There are a number of micro PC solutions that could fit the bill once you decided on the software.
I use Roon and for ~ $300 you can buy a unit which can be the core and end point. Any other streaming software would also work:
My Oppo 105 finally bricked. Streamer suggestions?
Hey all,
Well, my vaunted 105 now won’t connect to Tidal through the app no matter what troubleshooting I do, and since my listening is 40% vinyl, 50% streaming, and 10% cd, I’m losing out on a lot of music. I’d like to keep the Oppo as a the occasional transport but need something to stream Tidal.
I can still connect via HDMI to to the Oppo from my phone or laptop, but the sound is terrible.
My digital system:
Ragnarok 2 integrated
Denafrips Ares 2 DAC/Schiit Gungnir (currently comparing them side-by-side)
Reference 3A de Capos
Oppo 105 (still can be used as a transport and blu-ray)
Suggestions for a streamer that would work well with the Denafrips? Budget under $1K.
Thank you,
simao
49 responses Add your response
If you haven’t done anything yet, my recommendation would be the Node only because I used one with both an Ares and Gumby with great success. You could pickup an older one for a few hundred dollars or a new one for a few hundred more. Since you will only use it as a streamer I’d opt for a used one to save a few hundred. Then what I’d also recommend is use the money saved to upgrade the power supply in the Node. It really improves the performance of a Node and it’s pretty simple to do yourself. Whether you upgrade the power supply or not the Node will beat the pants off a 105 and also give you the ability to stream a lot more than Tidal. |
OK, here’s the latest. Tidal updated their end. It will not work with the Oppo app. Tidal says there is no way to go back to an earlier version to work with the Oppo app. Oppo says they will not be updating their app. They say MconnectLite is what to use. That does work. There is nothing else that currently will work with the Oppo player.
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Have 2 oppos 103 and 105. mConnect lite does circumvent the recent Tidal app upgrade problem. Any way to make the search feature less aggravating? Must use the back arrow until you reverse all of the searches you did during that listening session. Must be an easier way to get back to the original Tidal home page? |
@soglio I went through the mconnect lite app and it's all good. |
I’m having precisely the same problem logging into Tidal thru the media control app on my 105 as of yesterday. Been pulling my hair out. I spent hours googling and trying to get Oppo (although I didn’t expect much from them under the circumstances) and found nothing I could use. I’m not sure if i should be happy to hear it’s not just me or not. Although it does give me some comfort to know I didn’t just overlook something dumb. I’ll be interested to see which way you’ll go. I had been attracted recently to the Matrix Element i2, but my price range is like yours and the MA well exceeds it. I didn’t expect the need to come so soon. Good Luck.
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A few years ago my OPPO BD 105 CD drawer would not open and this is the reply that I recieved from customer service: Remove all cables from back of player Change the dip switch on the back of the player from 115V to 230V Press and hold power button for 5 seconds. Release Change the dip switch on the back of the player from 230V to 115V Reconnect power cord. Press power switch After these procedures my CD drawer worked properly |
I've been using mConnect lite with an iPhone and an Oppo UDP203 until very recently as a "toe-into" the streaming waters. mConnect provides a very nice interface for surfing several streaming (hi-res) services and casting. I had contacted Oppo support previously who still responds (wow!); they indicated Oppo UDPs do NOT render; as such, hi-res streams may be down-sampled (not bit-perfect) by the rendering mConnect platform. Oppo does have their own APP which does remote "control" their UDP; however, it is dated with no streaming services functionality. |
Hi, if you want an easy alternative with wifi connection and don't want it to cost a new mortgage, try the Auralic Aries G2.1 running Tidal through Lightning DS. This is a relatively inexpensive step up that avoids the 'haze' associated with Roon on other platforms. My next leap upwards will be to an Antipodes Oladra, but the Auralic will be just fine until I can afford a server that costs 5 times its price. FWIW. |
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simao, exact thing happened to me last weekend. Dug up an old Aurilac Aries Mini and fed the oppo. Works fine, but I am using active speakers and in wall xlr cables. Thinking dac in oppo might be limited by info from the aries mini? Sounds a little softer in the vocals. Looking to upgrade the dacs and use a dac/streamer combo. Would need xlrs out and could still use oppo as transport. How do you like the Cambridge? |
I've had an Oppo 105 ever since it came out. It has gotten heavy use m mostly as a transport in the past several years. It occasionally hangs up and does something weird. Unplugging it and restarting it 30 seconds later has always cured every hiccup. I also have a 203, which I bought as insurance if the 105 ever plonks out. I put it in a secondary system and remind my self to use it once a week to keep it spry, but the 105 is going strong |
If it's any consolation, my 205 suddenly stopped working except for the CD tray. Tried all the steps recommended in the responses. I left it unplugged overnight and when I plugged it back in all worked. Makes no sense and may not be the same for you... But thought I'd inject some possible good news. |
@designsfx yes. I do appreciate the advice. You gave it after I had emailed Oppo and I am happy they said the same thing. I don't really see a sound difference at all. I was just unclear as to how that interface worked. Nothing spotty. And through the Denafrips it sounds really really good. I'm kind of new on the digital scene haven't used just the Oppo for years along with my analog rig so the Custom Tailoring of DACs is a learning curve for me |
See my post from yesterday- it is the same recommendation that you received from Oppo. I haven’t used Tidal on an Oppo in some time and remember it becoming more clunky as Tidal’s services changed (Oppo app never changed with it). If you’re seeing a difference in sound quality (using the Oppo as a renderer) it would be based on your local network. Wi-Fi should work well but if spotty try running CAT from your router/mesh/extender directly to the Oppo itself. |
