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DIGITAL HIGH-RES AUDIO SYSTEM -HELP PLEASE

I need your expert advice on building a 24 bit/96Khz, 24/192Khz max, computer based home audio system I'd like to integrate into my home audio/ht system. I'm not totally clueless on what I need but I could definitely use some advice and direction as well as helpful tips. I have a fairly good audio system I currently use for ht and music playback. So, I'm not starting from scratch but want to incorporate computer audio and WAV and FLAC file streaming and storage into my system. Video streaming and storage can wait for a future time.

My current system consists of the following:
Plasma HDTV
Full 5.1 surround setup (5 spkrs and 1 subwoofer with in-ceiling surrounds).
Three separate stereo amps that power the main l/r, subwoofer/ center and l/r surrounds.
Directv satellite source (box has HDMI and digital audio output)
Older DVD/CD player as source used for movies and music.
Surround sound processor (older unit with just coax and optical audio inputs/outputs, no HDMI or USB inputs/outputs).
Separate tube preamp with HT Passthru. I'd run computer analog outputs to this for 2-channel listening.

For computer audio I already have some components:

Newer Laptop with 4 USB2.0 ports, dual core processor, 2 GB RAM and 110 GB internal hard-drive that can be solely devoted to a computer audio system(only 35 GB free on HD, however).
Wireless high-speed LAN with smart HDTV already attached and streaming Netflix, Hulu, Pandora and Amazon Prime to the tv and laptop.
JRiver v19.0 media player installed but no downloads yet and only a handful of cds ripped.
Cambridge Audio DacMagic 24 bit/192khz DAC.

My current budget is only about $1,500 and was thinking my next steps should be to:
A. Buy a new or used Oppo BDP-103 or, preferably a BDP-105 to replace my DacMagic and Sony DVD,CD player and get at least into 21st century technology.
B. Buy a NAS next to connect via USB to my laptop when more funds become available.

So, please let me know the following:

1. Am I thinking correctly and on the right path with buying an Oppo followed by a NAS?
2. Is there a method to connect my laptop, and future NAS wirelessly to the Oppo? I'm currently running a 12ft USB cable from my laptop to my DAC. I know cabled is better than wireless but curious how much better.
3. Any suggestions for a good, affordable NAS?
4. Does the Oppo BDP-105 have internal surround sound decoding capability that would allow me to run analog cables to my 3 HT amps directly from its analog outputs and substitute for my Parasound processor?

Thanks in advance for any advice and guidance.
Tim



128x128noble100
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
You can use Win8 WMP wirelessly to stream audio to your OPPO. It is a DLNA device so this is built-in. The problem will be audio quality (jitter) because it uses a clock inside the Oppo for master clock. Also, not sure how user friendly DLNA will be with Win8. I have heard some complaints.

If it were me, I would use a USB converter like the Off-Ramp 5 that delivers a low-jitter hi-res signal over coax to the Oppo. You will have to connect the computer (any type) using up to 16 foot USB cable to the USB converter and then a really good coax cable about 1.5-2.5m long to the Oppo. The coax input on the Oppo is very good.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
I misspoke - the DLNA to the Oppo is wired Ethernet, so you will need a router nearby.

I use my Oppo with wired Ethernet to view internet TV and movies.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
gz3827
232 posts
 
Bowing out ... lotsa luck
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
Tim - I have taken a look at the user manual for the Oppo BDP105 and although it appears you can access media files on a NAS drive over a wireless network it starts getting quite complex and if you have never done this type of thing before it can suck the life right out of you.

My experience with another media player that used similar techniques and protocols to access data over a LAN was very frustrating and made me adopt a different solution that was much easier to setup and far more elegant to use, but that solution does not address your particular requirements.

Since I have no hands on experience of this type of player there is no real advice I can provide. Perhaps other members can assist you

Wished I could have been of more assistance :-(

Good Luck
almarg's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
almarg
9,670 posts
 
My main concern is sending audio files wirelessly to the Oppo for playback. Does the included wireless dongle on the Oppo allow this?
Yes. While I have no experience with Oppo equipment, I'm not sure that it would be as daunting as Willie is anticipating. See page 44 (pdf page 48) of the manual. Note in particular the third method that is indicated:
Accessing a SMB/CIFS [e.g., a Microsoft Windows Network] client: the player can directly access files shared through SMB/CIFS clients over the network, as if accessing an external USB hard drive. Most computers, especially those installed with Windows, already have an SMB client embedded. Please refer to respective OS instructions to set up the SMB/CIFS shared file/folder.
So if you have the music files on an external USB hard drive connected to the laptop, it seems to me that you would just have to set the properties of the folder containing them to allow them to be shared on the network.
Should I just upgrade the internal hd on my laptop to a 1TB unit?
No. For a variety of reasons it is generally considered highly preferable to have music files stored on a different drive than the one containing the operating system and program files.
Do external 1TB hds exist that are wireless or do they all connect via hardwire into the USB port?
Generally only NAS-type devices will provide wireless connectivity for hard drives. Plain old external hard drives connect via either USB (most common), or other wired interfaces such as Firewire, eSATA, and Thunderbolt. Some external drives provide more than one of these interfaces.
Ideally, I'd like to locate an added hd next to the Oppo in my rack.
Given the foregoing, you could either connect an external USB hard drive directly to the Oppo, and play the files on it via the Oppo, or you could connect the USB hard drive to the laptop and play the files on it via the network wirelessly. Or, since you would have the files stored identically on at least two drives for backup purposes, you could have one drive connected to the Oppo and one connected to the laptop, and play from either.

Using a high quality USB-to-S/PDIF converter between the laptop and the Oppo, as Steve suggested, is another alternative, that I suspect would give excellent results but at considerably greater cost. The tradeoff of cost vs. benefit between that and the other approaches would involve differences in the sonic performance of the Oppo through its various interfaces, about which I have no particular knowledge.

Regards,
-- Al
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