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DACs for older gear

A seemingly knowledgeable poster at the Bryston thread of AudioAficionado suggested that the DAC process of my Bryston SP3 is older technology and that my Oppo 205 has a better DAC that I might use.  The SP3 has a number of features that make it flexible, including lots of balanced ports so I'm reluctant to discard it.  It appears as though DACs that accept HDMI input that I might use in front of the SP3 are rare -- I've read the licensing fees for HDMI are very expensive.  Is there an obvious solution?  Other than for the 205 and SP3, I've moved to the Ayre 5X series for stereo.   
Ag insider logo xs@2xdbphd
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dbphd OP
1,630 posts
 
I use balanced output from the Ayre DX-5 DSD to the KX-5/20 preamp for stereo, and have pretty much turned to the Oppo 205 for surround and HT with front LR passed through balanced analog to the KX-5, and surround to a pair of NAD C 268 Class D amps.

If frostdotcom is correct, I might connect the audio HDMI from the Ayre DX-5 to the SP3 for surround and HT.  I can then switch the NAD amps between XLR from the SP3 and RCA from the 205 to determine which I prefer.
audioht
12 posts
 
I compared two channel Oppo 205 analog out to that of Bryston SP3 and I could not hear any major or minor differences - it was too close to make any call. I did this after careful level matching (which was toughest part) and got my girlfriend to change connection to the amps. I used 3 scenarios

1. Oppo 205 direct to Amp using XLR analog out and Oppo vol control (no SP3 in setup)
2a. Oppo 205 analog out into SP3 RCA analog in (one of few which has bypass); SP3 XLR out connected to amp
2b. Oppo 205 digital in to Bryton SP3 ->amp

I level matched with SPL meter. My Salon2 speakers were set to Large (in both 205 and SP3) so disabled any bass management.

For CD and hi-rez (LPCM actually), I strained to hear differences.

At end of it all, I use bass management so SP3 offers best flexibility for me to use it as a hub. Also my SP3 is the latest model which has multichannel USB in (besides latest 4K module)- I spent $$ for it.

Oppo 205 is fantastic kit- and if one has simple setup with only one source- you do not need a HT processor and Oppo 205 would do. If you have HT setup, and multiple sources, then you do need a processor, and leveraging latest Bryston SP3 is a no brainer.

Edit: My Oppo 205 is modded unit with Oppomod LPS and Clock mods. 

Hope this helps,
Kris
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dbphd OP
1,630 posts
 
I've settled on separate stereo and HT setups.  The stereo setup uses Ayre 5X Twenty components with KEF Ref 1s.  The HT setup uses the Oppo 205 and NAD amps with 6 KEF LS50s.  Each setup has a pair of subs.  The setups reside in a single rack, but share no cables.

The stereo setup is used mostly for Roon, the HT setup for Cox Cable.

db 
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