Is OPPO losing it's way?

I wouldn’t say anything really negative about a vendor’s choice of DAC chip. The DAC chip itself has very little to do with sound quality. That being said, it could be anything from two different design teams working on the UHD player and the Sonica DAC. It could also be timing of the design projects, as the AKM4458 has been out since early 2015 and was already available in Onkyo receivers in May of 2015. The new ESS9038 was only released in January of this year (2016) at CES. The UHD player project may not have had the ability to change design mid-stream if it was far enough into the manufacturing setup for the digital boards.  It may also have been too costly to change at that point.

+1 @auxinput

Many designers regard the AKM DACs among the very best you can buy. It’s more than just the price or newness of the DAC chips. Use your ears.

While I love my 103, Oppo is not exactly consistent. If possible to audition any of their products for sound quality before buying I'd encourage it.

Best,

Erik

Who says that the Sabre chip is the best? I've heard one of their CD players that use it in my system and did not like it.