DC-1 versus oppo105

[frisco]

this may be an oppo 105 question, but since it involves a dC-1 I'll ask it here.

i just purchased an oppo105 for ht , but I just had to test its dac against my dc-1. I tested two connections: oppo-coaxial digital audio cable-dc1-Jolida fusion pre-speakers ( phase tech pc 60ca) and oppo analgoue-Jolida fusion-pc60cas

anyway connecting through the dc1 give hugely louder sound than connecting the oppo directly to the pre amp. Does the dc1 have that much more gain than the oppo (oppos analogue volume setting is 100 btw)

im thinking the issue is with the oppo, since I have to turn the volume of the pre way up to get loud sound. Am I missing something obvious does leaving the coaxial connection in but turning off the dc1 interferewith.the oppos analogue audio outputs?

by the way I am having discerning a difference between the two discs other than volume

[frisco]

Geez the oppo was set for variable, moving it to fixed output takes care of the volume problem. So I guess maximum setting at variable does not equal fixed output.


I still am having trouble distinguishing between the Dacs.

[klinemj]

Glad you got the volume sorted out. I found that to compare the two, I had to turn the volume on the Oppo down a bit to level match them.

When I did, I found the difference to be clear enough in my system that I easily picked it out, as did a friend who didn't know which he was listening to. He picked it blind 5-10 times in a row. Both of us favored the dc-1. But YMMV.

Mark

[Boomzilla]

I hear significant differences between the Stealth DC-1 DAC and the Oppo's. In my room & with my system, the Oppo sounds better (and by no small margin), but in garbulky's room, the DC-1 sounds WONDERFUL. We don't know why. But we can both clearly hear the DAC differences.

The comparison, although not exact, has more than average in common: Both garbulky and I use Emotiva amplifiers; we both use Axiom speakers; we both care about sound.

To do the comparisons, the Oppo was run at "line out" volume (not using its digital volume control), while the DC-1 was used both without a preamp (using its internal analog volume control) and at full output with an analog preamp controlling the volume. Our conclusions were consistent - different! Why the Oppo sounds better in my room is an unknown.

[rtg97229]

I like both the oppo 105 and the DC-1 but would pick the 105 more often for music. The cost difference makes it a bit unfair and both are very good.