Audio Aero Prima vs. Resolution Audio Opus 21

I forgot to add that we are also getting an ACI Titan sub as well. Because even though my wife recently decided that she wanted to consolidate two systems back into one, her love for Tool has not waned.

First off, I have never heard the Prima, so I will not comment on its sound. Based on those who have, it seems to be pretty darned good though!

However, I do own the Opus 21, and I love it. My friend upon hearing mine, immediate went out and bought one, and he too loves it. He compared it to his Theta and quickly sold his Theta. He even bought a Esoteric DV-50 thnking it would beat the Opus, and sold the DV-50 after comparing it. (I will point out that both my friend and I are both primarily into analog, so we were both looking for a good redbook player that sounded close to the analog sound. We feel we found it in the Opus 21.)

So I highly recommend the Opus 21. If you can afford to buy it new from Resolution Audio, do so, I doubt you would regret it. (By the way, Jeff, the owner of R.A., is a great guy, and an asset to the audio community!)
However, if funds are low, then buy a used Opus 21, and if you like it keep it. (If not, sell it and be out almost nothing, since the used market is pretty hot for them.) There is one for sale right now on Audiogon for $2,500 including shipping, which is a pretty good price.
(By the way, the current price is $3,500 and the restocking fee is 5%, so that works out to $175, plus shipping, not the $150, you stated. It used to be $150 when the price was $3,000.)

Good Luck in your search!

Kurt_tank,

Thanks for the comments. As I said, I only heard the Opus 21 for a short period. I would like to have more time with the player, and may buy a used one in order to have that opportunity. As you say, they are in demand on the used market so reselling it is quick and easy.
I appreciate the assessment of the Opus 21. I do love the Prima, but much of the fun of this for me is to hear the music on different equipment.
All the best,
Howard

The Opus is a phenomenal player at any price. Hands down a winner, however if you need warmth and a full lush sound, the Opus may not totally deliver. It will deliver musicality, great PRAT, openness, detail, literally everything you could ever want except lushness. To some extent warmth and detail are at two ends of a spectrum and to have both is almost impossible, however some heavy dollar players come close to this. My recc is to get the Opus for everything it does right, then add a tubed preamp or amp to get you lushness, a true delight and will be your best bet, IMO. You can also tweak with the right cables. I don't think the Prima will give you the depth, detail, dynamics, imaging etc, etc that the opus can provide.

Fatcataudio,
Thank you as well for the comments. I think I'll just have to hear one side by side with the Prima. Incidentally, lush is exactly the word that escaped me in terms of how I would describe the Prima. And that's
what I fear losing in some other players. Still, I won't rule out the merits of any player without hearing it for myself.

In order to use the internal preamp on the Opus 21, is it true that you must use the DIN output? Please excuse me if I'm not wording this correctly, but I'm referring to connecting the Opus 21 directly to an amp, without the use of an additional preamp.
Thank you,
Howard