Adding a SACD player

Not quite.

Check that your power amps really have dual inputs. Very few do.

In most cases, the XLR and RCA are connected directly to the same input on the power amp - the switch merely changes the way ground is connected. If that's the case, having both XLR and RCA connected means both are active simultaneously. And even if you power one down, it means the other's acting as an antenna or creating all sorts of weird impedance values.

You might want to look at getting a good analog preamp into the mix.

The DAC3.5VB II IMHO outclasses the company's Pre3 (have not tried their Pre3VB) so you might have to spring for a better preamp. I'd recommend having an audition of the Ayre KX5/KXR or the Audio Research Reference 5SE, both of which I found to have good synergies with the Bel Canto.

Thanks Doggie, I'm sure glad I asked before I jumped on buying a uni player. I just figured since I've been accumulating a lot of hybrid sacds lately, mainly for the better mastering(Mobile Fidelity, Audio Fidelity), that I would take advantage of the hi-rez layer at not too steep a price. I will enjoy what I have for now.

Yes, I've been buying a whole lot of SACDs recently as well.

Next one on my list is Belafonte at Carnegie which is due for a re-release. Finally!! I also have that vinyl on order.

Okay, I'm still not quite giving up on this. One possible workaround, albeit a bit of a hassle, is maybe once a month I'll disconnect the dac from the amps, then connect the uni player directly to the amps. Then I will commence with Hi-Rez week! :)) Would that work?

The Oppo can output HR music (PCM) over SPDIF if the media it's playing does not have copy protection. So that means it can stream 24/192 files from a USB HDD and can send that to the Bel Canto.

So you only really need to do this with SACDs and BluRays.