[XXII]

Quote:

So, it's possible to get this thing as a transport for about $140, and add a HDMI de-embedder ($160) to output to a standard DAC and enjoy 24/176.4 ?  Sounds like a pretty decent deal!  The PWD lets me know what rates are input so it could be worth a shot!

 
I would not get any of the (cheap) chinese audio de-embedders by portta or similar companies. I've bought 2 before and one doesn't work (has intermittent noise) and the other doesn't work with every DAC. You should go for the Atlona AT-HD577 for around $250.

 

[Maxvla]

I suppose what I meant before was that if DRM made it impossible to get full quality from traditional digital outputs I could use with my DAC with balanced output (XLR), I would need to either buy a de-embedder, or get a SACD player with balanced output, which is unlikely. This 'deal of the century' isn't so hot when you add a $250 de-embedder to the price tally.
 
I suppose having a balanced system is limiting when it comes to SACD thanks to DRM.

 

[ceausuc]

Quote:

getting a SACD player and then skip on the DAC. Since the dedicated DACs I have don´t have SACD support. I wonder if the S370 DAC would measure up so well to the Ref9 like the oppo DAC does. SACD vs CD the oppo destroys the Ref9 but it keep up very well with CD-CD comparisons as well. It will take some time to decide a winner

 
If it is so difficult to choose a winner between an universal player and a flagship dac it must be pretty sad for the dac.. What transport are you using for the dac? Maybe that is holding it back. At this point this dac looks like a waste of money. You could put some of that money in Oppo upgrades and be happy
Pretty soon Oppo will come up with a newer version of 83SE - if they will succeed to make it sound better and stay < 1000$ it could be a real hit. I also hope the network playback will be improved so that we can throw away all those stupid things: usb-spdif converter, power supply, (crazy priced) usb cable, adum, etc.
Maybe more dac producers will learn something from this Oppo company.
Sorry for being OT

 

[XXII]

Quote:

I suppose what I meant before was that if DRM made it impossible to get full quality from traditional digital outputs I could use with my DAC with balanced output (XLR), I would need to either buy a de-embedder, or get a SACD player with balanced output, which is unlikely. This 'deal of the century' isn't so hot when you add a $250 de-embedder to the price tally.
 
I suppose having a balanced system is limiting when it comes to SACD thanks to DRM.

I don't see why you think this. Most high-end SA-CD players have balanced outs.
 
I still think that the bdp-s370 + deembedder is a great deal. It all depends how much SA-CDs mean to you.

 

[Maxvla]

Because I can't buy a $140 SACD player and hook it into my system and it work. I have to either buy a high end player with the balanced output for however much or buy a de-embedder just to make it work at all.

 

[oqvist]

Quote:

 
If it is so difficult to choose a winner between an universal player and a flagship dac it must be pretty sad for the dac.. What transport are you using for the dac? Maybe that is holding it back. At this point this dac looks like a waste of money. You could put some of that money in Oppo upgrades and be happy
Pretty soon Oppo will come up with a newer version of 83SE - if they will succeed to make it sound better and stay < 1000$ it could be a real hit. I also hope the network playback will be improved so that we can throw away all those stupid things: usb-spdif converter, power supply, (crazy priced) usb cable, adum, etc.
Maybe more dac producers will learn something from this Oppo company.
Sorry for being OT

As for transport well it´s the Oppo
For my PC it´s my Elite Pro soundcard.

Not really sad about the DAC hadn´t expected any earth shattering differences in quality. I am saying that the Oppo is a really good DAC rather then the Ref9 being bad. Law of diminishing returns kicks in well before these two DACs. My ears doesn´t get a higher resolution just because I get better gear either.
 
Sometimes something that is better is worse as well. As an example I preferr the oppo for my speakers since I get less sub bass issues with my 10" sub in my 3x3 metre room. It just plays cleaner and smoother while being about as detailed. On the DAC19 and a bit less on the REf9 I want to use my tube head One as preamp to soften things up a bit.
On the LCD-2 the Ref9 perform a bit better in the same area. But again some may preferr the slightly softer signature of the Oppo over the more hard hitting Ref 9. They both play incredibly clean on the LCD-2 and have a similar character.
 
