OPPO Digital, renowned for its high quality universal disc players and personal audio products, announced that its new product Sonica Wi-Fi Speaker, is now available. Acoustic design and tuning of the Sonica Wi-Fi Speaker was performed by Igor Levitsky, the same designer behind the award-winning OPPO PM-series planar magnetic headphones. The speaker drivers, amplifiers, and chassis have all been expertly tuned for a deep, pure, and engaging sound that can be further optimized with built-in presets for different room sizes, speaker locations, and listening preferences using the Sonica app.
Sonica delivers sound quality in a compact package with wireless streaming support via Wi-Fi, AirPlay and Bluetooth 4.1, using a companion smartphone and tablet app that makes it easy to manage multiple speakers on the same network and configure different playout modes. The Sonica app allows to have multiple speakers playing the same song in unison or have a difference listening experience in multiple zones. And contrary to existing Bluetooth speakers, Sonica allows configuring a left/right stereo pair with two speakers without phasing or delay problems.
Sonica is capable of decoding audio files up to 24-bit / 192 kHz, supporting established lossless audio formats such as FLAC, WAV, and Apple Lossless from mobile devices, USB drives, DLNA servers, and NAS drives. Additionally, multiple built-in adaptive antennae with MIMO technology ensure stellar signal strength for 2.4 and 5 GHz 802.11ac Wi-Fi (compatible with 802.11a/b/g/n), meaning users stay in control of the experience wherever in the house they may be. If there is a reason to subscribe to TIDAL’s lossless audio experience, having the Sonica speaker is a great one. The Sonica app accesses TIDAL and streams in High Fidelity sound quality. There’s even a 90-day free trial voucher from the Sonica app.
In order to deliver maximum performance from a compact enclosure, Sonica has four separate amplifiers that are set up in a 2.1 stereo configuration. Two 15-watt amplifiers are connected in a bridged mode to drive the 3.5” bass woofer and two 3” bass radiators with a combined power output of 30-watts. Two additional amplifiers, 10-watts each, power a stereo pair of 2.5” wideband drivers with neodymium magnets.
The 3.5” bass woofer features a heavy magnet system and large linear displacement capabilities. The bass radiators utilize linear suspension with optimized axial stability to avoid distortion at high volume levels, and the 2.5” wideband drivers use a high energy neodymium magnet system with copper shorting caps that are normally found only in high-end speakers. This dramatically minimizes distortion in the critical vocal range and ensures clarity and natural sound reproduction for pleasant and non-fatiguing long term listening.
Utilizing a 2.1 stereo configuration is a time-tested approach that allows for the best possible performance but the bass radiators utilized in Sonica are unique for a product in this price category and serve to further improve performance. The two complementary bass radiators are located on each side of the enclosure opposite each other. Not only do they enhance the bass response, they also cancel unwanted vibrations in the speaker enclosure. This ensures that Sonica remains stationary without rattling and shaking when music is played at very high volumes.
In order to take full advantage of their components in the best way possible, OPPO’s engineering team meticulously tuned speaker drivers, amplifiers and chassis, considering all aspects of audio reproduction and users’ sound preferences in order to make Sonica a great sounding, reliable, and easy to use companion for music lovers. Also, in order to optimize the speaker performance in challenging placement, OPPO Digital worked with DIRAC to offer the best possible room compensation algorithms. Rooms have a very significant influence on a speaker’s sound and in some cases the room environment can have a negative impact on the sound from the speaker. Sonica features built-in presets for optimizing the sound for different room sizes, speaker locations, and listening preferences.
The amplifiers in Sonica have been specially designed for each of the speaker drivers, and all of the drivers are optimally integrated using a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) and are individually driven via electronic crossovers that are carefully tuned to achieve the best sound balance.
Structurally, Sonica is molded from tough, glass-filled ABS polymer compounds, and the enclosure’s shape was purposefully designed with curved surfaces for a wider sound field. Multiple internal reinforcement ribs provide maximum stability. The power supply and amplifiers are installed on a solid metal baseplate that facilitates heat dissipation and results in cooler, more reliable long term operation of the active components in the speaker. These internal structural support elements give Sonica a very stable foundation for producing vibrant sound free of distortion.
Sonica is available directly from OPPO Digital’s website at a retail price of $299. The free companion app for iPhone and iPad can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store, while the Android version is available from Google Play.
www.oppodigital.com/sonica/
