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Classe SSP 800's DAC vs Oppo 105's DAC

Hello,
I am wondering which is a superior sounding DAC for listening to CD? The DAC in the Oppo 105 or the DAC in the Classe SSP 800 preamp processor? 

I have the Oppo 105 connected via Transparent Premium HDMI cable to my Classe SSP 800 in my dedicated home theater room. My power amps are : Classe CAM 600 monoblocks (pair) to power front speakers; Classe CAM 300 monoblock (single) to power a center speaker; Classe CA-5300 multi-channel amp to power the surround speakers. Doing 7.1 setup. 
My front speakers are B&W 800 D3, B&W HTM1 D3 center, B&W 804 D3 & 805 D3 used for surrounds. 

I'm using these gears strictly for home theater, bluray movies mostly but occasionally I wanted to spin some red book CD in this home theater room.
I do have a dedicated stereo setup in a separate dedicated 2ch listening room that consists of completely different equipments and speakers. And I use this 2ch room to listen to music (hi-rez PCM/DSD, SACD & CD. My 2ch equipments in this dedicated 2ch room are of much higher qualities than my Classe/B&W gears in my home theater room. 

So back to my dedicated home theater room setup....before I purchase a pair of xlr balanced analog interconnects to connect my Oppo 105 to my Classe SSP 800 I wanted to know which has superior sounding DAC for listening to CD, the DAC in the Oppo 105 or the DAC in the Classe SSP 800 preamp processor? So far I've only been using the Oppo 105 strictly as a bluray player for bluray disc playbacks only via HDMI to my Classe SSP 800. I never got to try the quality of the DAC in the Oppo 105.
Again this would be for occasional listening to cd.

Thanks in advance.


caphill
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,672 posts
 
C'mon.  Buy/borrow a pair of XLRs (or lend them to yourself from your other system) and try it yourself.  It's the only way for you to know.
rshad0000
268 posts
 
I have a ssp800 and oppo105.   The oppo105 is superior imo, however i agree with kr4, borrow some xlrs and listen for yourself.  Happy Listening!
caphill OP
673 posts
 
rshad0000, is your Oppo 105 modded or standard? If it was modded I'm pretty sure the modded Oppo 105 would sound superior to the Classe SSP 800. 
I just snagged a pair of XLR analog cables from my own HT setup, the ones that connect the SSP 800 to the amp drive drives the surrounds and plugged them in between my Oppo 105 and the SSP 800 and set the SSP 800 in analog stereo bypass mode and have been listening to some stereo CDs in my dedicated HT room. This was the first time I listened to stereo CD in my HT room. 
I also played some SACD through the Oppo 105. FYI, my Oppo 105 isn't modded as I don't feel a need to because I'm only using this system for strictly HT. 

Anyways, both DACs sounded pretty good and IMO the SSP 800 is slightly superior but not by much. IMO the Classe was a bit more refined and smoother overall. The difference wasn't large. That was just my own observations and subjective opinion. As a matter of fact, I was using better quality XLR analog cables than my Transparent Premium HDMI cable that's used between the Oppo and the SSP 800. I was using the Transparent XL Reference XLR analog cables to connect the Oppo 105 105 to the SSP 800 during comparison session. I would have to say that the Oppo 105 is a bargain and offers great value for what it does. 

So rshad0000, I was curious if your Oppo 105 is a modded unit cause you said that the Oppo 105 was superior to the SSP 800.  

Now I'm a bit tempted to borrow a pair of Transparent Opus XLR analog interconnects from my own dedicated stereo listening room to patch between the Oppo 105 and the SSP 800 and see how it would perform or sound. 

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