2. digital
  3. 161932-19890

Digital direction needed

I have Roon on my Macbook.  I’m using my  OPPO 105 as the hub.  I know the OPPO has a Dac - probably a little outdated at this time.   Should I just start with a Dac in this chain?   I was waiting for some reasonable priced system that I could burn CDs too and perhaps use Tidal,  but those systems are still pretty costly.  
audiotumbler

Showing 2 responses by n80

n80
2,133 posts
 
I have the Oppo BDP-105D. I find the DAC in it to be perfectly acceptable although I am not a DAC connoisseur. Better than the Schiit Modi 2 Uber I had before it.

And with the Oppo everything is extremely flexible. I have a Mac Mini music server into which I burn my CDs. It plugs into the Oppo USB input. I run Sonos Connect via coax into the Oppo. I find doing searches and getting recommendations is better in the Amazon Music app than using Amazon Music via Sonos so I even have Amazon Music running through the Oppo via an old Apple TV using optical in (not optimal SQ there but perfectly fine for searching and researching.)

This is not a perfect set up for fussier audiophiles but it is not bad either. I’m quite happy with it and it is super convenient since I can run the whole thing with the Oppo remote and Apple Remote on my iPhone and switch between various inputs without ever leaving my chair ( a feature which improves the SQ of everything!)


Oppo does not support Amazon Music directly but it does support Tidal directly so you wouldn’t need any other devices or inputs.

And of course it will play a CD too and I find its transport/DAC to be superior to many typical CD players.

Anyway, my Oppo is my control center for all my digital music and I think it works fine in that capacity.
n80
2,133 posts
 
You’re pretty much doing what I’m doing except the CDs are on a Mac Mini. I rip using XLD and use BitPerfect for playback.

However, both XLD and BitPerfect seem to be getting long in the tooth and I’m having occasional issues with both.

So recently I ripped using plain iTunes and playback using iTunes alone. Guess what? I don’t hear any difference. Gasp!

Anyway, I get the impression that my Oppo is pretty well built so I’m not expecting any impending failures and as long as it keeps running it will remain my primary DAC and CD player.

I’m not inclined to chase ethereal improvements that with my ears are more likely to be my imagination or mood anyway so I’m sticking with what I have for the foreseeable future. And that in itself is a good feeling.
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