"If you want the subtle infusion of valves; if you want to be able to eliminate a preamp from the equation; if you value not just sonics but pride of ownership from massive construction and unusual cosmetics - the Droplet CD player from Opera Audio is the one". Quote from Srajan Ebaen, Editor of 6moons.


if hifi is a fashion, this will win some awards. this is the kind of hifi that your wife or girlfriend would approve, sonics notwithstanding.

a flagship product selling at only Rm12K? we are not kidding. opera consonance 5.0 droplet cdp is the object of desire/review for master ken. i say, ken, it is high time to replace your meridian 508.24!

if the droplet is a woman, she must be the most voluptuous and curvaceous female species on earth. accordingly, she runs hot, i mean, temperature-wise. it also comes with a complimentary 2-tier marble stand which i find too heavy to carry home.

i expect it to sound seductive, warm and romantic.... much like the imaginary woman that it suggests....

as usual i will pass it to ken, then hifi kaki then back to me for an all-round assault on this gorgeous beauty.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let me add that the tubes you decide to use will make a difference too.

Anonymous said...

Great! Finally you guys are atrracted to "Made in China" stuff.

I think brands like Consonance, Cayin/Spark and Shanling are outstanding examples of Chinese made high end products the are afforadable, yet stylish, not to mention offer very little to compromise when it came to sound quality.

Anonymous said...

Call me bias,but I still think the Chinese manufacturers hasa long way to go.

Unless they stop copying ,and come out with their own executions,they will always be in a quandry as far as branding is concerned

Anonymous said...

Well,One thing you can't blame the Chinese manufacturers though are their passion and willingness for trying.

But i do agree with Sam,that they have to do a lot more than copy their western counterpart products..Companies Like Sine and Isoclean are amongst the finest in producing power related products.

Anonymous said...

This product is sweeping the Hi-fi world like a storm...

Anonymous said...

What is there to copy? A CD player is a cd player and etc.

Which cd player from the west are so different from one another besides just the looks. They also uses the same chips either from Burr Brown, Analog Devices, Philips, Cirrus Logic etc.

In fact many US and EU players are sourced from China but with a western name.

Did China make a replica CD player like in timepiece hand watches replica eg fake Rolex? Did China make a fake Quad amplifier?

Most MIC cd players are more innovative with tubes than anyone think.

Of course there are good products and bad products coming from any country. So if you are planning on buying a MIC product, choose wisely.

Wake up people.

Anonymous said...

The China olympics opening and closing ceremony were great and the best ever. Let's see which country will copy from China in the future olympics.

Unfortunately, even if they want to copy they do not have the resources and discipline.

Anonymous said...

Hey Anonymous,Olympics is one thing but CDP is something else.

Of Course there are something that CHina are good at ;Kung-fu,bribing olympic judges,dim sum,acupuntre.....you get the gists.

manufacturing is the easiest part of any production.Hey ,they even assemble theMErc S Class in protonland..

Anyway let is see what the reviewers will say.They have listened to some digital heavyweight

Anonymous said...

Ken,

Maybe you could let us hear your early impression??

One thing for sure ,it certainly looks like gong li{hey Despite all those sexy pictures Maggielurva put up,I still have wet dreams thinking of Gong Li}

Anonymous said...

Gong Li is so desirable.....

ML, besides all these audiophile recording projects, how about a made in Malaysia cd player project? Or maybe designed in Malaysia but made in China...

Anonymous said...

one of the new heavyweight from China,This CDP.

Remember China just joint the Olympics in the LA game?and now they are the strongest sporting nation

Anonymous said...

My experience with MIC stuff hasn't been good..

Thought of trying my hands on SETS[wich the Chinese make by bucketloads]but there was serious issues with reliability.the sound was quite respectable though

Anonymous said...

There are good and not so good MIC products out there. Just pick the good ones. May have to pay a little bit more but you get what you pay for.

There are some good MIC products out there, just do some research first.

Anonymous said...

Actually,I have been quite surprised with the level of acceptance of Chinese made products in the West.;both by the reviewers and consumers alike

I think the Chinese manufacturers do put a lot of efforts to make sure they do not embarass themselves.Whether they will be able to sustain this is yet to be seen

Anonymous said...

Sound wise, give me a break lar!

Yes, China boleh, look at the milk powder lar!

One day, u can see headlines like "Audiophile dies of electrocution from MIC audio products", trust me!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous,

That is exactly what I mean ..

They have a long way to go to prove themselves..But just like US ,the best Proton cars are seen Abroad{even though Jeremy Clarkson seems to think otherwise]

So it seems that the MIC products that are exported are of different Quality as opposed to those that are sold there

Anonymous said...

The MIC products sold in the US sure have better quality than over here.

If local dealers push price down the chinese will sacrifice quality and ship poor quality stuffs over here.

Anyone has bad experience with Consonance, Cayin and Shanling?

BTW, i have seen products from Krell, ARC, SIM, Audionote always masuk workshop.

maggielurva 愛美姬 said...

hi chase,
i definitely know what you like about gong li, which i find too intimidating, if you get my drift ;-)

actually, you are right, this droplet cdp does remind me of gong li!

hi anonymous,
a malaysian made cd player? not likely as i am not so good in electrical engineering ;-)