balanced (4-pole support) output ports.

Aesthetically speaking, it features a 4-inch TST wide touchscreen display with a resolution of 480×800 and its body is made out of enhanced ABS plastic. The ABS plastic may be a turn off for some since most DAPs we know have an aluminum or metal body. But it does feel solid on hand and looks better with its leather jacket on.

The Opus#1 is engineered to have an optimized and well balanced 2 channel stereo balanced out. Below are diagrams showing how the Cirrus Logic CS4398 x 2EA 24bit Pure Real Dual DAC works on the Opus#1.

Below is the Opus#1’s specification table, where you will find the rest of the technical details regarding this DAP. On the next page, let’s take a closer look at the Opus#1 and I’ll discuss more of its features from there.

the bit Opus#1 Specifications