Classe SSP 800's DAC vs Oppo 105's DAC


Hello,
I am wondering which is a superior sounding DAC for listening to CD? The DAC in the Oppo 105 or the DAC in the Classe SSP 800 preamp processor? 

I have the Oppo 105 connected via Transparent Premium HDMI cable to my Classe SSP 800 in my dedicated home theater room. My power amps are : Classe CAM 600 monoblocks (pair) to power front speakers; Classe CAM 300 monoblock (single) to power a center speaker; Classe CA-5300 multi-channel amp to power the surround speakers. Doing 7.1 setup. 
My front speakers are B&W 800 D3, B&W HTM1 D3 center, B&W 804 D3 & 805 D3 used for surrounds. 

I'm using these gears strictly for home theater, bluray movies mostly but occasionally I wanted to spin some red book CD in this home theater room.
I do have a dedicated stereo setup in a separate dedicated 2ch listening room that consists of completely different equipments and speakers. And I use this 2ch room to listen to music (hi-rez PCM/DSD, SACD & CD. My 2ch equipments in this dedicated 2ch room are of much higher qualities than my Classe/B&W gears in my home theater room. 

So back to my dedicated home theater room setup....before I purchase a pair of xlr balanced analog interconnects to connect my Oppo 105 to my Classe SSP 800 I wanted to know which has superior sounding DAC for listening to CD, the DAC in the Oppo 105 or the DAC in the Classe SSP 800 preamp processor? So far I've only been using the Oppo 105 strictly as a bluray player for bluray disc playbacks only via HDMI to my Classe SSP 800. I never got to try the quality of the DAC in the Oppo 105.
Again this would be for occasional listening to cd.

Thanks in advance.


caphill

Showing 12 responses by caphill

rshad0000, is your Oppo 105 modded or standard? If it was modded I'm pretty sure the modded Oppo 105 would sound superior to the Classe SSP 800. 
I just snagged a pair of XLR analog cables from my own HT setup, the ones that connect the SSP 800 to the amp drive drives the surrounds and plugged them in between my Oppo 105 and the SSP 800 and set the SSP 800 in analog stereo bypass mode and have been listening to some stereo CDs in my dedicated HT room. This was the first time I listened to stereo CD in my HT room. 
I also played some SACD through the Oppo 105. FYI, my Oppo 105 isn't modded as I don't feel a need to because I'm only using this system for strictly HT. 

Anyways, both DACs sounded pretty good and IMO the SSP 800 is slightly superior but not by much. IMO the Classe was a bit more refined and smoother overall. The difference wasn't large. That was just my own observations and subjective opinion. As a matter of fact, I was using better quality XLR analog cables than my Transparent Premium HDMI cable that's used between the Oppo and the SSP 800. I was using the Transparent XL Reference XLR analog cables to connect the Oppo 105 105 to the SSP 800 during comparison session. I would have to say that the Oppo 105 is a bargain and offers great value for what it does. 

So rshad0000, I was curious if your Oppo 105 is a modded unit cause you said that the Oppo 105 was superior to the SSP 800.  

Now I'm a bit tempted to borrow a pair of Transparent Opus XLR analog interconnects from my own dedicated stereo listening room to patch between the Oppo 105 and the SSP 800 and see how it would perform or sound. 

People usually have their gears modified for the better, right? I've heard from a lot of people who have their Oppo 105 modded and they claimed that they sounded significantly better than the stock Oppo 105.

I've personally never experienced it myself. 

First of all, my tv isn't 4k. I'm still using the Pioneer Kuro 1080p. 
I'm not going to mod my Oppo 105 as I'm only using this setup mostly for playing or watching bluray aka home theater. Occasionally I just need to spin CD through the Oppo 105 in my dedicated HT room. This room isn't for 2ch music listening sessions. So I'm not really compelled to have my Oppo 105 modded. 

I have a dedicated stereo setup in a separate 2ch listening room used for listening to 2ch music only. In this dedicated 2ch room I'm using the following equipments : 
* DCS Vivaldi stacks which consists of a master clock/streamer unit, upsampler unit, DAC unit, SACD/CD unit.
* Linn LP12 Klimax version turntable with all Klimax upgrades & accessories that includes : Linn Ekos SE tonearm, Linn Kandid mc cartridge, Linn Urika phonostage fitted internally, 2x Linn Radikal power supply units, one for the TT and the other one for the Urika phonostage preamp, Keel machined sub-chasis and armboard, Trampolin suspended aluminium base board integrated.
* Dan D'Agostino Momentum stereo analog linestage preamp.
* Dan D'Agostino Momentum M400 monoblock amps (2pairs) in bridge mode
* Wilson Audio Alexx speakers. 

Question for you guys regarding the subwoofer in my HT room. Currently I'm using a JL Audio Gotham sub. Do you think I should sell my Gotham and get 2 smaller sized JL subs for my HT system. My SSP 800 can be configured to use 3 subs. The HT room is rather large (40×60). 

lalitk,

Actually the Classe SSP 800 is very good when used as a stereo analog preamp in stereo analog bypass mode, especially coming from an AV processor. I tried it in my dedicated 2ch listening room yesterday for the first time. I swapped my Dan D'Agostino Momentum stereo linestage preamp with the SSP 800 and use the SSP 800 as a stereo analog preamp. It did not perform at my D'Agostino preamp level but it isn't fair comparison to begin with trying to compare a $40k stereo preamp with a $9500 av pre pro. But the SSP 800 did not embarrass at all. 

