Oppo UDP - 205

I’ve owned the 83SE, the 95, the 105, and was in the pre-rollout wave for the 205.

Since comparative questions have been asked , I also have the Schiit Yggdrasil as my primary DAC and I have the Exogal Comet-Plus - Ion combo as well.

My reasons for bringing the 205 in were very specific and unique to my situation..which doesn’t mirror the 205’s usual usage by the vast majority of 205 owners.

I will state that I have not been a big fan of the previous generation Sabre Chips as implemented in general. For the older Oppos, I did / do like the audio signature and lived with it, but didn’t love it.

I have found all Oppos that I have owned to be fantastic products from a fantastic company that punch way, way above their street price. Their business model is worth emulating, their customer support is exemplary, and product quality outstanding.

The Sabre 9038 implementation has come a long ways, for my ears and preferences. It is the first Oppo DAC output I could be happy with and enjoy in stock form. And if modded, could very well serve as the only DAC I might need.

I also believe it is unwise to compare the DAC of the 205 to "well thought of" stand-alone DACs in say the 1.5K and above range. To me it is an unfair comparison, given all the other functionality the Oppo brings to the table.

For the 205, I only evaluated the USB in and Optical in. This was conducted after the Oppo was fully run-in for a week (Oppo recommends about a day). The system was exactly the same for the Yggy and the Oppo. The Ion is a dedicated amplifier for the Comet, so in this case the amp was different. All other aspects were the same. I utilized the stereo XLR analog outs for the Oppo.

Please keep these parameters in mind since my evaluation was for a very specific and narrow purpose and to fill a temporary niche in my system.

With USB in (same chain in for all three components) the Yggy was clearly better to my ears, as was the Exogal Comet Plus. The difference was not night and day, but I could clearly tell what I preferred. In other words, I did not need an extended back and forth parsing to come to a conclusion.

Optical in was very poor in comparison. Something may have been off with my particular unit’s optical input/processing, because it should not have been so dramatically bad in comparison to the Yggy and Comet.

To be sure I was making the right decision, I lived with the 205 in my system for two days after conducting my evaluations and came back to the other components for a few days. I then ran the 205 again after that for another day of listening just to be sure, once again.

I did return the 205 since it did not meet my needs. Please note, that in no way am I saying that I did not like the 205. I am saying it didn’t do what I needed it to do for my particular situation and that I preferred my primary DAC.

I see the 205 being brought back into my system in the future when I can fully take advantage of all that it offers.

In the meantime, I have a 105 sitting unused which I can bring into my system should I need to fill that temporary role until my HT is set up properly.

@david_ten 

Thanks for your informative post. I currently own an Oppo UDP-205. Like you, I was part of the pre-rollout wave. At the moment, the 205 is my primary and best source. I am rather pleased with its overall performance and sound quality. However, I do intend to upgrade (i.e. am hopeful and would like too upgrade) my front end source and I'm giving serious consideration to the Schiit Yggdrasil. If I purchase the Yggy, I intend to use the Oppo as transport using its 75 ohm coax output to the Yggy 75 ohm coax input. I see no other choice but optical which I'd like to avoid.

Given the aforementioned and in your opinion, should I expect to hear a *noticeable* improvement in sound quality?

@gdhal   Hi. You are welcome.

Unfortunately I can't answer your specific question.

I did not use the 205 as a transport with digital coax out to the Yggy.   I'm setup for network based streaming (nearly 100% now).

And yes, Coax or Optical are the only two Digital Outputs from the 205. I'd be open to the optical out as well...never hurts to try. There are converters, but then you'd be adding another box and cables into the mix.

The only way to know for sure is to borrow one (the Yggy) and try it out for yourself. Or order it and opt for the return should it not be what you were expecting. The upside to ordering is that the current Yggys will have the new Gen 5 USB board.

Personally, I consider the Schiit Yggdrasil to be an exceptional DAC. I've upgraded cabling, optimized the USB stream, etc. all with very positive and marked results. For me, it's one of those no brainer recommendations. But as you know, no component is perfect and everyone's preferences are their own.

a25105,
I still haven't connected the Oppo 205 to my 2 channel system to compare it to the PS Direct Stream. But I will perhaps next week.

dbphd,
I am using Dish, way better picture and sound quality over my previous Comcast.

Personally, I would not buy anything from Schiit. I was treated badly and charged 50% of the purchase price for a return on an item that I only had for 2 weeks and was like new when it was returned. Albeit the item was  originally about $150 but 50% was a bit much for restocking, shipping, customer service etc. charges. Never again, there name is appropriate...

ozzy

Interesting discussion.  Seems to suggest that the 205 is good if you need the transport & connection features.  For strictly DAC quality, a similar priced, well designed, dedicated product (including the Sonica DAC) will likely result in better sonic quality.

I'm curious because I have a Resonessence Concero HD as my DAC, but I also would like a transport. Was hoping that the 205 might serve that purpose and meet or exceed the Concero DAC.  

I would appreciate any comments between them, especially if you have experience with both.  Thanks

As a side note, the Resonessence designers came from the Sabre DAC design team, so they know the Sabre chips well.  I have heard the Resonessence Veritas ($2850) which wasn't a huge improvement over the Concero for over three times the price.  However, the Mirus Pro ($6000) was the best DAC I have heard, but also seven times more costly.