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Oppo 95 vs. Mac Mini + dac

My oppo-95 is still under trial period and I'd like to explore any other options that I may have.

Before oppo-95, I was running Electrocompaniet ECD-1 dac fed by AppleTV. Beautiful midrange but the rest of freq extremes and soundstage are bettered by oppo-95. Mainly due to AppleTV lacks of audiophile quality (superb interface and convenience though).

But coming from AppleTV, I feel oppo-95 user interface, netflix/youtube streaming are awful. Although very happy with sound quality improvement right now (oppo @450hr burn-in), I'm not sure if this is the user interface I'd like to live with - I can control AppleTV with iphone but with oppo, I need a monitor and have to use oppo remote. So, the following is the options what I can think of. Any suggestion and commentary are welcome.

1) Get a quality C7 power cord for AppleTV (Nordost Purple Flare or PS Audio Jewel). Try if ECD-1 + AppleTV + power cord will improve enough to return oppo-95. Maybe wishful thinking.

2) As mentioned above, even with sound quality improvement on oppo-95, I'm not entirely satisfied with its midrange and some digital glare. I may need to get at least Modwright SS mod ($500). Tube-mod probably is a little too expensive ($2000). Oppo USB feature is good but interface issue remains. Hopefully, the mod sound quality improvement is good enough to live with this.

3) Return oppo-95, get a mac-mini (+ pure music or amarra) to use with ECD-1 dac. The thought of having all your music at your finger tip is really exciting. AppleTV may still have better interface but at least now I'll be able to use my iphone for control. Plus, I read somewhere that the latest mac mini power supply has been improved over the older models and I may not need a mod and be satisfied with it. Not sure if it is true or not. Maybe worthwhile to try this out? (with this option, I maybe able to explore some other external dac in the future as well)

I have revealing speakers, class A amp and very neutral SS pre.

Thanks in advance, folks.
kzhtoo
doggiehowser
672 posts
 
Try Audirvana Plus instead of Amarra or PureMusic.

And yes, option 3.

I think the Oppo sounded overly smooth which is pleasant at first but it does seem a little less detailed than some of the better DACs I've had.

Before you return the Oppo, if you have a Mac around, try the demo version of Audirvana and see if you like how it sounds vs the Oppo.
kzhtoo OP
222 posts
 
Thanks for the comments. It seems I should get a mac mini and do a comparison before making any decision.
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,428 posts
 
Kzhtoo - when you download music wirelessly (Airplay) from MacMini or Iphone/Ipad playback program becomes unimportant (unless it does additional processing like upsampling). MacMini side (playback program, memory, disk, power supply) is not important since you're sending chunks of data with no timing. Timing is recreated by AppleTV and might require reclocking if your DAC has limited jitter suppression.
kzhtoo OP
222 posts
 
Hi Kijanki,
Thanks for the reply.

I do not plan to add a Mac Mini if AppleTV can still be configured for high audio fidelity. I currently stream music from my iMac upstairs to AppleTV using iTunes Match.

The only reason I'm considering Mac Mini is because I thought AppleTV is the weak link and has to be replaced for better SQ. This is the reason I bought Oppo-95, but the interface is awful compared to AppleTV.

So, from your suggestion, this is maybe another option.
4) Return Oppo-95, keep AppleTV and ECD-1 DAC. Add a reclocker such as Synchro-Mesh in between. Still stream music from iMac upstairs to AppleTV.

Sounds like a good option.
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,428 posts
 
Kzhtoo, I use AE with Benchmark DAC1 that has strong jitter suppression. Music is on external Firewire HD of MacMini that I also use for other tasks. I also use 5GHz 802.11n Linksys router with dual band adapter on the MAC side (has only 2.4GHz). That way I'm more immune to interference since 5GHz is not very common and doesn't penetrate walls very well. My computer, router and AE are in the same room.
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