The Bit Opus#3 Portable MQS DAP – See Features, Specs and Price

The bit is a new player when it comes to the audio gear market, specifically DAPs and DAC/AMP. Last year, they released their first portable digital audio player (DAP) and DAC/AMP, the Opus#1 and Opus#11. Following the success of the Opus#1, they unleashed their flagship DAP, the Opus#2, that aims to compete with other high-end portable DAPs. Now they have a new gear, positioned between the Opus#1 and Opus#3, and can probably be considered as a high-end DAP as well – the new Opus#3 portable Mastering Quality Sound (MQS) audio player. Aesthetically speaking, I find the new Opus#3 better than the Opus#2 in terms of body design, and it’s definitely better compared to the Opus#1 in terms of design and what’s under the hood. More details below…

Opus#3 Hi-Res Portable MQS DAP Features

The Opus#3 DAP is powered by an ARM Cortex-A9 1.4GHz quad core SOC with a 1GB of DDR3 memory. At the heart of its audio section is a Burr-Brown PCM1792A 24bit DAC chip that supports native DSD playback up to DSD256. I was a bit surprised that this doesn’t feature a dual DAC, considering that the Opus#1 and Opus#2 features a dual DAC setup.

Another highlighted feature of the Opus#3 is the X-MOS audio processor, with full support for USB audio class 2.0 supporting both PCM and native DSD file formats. This basically means that you can connect the Opus#3 to your PC or smartphone. Speaking of connections, it also features DLNA and WiFi streaming; and yes it has Bluetooth v4.0 supporting A2DP and AVRCP but I don’t think it supports (or will support) aptX.

The Opus#3 sports a 4-inch IPS touch screen display with a resolution of 480×800 and features a nice tempered aluminum metal body. It has a 64GB of internal storage, there’s a 128GB optional, and it has a single microSD card slot that supports up to 256GB of microSD card for external storage expansion. It also features a small volume wheel with 150 steps, similar to what we see on AK Jr/300 series DAPs.

Aside from the dedicated volume wheel, the Opus#3 has physical control buttons (back, next, play/stop) on the other side. The power button is at the top, right next to the 3.5mm unbalanced plug (that also serves as an optical out) and 2.5mm balanced out supporting 4-pole plugs. At the bottom part is a micro USB port, right next to the micro SD card slot. Don’t you think it’s time to use (true) Type-C ports by this time?

Finally, the Opus#3 DAP is running on a (heavily) customized Android 5.1.1 and it features support for 3rd party streaming application like Spotify and etc. This means Google Play Store is supported and perhaps you can install other kinds of apps as well (if I am not mistaken). The bit did warn though that depending on the application, some functions may be restricted. I just hope watching videos on YouTube (if it’s supported) won’t be out of sync.

Update: My guess was wrong! The Opus#3 supports third party, but no Google Play store. The Opus#3 came pre-installed with Spotify. Not sure yet how to install other 3rd party apps.

Check out the Opus#3 specifications table below for more information.

Price and Availability

The bit didn’t mention when they will release it to the market. However, I am expecting that it is just around the corner since MusicTeck (a US distributor) has already listed it on their site and they’re accepting pre-order. The suggest retail price of the Opus#3 is $899 USD. It won’t be long until it gets listed on Amazon.com as well. Stay tuned!

UPDATE: The Bit Opus#3 is now available in the US. You can order one at Amazon.com here.

Opus#3 Specifications

ModelOpus#3(HA-530)
BodyTempered Aluminum [Metal Body]
Display4″ TFT Touch Display(480*800) IPS PANEL
Dimensions74mm(W) x 117mm(H) x 18mm(D)
Weight220g
CPU & RAMARM Cortex-A9 1.4GHz,  Quad-Core & DDR3 1GB
ButtonPOWER, PLAY/PAUSE, FF, REW  VOLUME(WHEEL)
Supported Audio FormatsWAV, FLAC, ALAC, AIFF, WMA, MP3, OGG,APE(Normal, High, Fast), native DSD(DFF,DSF)
Sample ratePCM : 16kHz ~ 192Hz (8/16/24bits per Sample)
DSD Native:  DSD64(1bit 2.8MHz, Stereo),
DSD128(1bit 5.6MHz, Stereo),
DSD256(1bit 11.2MHz, Stereo)
EQ & EffectEQ:10Band NORMAL/USER1/2/3/4/5
InputUSB Micro-B input (for charging & data transfer (PC & MAC))
Connection Mode : MTP (Media Device)
OutputsPhone (3.5mm) / Optical Out (3.5mm)
Balanced Out(2.5mm, 4-pole support)
Wi-Fi802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz)
BluetoothV4.0 (A2DP, AVRCP)
Feature EnhancementsFirmware upgrades supported (OTA)
Battery4,000mAh/3.7V Li-Polymer
Battery Life(Play) Time & Charge TimePlay: Approximately 8.5 hours
Charge:4 hours
MemoryBuilt-in 64GB
External microSD (up to 256GB) / Supports SDXC (exFAT, NTFS)
Clock source / Jitter50ps (Typ)
OSCustomized Android 5.1.1
Supported OSWindows 7,8,10 (32/64bit), MAC OS x 10.9 and up
Audio Performance
DACBurr-Brown PCM1792A
DecodingSupport up to 24bit / 192kHz Bit to Bit Decoding
Frequency Response±0.026dB(Condition: 20Hz~20KHz) Unbalanced & Balanced
±0.3dB(Condition: 10Hz~70KHz) Unbalanced & Balanced
Signal to Noise Ratio114dB @ 1KHz, Unbalanced
114dB @ 1KHz, Balanced
Crosstalk130dB @ 1KHz,Unbalanced /  135dB @ 1KHz, Balanced
THD+N0.0009% @ 1KHz
Output ImpedanceBalanced out 2.5mm(1ohm) / Phone 3.5mm(2ohm)
Ouput LevelBalance 3.0Vrms / Unbalance 2.5Vrms(Condition No Load)
Volume Step150 steps
GaplessO

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