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A DAC for the Oppo 105

I haven't played discs a lot lately. I am and have always been a vinyl-dominate listener, and really got a CD player for the vinyl desert that began in the late 80's and really only abated in the 2010's. I found plenty of vinyl in those years, but these days, it pretty much automatic that there will be a vinyl release of almost all of the albums in which I am interested. 

So, because I am a music lover, and format is less important than the music, I did manage to get a pretty big CD collection - counting box sets, I am probably around 1500. I have burned maybe 400-500 of them onto a server, and that works great (I stream Qobuz, too and that is a great place to try out new things. Wonderful!) The idea that i would ever rip all of my CD collection into this server is a fantasy - I really doubt I will do this. So...

When I play a disc directly from the Oppo, I find myself distracted by elements of the sound that I don't care for - it can be a bit thin, unsaturated, a little fatiguing. When I play that same recording through the ripped file that goes from my Small Green Computer server, to the Sonore Optical Rendu, to my Ayre QB-9 Twenty DAC, it is much more as I like it. I assume most of this is because I prefer the Ayre DAC to the DAC built into the Oppo. Sadly, the Ayre DAC is USB only, and I can't take the Oppo digits and send them to the Ayre.

But since I am a realist, and will not rip my full CD collection, I am wondering if there is a relatively inexpensive DAC that I could use to improve the Oppo. That machine is getting old and DAC technology seems to be the end of the digital chain that improves the most, the most often. 

Any suggestions for an affordable upgrade to the DAC built into the Oppo?

Thanks,

David

dtorc
chayro
2,983 posts
 

There are a lot of very good dacs in your price range which I’m sure will be mentioned here and are in many other threads if you search. Denafrips Aries for one. But before you buy, may I suggest placing a Vibrapod footer under each foot of your Oppo. In general, I found virtually no use for Vpods, but they worked very well under my Oppo 205. Really added a richness of tone. For $25, I thinks it’s worth a try. Good luck. As I recall, I used the #3. 

ritter06
21 posts
 

Interesting and timely question.

I have a 105 and recently compared a few different DACs using it as a transport.

I a/b going back and forth but using different cables - coax and Toslink -simultaneously  vs balanced outs of the OPPO. Amp is McIntosh, speakers B&W 801, pre/pro Emotiva.

The DACs were:

Dangerous Music DAC 2

Bryston BDA 2

Emotiva native

Oppo native

The differences were not significant to my ear (YMMV). Bass was bit bloated on the Oppo. The Dangerous DAC threw a wider but less deep soundstage. The Bryston was the smoothest overall but the main difference was not the sound but  the number of inputs including USB, which for my rig was very helpful.

The initial  conclusion reached was that I would have to spend considerably more the $1-$2k these DACs represent to achieve a noticeable difference. As always YMMV

mahler123
3,305 posts
 

I’ve been using a 105 for years.  I have had 2 external DACs with it.  The first was a Mytek Manhatten, and currently a Bryston DAC 3.  I especially value the HDMI inputs on the Bryston and output the DSD layer of SACDs with the 105.

  The internal DAC is pretty good but a dedicated external DAC will be an improvement.  I would look to spend at least $2K

dtorc OP
32 posts
 

Thank you all for your insights and suggestions. I appreciate that I now have a list of potential DACs, along with sound characteristics, on which to do some research. 

I also appreciate the insights on support and cabling. I can try the support things now, cabling when/if I get a new DAC. 

This place is so helpful...

David

baylinor's avatar
baylinor
1,406 posts
 

I had the Cambridge cd transport under 1k. It does not do it. It took the Jay's cdt2-mk3 to get a sound similar to my streaming  setup. Sorry, but in this case, I wasted money hoping a 1k cd transport would do it. 

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