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OPPO BDP-103 (NON Darby)

Hey all, (My mistake, I know it’s Darbee, not "Darby.")
I think I’m finally going to break down and buy a player that plays SACD disks. I know there are not all that many SACD titles available but I tried getting back into vinyl and was not all that happy with the $800.00 table I bought. Perhaps when I can afford a $3,00.00 PLUS turntable I will try again.
Anyway, I currently play DSD & FLAC files via thumb drive with my Marantz network player and CDR via a good Yamaha CD player. My amp & pre-amp are Emotiva and current speakers are B&W.
My thought is to buy an OPPO 103 - NON Darbee addition as I do not expect to use it for anything but 2 channel audio.
So, my qiestion is; how does the OPPO BDP-103 perform when playing Hi-Res audio and especially SACD? Does anyone have first hand experience with other players that may be a better choice for what I want in the same price range? I’ve read that the OPPOs tend to do better with Video play back than audio. Is this true?
I appreciate any & all replies!
wcc10
68pete
1,001 posts
 
I have found that the XLR outs sound much better on the Oppo than the RCAs I all so found that the Oppo has a 300 hour break in before they sound better. For the money they hold their own, but not against a higher quality unit like a Esoteric disc player. The Oppo is like a Swiss army knife it does a lot fair   but never master of any. Oppo customer service has all ways done right by me.
wcc10 OP
119 posts
 
naimfan & 68pete;
This is great info from you both!
naimfan, did you play any SACD disks via the OPPO or just regular Redbook CDs?
I've also heard that there is a big difference between the RCA out & balanced out on OPPO 105.
I'm wondering if it might be worth looking for a decent used Esoteric SACD player?
naimfan
166 posts
 
WCC10 -

I didn't do balanced because my amplification doesn't support it ( I use Naim; only the $100K Statement preamp has balanced inputs).  I also didn't try any SACDs because I don't have any. 

I did break it in per suggestions - I had it plugged in and playing at work for 2 full weeks before playing it at home. 

A used Esoteric might be a good way to go - that I can't venture an opinion on.  I've at least heard a couple of the Sony and Marantz SACD players, and they seem to have a reasonably good track record with reliability (once they sorted out the early production issues). 
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