According to OPPO Digital, Sonica’s acoustic design and tuning 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 engaging sound that can be further optimized with built-in presets for different room sizes, speaker locations, and listening preferences using the Sonica app and featuring digital processing from Swedish audio technology company Dirac Research.
Sonica is capable of decoding audio files up to 24-bit / 192 kHz from mobile devices, USB drives, DLNA servers, and NAS drives. It supports established lossless audio formats such as FLAC, WAV, and Apple Lossless. 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.
Sonica was first revealed at the March 2016 CanJam SoCal event and now OPPO is adding the final touches before releasing Sonica to production. One of the latest details to be confirmed is that OPPO Digital selected Dirac Room Calibration to enhance its new wireless speaker. According to the Swedish DSP experts, the new Sonica Wi-Fi Speakers will feature a brand new and easy-to-use room correction software tailored for Android and iOS devices, allowing users to adjust their units to any listening environment.
Looking for the best solution in terms of digital room correction software, OPPO selected a new technology from Dirac, including an advanced patented technology that analyzes the speakers and room together, automatically making corrections to remove unwanted colorations and deliver optimized sound. Using the built-in microphone inside mobile devices to analyze the loudspeaker and the room together, Dirac Room Calibration provides a powerful and tangible sound quality upgrade, with improved clarity, tighter bass and a more natural overall sound presentation.
“Your listening room is one of the most important components of your sound system, which is why digital room correction helps so much in improving the sound quality,” says Dr. Mathias Johansson, CEO of Dirac. “We are pleased that OPPO has selected our new Dirac Room Calibration for their next-generation Sonica Wi-Fi Speakers. We saw a great match with OPPO’s heritage of providing innovative, high-performance products along with strong value to consumers”, Johansson added.
“Dirac has become the world leader in room correction technology and we are excited to integrate the new Dirac Room Calibration into our Sonica Wi-Fi Speakers,” commented Jason Liao, CTO of OPPO Digital. “This software comes with high-level room correction capabilities and a user-friendly interface. You can easily measure and fine-tune your speakers from your mobile device with Dirac Room Calibration. We expect that our users will greatly improve their music listening experience with this advanced technology.”
According to OPPO Digital, the estimated retail price for the first Sonica speaker model is $299, and the estimated release date is around May/June of 2016. OPPO plans to follow up the release with a larger version that has seven drivers, and a smaller, more portable, version in the near future.
www.dirac.com/room-calibration | www.oppodigital.com/sonica
