After years I finally bit the bullet and got an OP-1. Unfortunately, it was faulty. Constant crashes/freezes, and when I tried to reflash the firmware it froze. From looking around, this appears to be a hardware problem.
I’m in the process of sending it back for a refund. My plan was to get a replacement, but I noticed a problem with the tape that I managed to save before re-flashing. There are constant pops all over the tape tracks - including on those I haven’t recorded onto.
I’ve seen a bunch of complaints about pops, but I didn’t expect it to be that bad. Is this normal? If so, I don’t think I’ll bother getting a replacement… but it could well just be a related hardware fault.