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Post by 4thchoice on Mar 18, 2016 12:31:51 GMT -5
Sorry for seemingly repeating a common topic and for the length of this post (figure more info I can provide you the more useful feedback I can get). Other threads only gave me more questions not answers and added to my uncertainty/confusion (ever been there?), so posting this. Did a search and read a lot of threads (both here and other sites), some useful, some not. (Warning - am also posting this on other forums) Anyhow, on to my request. Looking to upgrade my CDP. NUMBER ONE PRIORITY IS 2CH SOUND QUALITY. Would also really like SACD capability (2CH & 5.1). Will be used in a HT setup, but I am at least 80/20 music over movies and have no problem keeping my Sony blu-ray player for movies. Not against a universal player but lean towards a dedicated CD/SACD player. Am open to considering 2 players – one for 2CH audio now and down the road a (used?) player that will handle 5.1 SACD (over HDMI tho’ so probably a universal). New tt cartridge coming soon - LPs and redbook CDs primary sources. Don’t have balanced or analog 5.1 inputs on my AVR nor a DAC (presently) and minimal interest in UHD blu-ray or streaming. Open to used/refurbished but will NOT use ebay (past problems). Budget wise - cheaper (dollar wise) the better, no set amount, but $2000 or less would be preferred, possibly more if an exceptional deal pops up and then may dip into the cartridge and/or room treatment budget for help. Present leading candidates include OPPO (stock or remote possibility of a 103D and a DAC or modded 105D), Cambridge Audio (752 & CXU) and Marantz (8005 or used 11S1,2,3 or ?). What are your thoughts? Thanx for your input.  |
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Post by drtrey3 on Mar 18, 2016 12:38:47 GMT -5
I would go for the Oppo 105 for those priorities and never look back.
Trey
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Post by brutiarti on Mar 18, 2016 12:39:41 GMT -5
Sorry for seemingly repeating a common topic and for the length of this post (figure more info I can provide you the more useful feedback I can get). Other threads only gave me more questions not answers and added to my uncertainty/confusion (ever been there?), so posting this. Did a search and read a lot of threads (both here and other sites), some useful, some not. (Warning - am also posting this on other forums) Anyhow, on to my request. Looking to upgrade my CDP. NUMBER ONE PRIORITY IS 2CH SOUND QUALITY. Would also really like SACD capability (2CH & 5.1). Will be used in a HT setup, but I am at least 80/20 music over movies and have no problem keeping my Sony blu-ray player for movies. Not against a universal player but lean towards a dedicated CD/SACD player. Am open to considering 2 players – one for 2CH audio now and down the road a (used?) player that will handle 5.1 SACD (over HDMI tho’ so probably a universal). New tt cartridge coming soon - LPs and redbook CDs primary sources. Don’t have balanced or analog 5.1 inputs on my AVR nor a DAC (presently) and minimal interest in UHD blu-ray or streaming. Open to used/refurbished but will NOT use ebay (past problems). Budget wise - cheaper (dollar wise) the better, no set amount, but $2000 or less would be preferred, possibly more if an exceptional deal pops up and then may dip into the cartridge and/or room treatment budget for help. Present leading candidates include OPPO (stock or remote possibility of a 103D and a DAC or modded 105D), Cambridge Audio (752 & CXU) and Marantz (8005 or used 11S1,2,3 or ?). What are your thoughts? Thanx for your input. Pick the oppo bdp-105 and be done. I wasted so much time looking for the same thing as you do. Tried CD players up to $5k thinking a standalone cd player will sound better than a multiplayer but i was wrong. I only use my oppo for cd and sacd ONLY. I know that has tons of features that i'm not using and i paid for but i don't really care after listening my system everyday with a smile.Other might think different |
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Post by brubacca on Mar 18, 2016 13:19:00 GMT -5
I don't like the sound signature of the Oppo 105. I find it unnaturally harsh in the treble.
If you are a TT guy give a listen to the Marantz offerings you spoke of. Also Arcam has a CD/SACD player also.
If you are willing to forgo the SACD the Rega Apollo-R is excellent.
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Post by creimes on Mar 18, 2016 13:39:30 GMT -5
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Post by Bonzo on Mar 18, 2016 13:54:50 GMT -5
I don't like the sound signature of the Oppo 105. I find it unnaturally harsh in the treble. If you are a TT guy give a listen to the Marantz offerings you spoke of. Also Arcam has a CD/SACD player also. If you are willing to forgo the SACD the Rega Apollo-R is excellent. This guy is literally an Oppo 105 that uses a Wolfson DAC instead of the Sabre used in the Oppo. The sound is supposedly more neutral from what I've read. www.cambridgeaudio.com/products/hifi-and-home-cinema/azur-752bd# |
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Post by mountain on Mar 18, 2016 14:10:28 GMT -5
I agree with getting the oppo 105 and not looking back. I searched and read for a long time and when I finally bought the 105 I was very happy and chided myself for waiting so long.