As for wishful thinking in feature bluray player with SACD support spdif in so I can use my computer without need for networking. FLAC or at least Wav and ntfs support.

 

[wht]

I bought a unit primarily to play Blue-ray discs.
 
Today I slipped in a few CDs and played them using the "Pure Audio" mode of my AV Receiver..
 
The sound was sweet.
 
This player is really a bargain for its capabilities with video and audio.

 

[runswithaliens]

I see these are currently on sale at Target for $139.00 I think it was (edit: I just checked the Sony site and they have apparently dropped the price to that amount - not just Target). I notice it has a tiny fan on the back. Tiny little fans can emit high-pitched and irritating noises.
 
Can any owners comment on whether the unit's fan is audible at all? And for that matter how noisy is the transport when it is spinning discs of any type?

 

[wht]

I am having another listen of CDs with it on my ht system.  Well, it is really nice, really a bargain.
 
Quote:

Can any owners comment on whether the unit's fan is audible at all? And for that matter how noisy is the transport when it is spinning discs of any type?

Not audible at all from where I sit.

 

[Mr.Sneis]

Any Comparisons?

 

[elwappo99]

No CDs with me. I'll get some within a few weeks and compare....

 

[geetarman49]

while the atlona is virtually guaranteed to work in most setups, at $160 - $260 these devices are too expensive for those of us with limited budgets. i would suggest trying the sony with this device from monoprice instead:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011002&p_id=5557&seq=1&format=2#description     check out the features and the specs
at $49 it's worth a try & if it doesn't work for your setup, then it can be returned (along with the sony if u purchased from your local b&m store). this is what i'm going to try.
note: make sure it's version 2; version 1 of the monoprice has been reported as not working properly.
 
hth,
 
<edit> just ordered along with some hi-speed hdmi cables
 
Quote:

Because I can't buy a $140 SACD player and hook it into my system and it work. I have to either buy a high end player with the balanced output for however much or buy a de-embedder just to make it work at all.

 

[stokitw]

Any updates?
I'm very curious...
 
Quote:

while the atlona is virtually guaranteed to work in most setups, at $160 - $260 these devices are too expensive for those of us with limited budgets. i would suggest trying the sony with this device from monoprice instead:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011002&p_id=5557&seq=1&format=2#description     check out the features and the specs
at $49 it's worth a try & if it doesn't work for your setup, then it can be returned (along with the sony if u purchased from your local b&m store). this is what i'm going to try.
note: make sure it's version 2; version 1 of the monoprice has been reported as not working properly.
 
hth,
 
<edit> just ordered along with some hi-speed hdmi cables
 
Quote:

Because I can't buy a $140 SACD player and hook it into my system and it work. I have to either buy a high end player with the balanced output for however much or buy a de-embedder just to make it work at all.

 

[geetarman49]

i got the monoprice unit a couple days ago, but it's still sitting in the box. i've been to BB and FS looking for sacd titles ... nada, nyet, kaput... no such format anymore. i may just have to resort to renting a blu-ray title.  in the meantime, i'm enjoying the sony strictly as a cd transport with digital out via coax into my matrix cube dac/hpa. i thought the combo might be a bit on the edgy side, but then i put on a patricia barber cd and the music flows like cool, spring water, without edge or nasty artifact; the low end is still a bit on the soft side tho... should have more impact.  i'll post a pic or two of the monoprice next time.

 

[vikhund]

"Firstly, the DAC chip in the S370 can decoded DSD natively."
 
How can you be so sure? That's exactly the answer I've been looking for. I have the player hooked to my stereo amplifier via the analog outs and I'd like to know what it is I'm listening to. It's hardly possible on such a cheap player but I hope it can be DSD. Sony can do such tricks with their proprietary gear, I suppose. I do hear a difference but it can be PCM 192/24 as well. In fact, the sound is unlike anything I've ever heard before. SACD is just a bonus. I've bought bdp-s370 as a bd player and yet I'm searching the net for non-classical SACDs at a reasonable price to start a collection to be used on a more mature SACD machine in near future. All this because of the humble bdp-s370. So it must be DSD. But how do you know?