[skyhighct]

As I have rehashed my audiophile enthusiasm, I have upgraded to Susvara & Ferrum OOR + Hypsos.
Currently using an Oppo BDP-105 for transport & DAC.

Question: is the Oppo as a transport & DAC long in the tooth compared to TOTL headphones & amp?
Should I consider a separate DAC, then a CD/SACD transport (perfectWave someday) later?

What comparable DACs may be considered in the quality league as other components? (needs to decode DSD via HDMI IS2)? Holo Audio Spring 3, Bryston BDA-3, others?

Cheers

 

[nagi8404]

I have the BDP-105 and honestly it's just o-kay.
There's definitely an improvement when I use an external DAC.
Even cheaper DACs like SMSL D-300 blows it out of the water.
Right now I'm using an el-cheapo HDMI extractor from eBay -> i2s to Holo May.
Not all HDMI extractors can pull DSD layer out of SACD, but mine works.

If you're playing SACDs, you need to consider that virtually all SACD transports use some proprietary form of encryption to connect with DAC from same company. dCS uses dual AES, Accuphase uses HS-Link, Esoteric uses ES-Link, T+A uses IPA-Link, etc. Even the PS Audio transport, even though uses i2s can only transmit SACD DSD layer to their own DAC. This is according to Paul himself.

If you're not stuck on the idea of i2s, there are 2 other products out there that can extract DSD layer off an SACD.

• Geerfab Audio D.BOB
• Audiopraise Vanity Pro

Both does not have i2s but will output DoP via coax/toslink. Most modern DACs will accept DoP so it's not an issue.
These are not cheap but I'm guessing will do a much better job than $50 audio extractor from eBay.
The Vanity Pro for example claims to have better jitter, which is important when working with coax/toslink/aes signals.

One thing to note is not all DACs work with DSD equally. I'm not a subject expert on this but AKM/ROHM bypasses the Delta-Sigma modulator when fed with DSD, while ESS does not. Some DACs like Denafrips also convert DSD to PCM to use their R2R ladder. Other DACs like Holo, T+A has completely separate converter for PCM & DSD.

But then again, whether that is audible is a completely different question.

 

[skyhighct]

I have the BDP-105 and honestly it's just o-kay.
There's definitely an improvement when I use an external DAC.
Even cheaper DACs like SMSL D-300 blows it out of the water.
Right now I'm using an el-cheapo HDMI extractor from eBay -> i2s to Holo May.
Not all HDMI extractors can pull DSD layer out of SACD, but mine works.

If you're playing SACDs, you need to consider that virtually all SACD transports use some proprietary form of encryption to connect with DAC from same company. dCS uses dual AES, Accuphase uses HS-Link, Esoteric uses ES-Link, T+A uses IPA-Link, etc. Even the PS Audio transport, even though uses i2s can only transmit SACD DSD layer to their own DAC. This is according to Paul himself.

If you're not stuck on the idea of i2s, there are 2 other products out there that can extract DSD layer off an SACD.

• Geerfab Audio D.BOB
• Audiopraise Vanity Pro

Both does not have i2s but will output DoP via coax/toslink. Most modern DACs will accept DoP so it's not an issue.
These are not cheap but I'm guessing will do a much better job than $50 audio extractor from eBay.
The Vanity Pro for example claims to have better jitter, which is important when working with coax/toslink/aes signals.

One thing to note is not all DACs work with DSD equally. I'm not a subject expert on this but AKM/ROHM bypasses the Delta-Sigma modulator when fed with DSD, while ESS does not. Some DACs like Denafrips also convert DSD to PCM to use their R2R ladder. Other DACs like Holo, T+A has completely separate converter for PCM & DSD.

But then again, whether that is audible is a completely different question

Thank you for the input. Looks like my choices are a) Use the Oppo (or other) as a transport and use a breakout box to convert DSD to PCM, then add DAC of my choice b) Obtain a transport & "matching" DAC for same encryption method c) go with a standalone transport with internal DAC such as Arcam CDS50, Technics SL-G700, Marantz SA10. Other current SACD machines recommended? I would like to have balanced outputs. Thanx

 

[dirtrat]

People familiar with this brand, can the Oppo BDP-103D be used as just a transport and fed to an external DAC?

 

[originalsnuffy]

I feed my 103 to a Marantz receiver via HDMI. The receiver does all the decoding. Works well.

The 103 can also read DSD files from the server and feed them to the receiver in bitstream mode.

 

[skyhighct]

People familiar with this brand, can the Oppo BDP-103D be used as just a transport and fed to an external DAC?