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Post by goodfellas27 on Mar 18, 2016 14:30:14 GMT -5
OPPO 105
& DONE!
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Post by garbulky on Mar 18, 2016 17:04:27 GMT -5
If you are fixed on SACD playback you limit yourself hugely by requiring a compatible DAC for playback. And this DAC is usually multichannel. Your field of choice is narrowed. If money wasn't an objective you could buy a really good 2 channel DAC like the Multibit Schiit Yggdrassil and then buy a different DAC to do SACD. Then use a preamp to switch between the two. However there unless you go in for something like an XSP-1 which has an HT Bypass feature, it is as little bit harder to intengrate multichannel. Not impossible, just a little bit harder/more inconvenient than a press of a button. Where I am at, money is always a consideration. So I have decided purposefully to forog mutli channel and focus on getting good two channel reproduction. Currently I have a DC-1 going to an XPA-1 gen 2. Which imo sounds quite good. Lots of depth and dimension. There is also a ntural tone. It's impressive what this relatively low cost DAC can do. My upgrade path is Schiit Ygdrassil Audio GD HE-1 or Master 1 Preamp. Possibly dual subs. (Power sound audio S15.) The Schiit, Audio GD, and XPA-1 gen 2 costs between 4500 and 6k depending on which Audio GD you get and used prices. This setup will not do SACD the way it's supposed to be done. But for regular 2 channel music, my hope is it will meet my standards for "end game" or at least it's fine leave it alone.  |
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Post by cheddar on Mar 18, 2016 20:18:43 GMT -5
My thoughts are that you are wasting your money pursuing audiophile mythology. CD players don't have 'sounds'... DAC's shouldn't either if they are functioning correctly.
Is your current CDP and/or bluray player no longer functioning? If not, the new oppo player suggested in this thread seems like a suitable replacement, as long as the cost is reasonable. You probably don't need to spend the money on the 105 for what I understand you to be looking for.
2 channel sound quality will be determined by your speakers, the quality of your recordings played, and your room.
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novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,222 
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Post by novisnick on Mar 18, 2016 20:48:06 GMT -5
My thoughts are that you are wasting your money pursuing audiophile mythology. CD players don't have 'sounds'... DAC's shouldn't either if they are functioning correctly. Is your current CDP and/or bluray player no longer functioning? If not, the new oppo player suggested in this thread seems like a suitable replacement, as long as the cost is reasonable. You probably don't need to spend the money on the 105 for what I understand you to be looking for. 2 channel sound quality will be determined by your speakers, the quality of your recordings played, and your room. Must be well aged cheddar, sage advice my new friend!! Welcome to the nut house! Lots of wonderful friends to be found here. Please allow me to pour you you first cup of refreshing Emo Blue Cool-Aid
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Post by garbulky on Mar 18, 2016 21:38:43 GMT -5
2 channel sound quality will be determined by your speakers, the quality of your recordings played, and your room. Welcome to Emotiva lounge Cheddar! I agree with you on the above but I do think that if you have enough factors right (like the room, room acoustic treatments, good speakers, and DEFINITELY good positioning) there is a good chance you can also hear differences in DAC circuitry and to a smaller extent, amps. Granted...not with every DAC and amp but with some of the better ones... I have several DACS and almost all sound good. But they do have different sound signatures and detail retrieval. For instance I just listened to a LH Labs Pulse infinity DAC which retails for 3k and it sounded quite different from my DC-1 in the treble. The XDA-1 also sounds different from my DC-1 in the mid range (not as much) and treble (has a glare to the sound). The XDA-2 sounds different from both of these despite using the same chip. The main difference is a lack of dynamics and some finer detail vs the DC-1. The Asus Xonar Essence ST sounds quite nice by itself. But when hooked through the DC-1 provided a more fine detail. A very similar sound between the two with the Xonar just edging it out on finer detail and a certain very minor ease to the sound. Surprisingly the Xonar Essence ST is the cheapest of all these solutions. They both have similar tones too recreating acoustic instruments more believably. Now on the surface these differences are minor when taken by itself. But when combined together they can make a significant difference to your musical enjoyment. Anyway that's my two subjective cents in the ring. Welcome and enjoy your stay. We are all a bit nuts here. |
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Post by Gary Cook on Mar 19, 2016 2:51:18 GMT -5
My suggestion would be an ERC-3, the only CD player you will ever need. with it's onboard DAC, sounds better to my ears in my room with my system than anything else that I have tried. Which includes Oppos, Marantz, Denon, Yamaha, NAD etc with various external DAC's.
Cheers
Gary
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