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A DAC for the Oppo 105

I haven't played discs a lot lately. I am and have always been a vinyl-dominate listener, and really got a CD player for the vinyl desert that began in the late 80's and really only abated in the 2010's. I found plenty of vinyl in those years, but these days, it pretty much automatic that there will be a vinyl release of almost all of the albums in which I am interested. 

So, because I am a music lover, and format is less important than the music, I did manage to get a pretty big CD collection - counting box sets, I am probably around 1500. I have burned maybe 400-500 of them onto a server, and that works great (I stream Qobuz, too and that is a great place to try out new things. Wonderful!) The idea that i would ever rip all of my CD collection into this server is a fantasy - I really doubt I will do this. So...

When I play a disc directly from the Oppo, I find myself distracted by elements of the sound that I don't care for - it can be a bit thin, unsaturated, a little fatiguing. When I play that same recording through the ripped file that goes from my Small Green Computer server, to the Sonore Optical Rendu, to my Ayre QB-9 Twenty DAC, it is much more as I like it. I assume most of this is because I prefer the Ayre DAC to the DAC built into the Oppo. Sadly, the Ayre DAC is USB only, and I can't take the Oppo digits and send them to the Ayre.

But since I am a realist, and will not rip my full CD collection, I am wondering if there is a relatively inexpensive DAC that I could use to improve the Oppo. That machine is getting old and DAC technology seems to be the end of the digital chain that improves the most, the most often. 

Any suggestions for an affordable upgrade to the DAC built into the Oppo?

Thanks,

David

dtorc
dtorc OP
21 posts
 

Thank you to the second wave of contributors. I wish the D.BOB did output USB! Oh well...

I think that a used Codec could be an interesting approach. I seem to like the Ayre house sound. I've always understood (like it was a given) that Toslink was a lesser thing compared to a 75ohm connector. Was that a myth, too?

The possibility that the Oppo fails as a transport never occurred to me. I suppose that can be at the pickup, or in the SPDIF output. I've never used it as a transport only. Though others here have had some success using it as a transport.

Again, thank you for all the sharing...

old_ears's avatar
old_ears
47 posts
 

   I've repeated this post a few times...here's the article that was published Jan,2021, that describes using an OPPO player to output SACD content via an HDMI cable to a cheap I2s breakout box and on to the I2s port on the Pontus II.   I duplicated the setup a year later, buying a Pontus II (with I2s) and a $50 I2s breakout box from China via E-Bay (1 month delivery)....This provides the very best CD/SACD sound to my KTE Holo Bliss amp and Susvara HPs....bi-passing the OPPO ok, but old, DACs.   Now even cheaper because the Denifrips lower models now have an I2s port.  (The I2s pins were already set compatible in the Pontus)

  https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/at-long-last-listen-to-your-physical-sacds-through-an-outboard-dac-r971/

 

old_ears's avatar
old_ears
47 posts
 

BTW, the Denifrips USB port from a new MacBook Pro can also provide just as good sounding Hi-res binaural downloaded files as the I2s CD/Blueray connection.  The Pontus handles all the buffering/oversampling and re-clocking functions you need regardless of source...sounds notably better than e.g great CD quality streams from RadioParadise.

jimmy2615
426 posts
 

Just out of curiosity, have you tried your Sonore to the Oppo using the USB cable?  That would be a good way to see if there is a difference between the transport in the Oppo vs just its own DAC.  I just tried this myself.  I also have Sonore stuff.  I compared a CD playing in my Denon DCD A-110 to the same file ripped onto my hard drive into the Oppo via USB.  The Oppo still has a bit drier sound, could be harsh on some systems.  But I think it sounds better than playing the same CD through the Oppo.  

old_ears's avatar
old_ears
47 posts
 

OP, I was just reading up on Ayre products...pretty nice/expensive.  I guess the essence of my posts is that an I2s input port on a DAC will usually provide a step up in sound quality over USB/SPIDF/AES connections...YMMV.

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