I want to dump my Oppo; but...

Well I've had the C-5xeMP running for a couple of days now. Right out of the box and still quite cold from being in an unheated UPS truck (I actually met the delivery guy in my driveway and nearly ripped it from his arms) It sounded very good via Zu Mission XLRs to my Primare I32. I didn't have much time to listen because we had guests. The next day I gave it a good spin, but it's still opening up. At this point CDs and SACDs are wonderful. They just grab you. My daughter was walking through the room and actually stopped to comment while I was playing a Norah Jones SACD. She's never done that before. DVDs don't sound much better than the Oppo at this point and frankly it's not worth the PIA to navigate on the Ayre. That may change with a little more burn in. Ayre says that the unit must re-burn after an extended time off.

My next challenge is burning a few CDs. My 320 kbps MP3 files will need to be converted to 44.1 or 44 kHz. Any recommendations for good software for a newbie would be appreciated.

In summary, I'm pretty happy I made this mistake!

@ozzy , Yes it was directed to you and I think I get the picture now.

@mahler123, I took a quick look at the Bryston DAC and it is very impressive!

Last night I faced the music with my wife and took my 40 lashes. It was painful, but we'll both heal.

OP
  I would sell the Ayre and get a Bryston DAC3.  The Oppo can be a transport for it, and can be used as a streamer.  The Oppo can output DSD from SACD, play Usb, and the Bryston is a killer DAC .  This is my setup, and I don’t know what the Ayre will sell for, but if you bought it new and can get 90% of the price back maybe I He wife will approve?

2channel8.
I am not sure you were directing your question to me but, I usually program a group of songs from my laptop to fit the mood and the time allotted.

ozzy

Good idea, @yage . I'll keep my eyes open.

I would actually sell the C-5xeMP and look for a used DX-5 DSD. It can play music off hard drives and serve as a USB DAC for a computer in addition to handling your physical media - CD, SACD, DVD, Blu-ray, etc.

EDIT - I should add that it seems for the thumb drive / hard drive functionality to work, it needs to be formatted using the FAT or FAT32 file system, a possible monkey wrench to this scenario.

Thanks, Phil. Your system must sound superb. Do you still use the JVC from time to time? Something like the 851N may be in my future and I agree with you on the SS storage, having been involved in PACS implementations in Radiology departments where the archival and almost immediate retrieval of huge imaging data files is critical.

I neglected to point out that my only reason for getting the Oppo out of my system is to sell it to appease She Who Must Be Obeyed. So if I can't find a cheap way of doing the digital file part, well some one is going to be disappointed; but it won't be me. Unless you count the pain and suffering that will be inflicted upon me when I'm not listening to music. She'll get over it.......I hope :^) 

That looks like a wonderful piece of equipment. When your listening are you using a laptop to navigate or do you program a playlist and sit down and enjoy?

Well, I use a Bryston BDP-2 as my USB- Flash Drive / Hard drive player. Super easy to set up and it sits in my audio rack.

ozzy

I tried burning some of my USB files on a DVD with some success this evening; but that alone wouldn't solve the problem, since much of the best music is FLAC or DSD; which I think the Ayre won't handle anyway. It seems the best idea is going to be to keep the Oppo, at least until I can figure a way to handle the job for less money than I can sell the Oppo for. It's actually an EVS modded 105D that sounds pretty good. I also have a number of HDCDs that the Ayre won't decode(although redbook on the Ayre may sound better than HDCD on the Oppo. Can't wait to find out.) Gotta respect the Oppo for all it does!

Thanks to all for your contributions. I'll post my findings once I've put some hours on the new player. @theo, thanks for confirming that the C-5xeMP is worth the effort and expense!

I own both of these players and I can tell you the Ayre is much better at Redbook, SACD and DVD Audio than the Oppo. The Oppo is a great multi channel as well as BluRay video. I have and suggest you keep both. Each offers features the other doesn’t, unless you don’t need the multi channel or video performance of the Oppo. As far as the USB playback, I am sure you can find other options for that task.

The Ayre C-5xe is a player only.
The Oppo BDP-105 has an integrated DAC.
It may be possible to use the Oppo DAC with an adapter.
You may want to keep the Oppo unless you want to use a different DAC.
A network streamer could be used in place of PC.
Since you have your files on USB drives you may be ready to go to 
External storage and the next step would be a Local Server / NAS.
Greg

Essentially you are asking how to play digital files containedon Usb drives without the Oppo.  Your Ayre becomes irrelevant here because it lacks digital inputs.  I would keep the Oppo and the monitor and continue to use it-them for the usb drives and any other format that the Ayre doesn’t play (Blu Ray, SACD, whatever).  If you don’t like the sound of the Oppo add an external DAC, and pick one that will enhance the sound of the Ayre

My family uses our Modwright 105 for movies and other silver disks also to stream music and video.
I use it as a stand alone DAC for a music server/streamer. One button on the remote to select use. Simple.

Ahhh, so the real problem here is that you need a music server that attaches to your TV.

OK, so let’s separate the server from the DAC.

Any PC or Mac will work.

Then use a USB cable to connect to a USB capable DAC.

Use a wireless keyboard specially designed for HT use, have trackpad built in. Logitech makes a number of these.

Thank you both for your help. I should have mentioned that I'm not all that swift when it comes to digital. The QX-5 Twenty has a tiny scree and I don't see any HDMI or video out. So how would I see and navigate from my listening chair?

And the only thing I know about NAS is that it's a storage system.

NAS ...

Ayre QX-5 Twenty??