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OPPO or Something Else?

I am very ignorant in the latest and greatest in digital audio. My current setup is all analog with the exception of a CD player. Before OPPO announced their cease of production I read a lot of reviews and opinions from what a wonderful product it is. My main interest is in the quality of audio it can produce and not so much with the video capabilities. However, it is probably more capable than my current Blu Ray player (3D is not a concern).
Getting back to audio quality my sources are CD's and SACD's. I know that DAC's are all the rage with digital media. While researching the history of the various OPPO models that came out over the years, and paying close attention to user experiences with audio performance, it seems that with each model the audio quality improved with each release of a new model. Such as.....the 95 over the 93, the 105 over the 103, and the 205 over the 203.
Since the close of OPPO production it makes sense that the price of existing units in good condition would bring a premium price in the used market to those determined to purchase one. There are also many opinions that some of the upgrades to those units elevate them to a supreme product (those upgrades/modifications appear to cost almost as much as the units themselves).
Given that info on what my listening media is, would purchasing a used OPPO whether modded or not offer very good audio performance versus buying a different piece of equipment in the $1k to $1.5 range? I know that there are many OPPO users out there that are satisfied with their purchases. But I am mostly interested in opinions that have strolled down the OPPO path and have been disappointed with the audio performance.

jrpnde
mahler123
3,319 posts
 
@whart 
  I think you nailed the point of our differences.  My intro to Oppo was the 105, which has several digital inputs and therefore be used as a DAC with other digital sources (which is how I used it for a while, in addition to SACD and Red Book CD.  I never investigated the 95, which apparently per your question, does not have the same inputs.  For me, the 105 was upgrade over my previous DAC, but it clearly can be bested as a DAC.  It is an excellent transport 
audioengr
3,282 posts
 

This is where I don’t understand Steve’s comment; is he saying to use the Oppo’s analog output (ie, the output from the Oppo’s DAC), but improve its timing by adding a Synchro-Mesh reclocker?

The term "transport" means that it is being used as a digital source, not an analog source.

The 105 has both digital output (coax) and digital input (coax), so the Synchro-Mesh can just be inserted in this digital loop using 2 cables.  It's that simple.  Select the coax digital input in the "input source menu" and play the CD and you should get the lower jitter data to the DAC inside.  It's really simple.

For most systems, lowering the jitter of the source is a bigger improvement that upgrading the DAC, and certainly cheaper.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

angelwars
14 posts
 
Seems the main aim with the Oppo 205 is the Sabre DAC and its superior analog output so using it as a transport especially at its price seems a bit daft? 
kzs70
31 posts
 
The 105 has both digital output (coax) and digital input (coax), so the Synchro-Mesh can just be inserted in this digital loop using 2 cables. It's that simple. Select the coax digital input in the "input source menu" and play the CD and you should get the lower jitter data to the DAC inside. It's really simple.
Steve,
I assume this can be done with the Oppo 205 too?And does this setup work if I am streaming a Blu-Ray movie from my network and don't play the phisycal disc?
Thanks, Zsolt
kzs70
31 posts
 
I am asking the above question because I am not happy with my Oppo 203 audio quality as a network Blu-Ray streamer.I have compared it in the same system with a Lumin U1 Mini and the difference is really big. Both were set up as a Roon endpoint and streaming stereo Flac and DSD files to a DAC via SPDIF.
But for Blu-Ray music concerts I can't use the Lumin U1 only the Oppo, so I am thinking about un upgrade to a Modwright Oppo 205, which could be used as a DAC too.
But my understanding is that the Oppo 205 has the same streaming quality as an Oppo 203, so both might benefit from a produt like Syncro-Mesh...?
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