OPPO 103 VE 105.....

Hello Freemand, The OP wanted to know about a single player NOT a transport with external DAC setup. ALSO, the Oppo 105's internal Sabre Dac chipset IS what sets it apart from other players in this price range, YOU DONT NEED A EXTERNAL DAC its that good! is my point.

The trouble with using an external DAC with the 103 is DSD, very few DACs can accept it via HDMI without unwanted conversions of some kind or other

IIRC, I was told by Oppo that only the 105D asymmetrical USB can take DSD downloads should computer audio become an interest. Caveat: I have a 95, 105, and bought a new 105D in case I choose to download music from a Mac Mini I bought for that purpose but haven't used.

I bought an oppo 103 and use it to very good results via my Benchmark HDR. The flexibility and feature are out standing. I love that I can now take my laptop completely out of the picture and plug my hard drives directly into the 103.

The 105 would be a waste of money in my case.

Mattmiller, I agree that on their own I would own a 105. I dont agree that the 105 is optimized for video over the 103. They are the same in that department.

I am using a NAD m51 with a 35 bit volume control and use its hdmi in to enjoy all the high res with a great dac.

I pondered long and hard if I would go with a solo 105 or a 103 with the nad m51 dac. I spent a little more with the combo but was worth it in my mind.

I just need to find a modded 103 on here now for another system!