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Blu Ray player versus CD/SACD player.

No info on my system, just a general, straight-up question for those that would like to offer some general, straight-up input.

I have a decent analog system, but when listening to CDs or SACDs I have been using a hold-over from my home theater days, an Oppo BDP-103 Blu Ray player which can play a variety of discs, including switching between PCM and DSD.

I have been very happy with the Oppo but now it’s getting a little long in the tooth, I’m wondering should I stick with it or start researching a CD/SACD stand-alone player for my digital discs?

Should I get a unit that specializes in music playback or stick with the Oppo as “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” Will I notice a difference between the Oppo and a unit that is built for primary music purposes?

Just looking for a general sense of peoples thoughts, especially those that have maybe made a similar switch?

Thanks for any feedback!

Ian the BigE

 

ianhorseman

Showing 2 responses by mahler123

mahler123
3,081 posts
 

Budget?

I use a 105 in to a Bryston DAC3.  The Bryston has HDMI inputs.  I output the DSD layer into the HDMI for SACD, and for redbook I use one of the S/PDIF outputs into a mini DSP (room processor-it won’t work with SACD).  Before I had the mini DSP I just used the HDMI output for everything.

  The weak point of the 103 is the DAC.  Keep it as a transport and upgrade your DAC

mahler123
3,081 posts
 

@ianhorseman 

 

I probably got needlessly complicated in my post.  Suffice to say when I got the Bryston DAC3 I used the HDMI input for everything, SACD and red book, as the HDMI inputs seem to give results equal to their other inputs.  My room has some oddities, and I was using Room Correction software in my other systems, so I thought I would try some RC in the two channel system, thus the mini DSP, which won't work with DSD.  So the SACD replay doesnt get the benefit of room correction, but otherwise sounds outstanding as the DSD layer of the SACDs is outputted into the DAC.

   Regarding Marantz SACD players-I have owned a few, and they are very satisfying, but they do tend to roll off the top end.  Since most music lives in the midrange, this may not be terribly important, depending what you listen to

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