After much research, although the Oppo can output DSD via HDMI, it is down sampled to 88.2KHz, not the full resolution 176.4.

 

[dirtrat]

I don't care about the DAC in the CD player and was only interested in using it as a transport. Can I use it that way and feed it to another DAC? What output would I use and would I need to change any settings to do this?

 

[skyhighct]

I don't care about the DAC in the CD player and was only interested in using it as a transport. Can I use it that way and feed it to another DAC? What output would I use and would I need to change any settings to do this?

Yes, it can be used as a transport. The Oppo will output red book standard CD & a down-sampled SACD signal.

 

[dirtrat]

Yes, it can be used as a transport. The Oppo will output red book standard CD & a down-sampled SACD signal.

What output would I use for this? Would any settings need to be changed?

Thanks

 

[skyhighct]

What output would I use for this? Would any settings need to be changed?

Thanks

I don't have the manual in front of me, for the CD layer to go to the DAC then use one of the non-HDMI outputs. I believe a setting change is needed to output the (SACD) DSD over HDMI.

 

[dirtrat]

Thanks for your help. I'll look for this in the manual.

 

[Mark-sf]

As I have rehashed my audiophile enthusiasm, I have upgraded to Susvara & Ferrum OOR + Hypsos.
Currently using an Oppo BDP-105 for transport & DAC.

Question: is the Oppo as a transport & DAC long in the tooth compared to TOTL headphones & amp?
Should I consider a separate DAC, then a CD/SACD transport (perfectWave someday) later?

What comparable DACs may be considered in the quality league as other components? (needs to decode DSD via HDMI IS2)? Holo Audio Spring 3, Bryston BDA-3, others?

Cheers

I have a BDP-105 and use it mostly as an external DAC for music only but use it also for DVD/BRs via its HDMI to an SSP. For music I actually have it connected to two DACs. I have its SPDIF output connected to my Gumby and its other HDMI out to the I2S input of my PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell via and adapter for SACD playback. I use the SGC’s HT Bypass mode to allow for 2-channel when I want music and full surround for video. Works great and is signifantly better than the internal DAC.

 

[nagi8404]

Thank you for the input. Looks like my choices are a) Use the Oppo (or other) as a transport and use a breakout box to convert DSD to PCM, then add DAC of my choice b) Obtain a transport & "matching" DAC for same encryption method c) go with a standalone transport with internal DAC such as Arcam CDS50, Technics SL-G700, Marantz SA10. Other current SACD machines recommended? I would like to have balanced outputs. Thanx

If you are converting DSD to PCM I think that kinda defeats the purpose of SACD. Better to just connect the digital outputs out of your Oppo to your DAC and play the CD layer. You need a special breakout box like the ones I mentioned above to extract DSD layer. If you're looking for a standalone SACD player I recommend a Luxman D-10X, amazing player & DAC. It has USB input and will unfold MQA if that is your thing.

I collect SACDs but I'm realizing that most recordings are done and mastered in PCM, then converted to DSD. From what I've read it is impossible to do any kind of mastering on DSD. SACDs are the equivalent to 352.8 sampling rate, so unless the initial recording is done at that sampling rate then you're not taking full advantage of SACD. There are few albums that record with 352.8 sampling rate (e.g. 2L albums), are transfers from analog tape (usually pre-1970 stuff), or directly recorded to DSD.

These days I just stream most of my music and use my Oppo to rip SACDs.

 

[MacMan31]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread. But I've been looking at some Oppo players to use for SACD. I only have a couple at the moment but I've been curious of the format for a long time. Is an Oppo player the best option? If so which model should I most consider? Is it best to use the internal DAC or use the HDMI out (I2S) to an external DAC with such an input? Right now I have a Marantz CD6006 for my CDs and I use the coax Digital output into my Bifrost 2 which does not decode DSD.

 

[nagi8404]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread. But I've been looking at some Oppo players to use for SACD. I only have a couple at the moment but I've been curious of the format for a long time. Is an Oppo player the best option? If so which model should I most consider? Is it best to use the internal DAC or use the HDMI out (I2S) to an external DAC with such an input? Right now I have a Marantz CD6006 for my CDs and I use the coax Digital output into my Bifrost 2 which does not decode DSD.

HDMI out from Oppo or other universal players are not I2S. I2S is an audio communication protocol that uses the HDMI interface, so it is not compatible at all.

Since Bifrost does not decode DSD, what's your goal? There are ways to get DSD layer off an SACD to external DAC, but if your DAC doesn't support DSD to begin with what do you want to do with it?