It kinda took me by surprise and I can easily recommend the SSP 800 for someone looking for a great sounding quality pre pro that can excel in both stereo and home theater.  

lalitk,

Of course, I'm not expecting the same level of 2ch audio performance in my HT room as the one I have in my dedicated 2ch room. They aren't at the same level of sonic fidelity. From time to time I just wanted to listen to 2ch music in my HT room. But again I will not be purchasing an expensive stereo source somponent in this HT room since the main usage of this HT room is movies (bluray). I might purchase the Oppo 205 once I upgrade to a 4k tv or 4k projector display pretty soon. Still loving my Pioneer Kuro plasma (1080p) tv though. Great picture quality.


I've heard great things from other people about the Krell Evo 707 processor but it is much more expensive than the SSP 800 though. If I'm not mistaken I think it did retail for around $30k when purchased new. IMO for an AV pre pro costing that much it usually would perform really well in both 2ch and surrounds. 

I am planning to get a dolby atmos & dts-x equipped HT processor and am looking into Datasat or Theta Casablanca or perhaps the new Lyngdorf MP-50 processor that was recently introduced. I am also considering the Meridian Reference 861 v8 but will wait till Meridian releases the new modular board that will support dolby atmos, dts-x etc. Do you think the Krell Evo 707 will upgrade its audio & video boards to accommodate dolby atmos, dts-x etc in the near future? Is the Evo 707 still in production by any chance? Cause I couldn't find it on Krell website anymore and we don't have a single Krell dealer in our area. 
My local dealer sells Dan D'Agostino but not Krell any longer. They used to carry Krell in the past when Dan was still with Krell. It's where I purchased my Dan D'Agostino Momentum gears at. 



lalitk,
I did suspect so cause the Evo 707 is longer on the Krell website. The only HT processor currently offered by Krell is the Foundation. 
Eventually I want to go dolby atmos & dts-x setup in the near future but currently waiting for more processors that will support them. And when that happens I will need to add more multi-channel amp and of course speakers. 

Are you doing hybrid setup or do you have separate rooms and setup for each 2ch and home theater? What are the rest of your equipments and speakers? 

In regards to a 4K projector for your HT setup I would highly recommend Sony. 

By the way, I totally forgot to post and report back here re the SSP 800’s DAC vs the Oppo 105’s DAC for listening to 2ch PCM music sources such as CD/HDCD or DVD-Audio downmixed in stereo.
I now have the Oppo 205 and the Lyngdorf MP-50 pre pro in my dedicated home theater room. But when I still had the Oppo 105 and the Classe SSP 800 I finally did get to compare between the two DACs just for kicks eventhough this is my dedicated home theater room and strictly used for home theater (surround movies) and normally the Oppo is connected to my AV pre pro only via HDMI. But I was curious how the two DACs would compare in stereo for music playbacks. So for the sake of comparison I had to add a pair of XLR balanced interconnects to patch between the Oppo 105 & the SSP 800 as well as a spdif cable to patch between the two.

I found that the DAC in the Classe SSP 800 is indeed superior sounding : more refined, smoother, better dynamic inner details rythm and drive and better image focus and overall less digital sounding than the Oppo 105. In comparison to the SSP 800 the Oppo 105 sounded flatter less dynamic not as refined and smooth especially with vocals more digital sounding but a bit more airy and transparent.
For comparison purposes I was using a Nordost Valhalla 2 HDMI cable for DVD-Audio playbacks downmixed in stereo, Shunyata Research Sigma spdif cable for CD/HDCD playbacks and a pair of Transparent Reference XLR analog interconnects for CD/HDCD & DVD-Audio playbacks downmixed in stereo.
Using the same Shunyata Sigma power cables for both the Oppo & the SSP 800.

The differences between the two DACs or how much better the SSP 800 compared to the Oppo 105 depends on your associated gears (power amps, speakers, cables, etc). In a highly resolving and revealing setup and system the differences were readily discernible and wasn’t subtle at all. In less resolving and revealing setup and system the differences can be perhaps somewhat subtle but still discernible.
But I must say that the Oppo 105 wasn't bad considering the asking price and it is a universal bluray disc player after all, not a dedicated audio only player.

I did the comparison in my own home theater room. My front L/R speakers are B&W 800 D3 driven by a pair of Classe Delta CAM 600 class AB monoblock amps. This is a highly resolving and revealing setup and system. My AC power line products are 2 Audioquest Niagara 7000 for this home theater room since I have several power amps in this room : 3 monoblocks for front LCR, a five-channel amp for surrounds, and recently added 2 stereo amps for my overhead height ceiling speakers for Atmos setup.
Everything are plugged to these two Audioquest Niagara 7000 except for the 2 subwoofers. The subs are plugged directly to the wall.

Agreed. The stock Oppo 105 is very digital sounding especially for CD playbacks.