@rettrussell That's unfortunate. Have you emailed customer support at Oppo directly - service at oppodigital dot com? |
Ultimately I was informed they don’t support products not sold in India, and that was the end of our chat. my BDP-205, while not being used but powered on, makes noises I assume are due to the unit searching for (unavailable) updates. It’s annoying and I wish I could stop it from doing that. |
Thats pretty cool, that you at least got a response from OPPO on a long discontinued product. You can't take that for granted these days. It is also cool that the Oppo can be controlled by mConnect. I actually use mConnect to control my Melco N100, but since I added the CXN to the Network I tend to use the Melco mainly as a NAS. My Oppo 105 and 203 both read and play the files from the NAS, but I didn't realize the mConnect could control those players, so I wll have to fiddle around with it when I get a chance (right now I seem to have had both of my systems affected by a Power surge or something over the weekend so fixing that is the bigger priority). I prefer the terms "server' and "player". A server has the files, or is able to send signals from an external HD or and Internet connection, to others player(s) in the system. I don't think mConnect affects sound; it merely provides a graphical interface |
@mahler123 @tony1954 @theo Good advice and suggestions from all. I was just about to pull the trigger last night on a wonderful used deal on a Cambridge CXN on the other site when I get this reply form Oppo: "We've had similar reports regarding TIDAL. Since there haven't been any recent changes to the app, our guess is the change came from TIDAL's end. Unfortunately, given that OPPO Digital is no more, we do not expect a fix to become available. You can try using a third-party app called mConnect for TIDAL instead." So I install mconnect lite and it now works as an interface with the Oppo. Does that make the Oppo into a renderer? And does that affect the sound at all compared with going direct to Tidal through the Oppo? |
I use a Cambridge audio 851n as a streamer right now, and I use a bryston bda1 as a dac. I like the Cambridge but not the bryston. The Cambridge is soft and smooth and easy listening… compared to a bryston streamer I also have but don’t use because it’s very harsh and hard, grainy and brittle. id like something inbetween and decided to try a Holo Red. I figure at $800 it can’t suck too badly. |
Are you planning to move away from the Oppo for use with Tidal completely? Do you have an IPad? I know the Tidal situation is bunk now as far as the Oppo is concerned but I’m wondering if you’ve tried setting up an IPad or phone with a media center app and pushing the content to the Oppo- using it as a renderer? |
I dread the day my 10 + year old BD105 Blu-ray player dies I like using it for my two channel stereo rig as I have a VAC tube amp and ARC LS15 tube pre amp so no sub out I use the OPPO RCA sub out into a Y connector to my two SVS Ultra 13 subs I've bypassed the OPPO DAC and use my Exogal Comet plus external DAC Because I use the Oppo DSP I run my Audiolab 6000n streamer into the OPPO then to my DAC I control volume and all my sub settings, plus streaming from my smartphone |
Used Auralic Ares with femto clock you can pick up one under your budget, I have one I’m not using with a S Booster power supply and stock outboard power supply but will keep it for now. Very good app and very good sound quality. I compared it to the Auralic Ares G1 and G1 was better but not night and day. |
I heard that too, which is why I even bothered to try to contact them. I was still very pleasantly surprised when I got a thorough and accurate answer to my question from an obviously knowledgeable person in a day. Hell, that’s better service than most audio companies still selling equipment IME. Amazing really. |
A year or so ago I had a question regarding my very old 103, that’s still working BTW, and I was shocked that Oppo was still providing support on these products. I’m not sure but I think I contacted them through their Oppo India site and pretty promptly got a helpful response so might be worth a shot. |
Simao, sorry I should have been more definitive about the reboot process. Any or all of the buttons will work. The idea is to drain any stored capacitance which will be discharged by pushing buttons. That lack of any stored capacitance or energy which can cause micro processors to keep even Minute memory stored and cause disfunction, will be erased. So upon plugging the unit back in the processors will restart in their default programming. However if OPPO didn't recommend this, it may not work. But no harm can be done by trying. This procedure works most anything with processors. I have even seen it work in older cars by disconnecting the battery. A lot of people recommend a similar process but say leave it unplugged for 5-10 minutes and it can discharge the processors as well. Just by pushing buttons, it forces the processors to drain as it will try to utilize any stored energy to fulfill the requested command. I have a Maytag washer that I have to do this on occasion and actually have the beeper emit a tone and light the panel 2-3 times while unplugged. Good luck and let me know what results you have.
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@theo Thanks for the sound advice. Yes, Ive hecked netowrk and also installed and tried to use the app on several other device, all with the same "Login - Client not found" message. I've emailed Oppo support but don't know how much they can do as they no longer deal with their hardware. But I'm intrigued by the capacitance reboot. Which buttons specifically? I've googled but nothing comes up. Could there by a circuit/capacitor failure inside the unit? @mahler123 My DAC audition is down to the Schiit and the Denafrips. They both are a significant and unmistakable improvement over the Oppo's Sabre chips. |
The usual suspects in this this price range are Bluesound, the various iFi products, Project.. Don’t forget that the app is an important part of the experience, with Bluesound scoring big here. For slightly over your budget there is the excellent Cambridge Audio CXN 60, which also adds superb AirPlay and Chromecast implementation, both of which sound great being streamed from the phone. I get the impression that the OP is auditioning DACs, and he might also find the CA DAC meets his needs since the player has many digital inputs |
Sorry to hear that, although I never used my 105 for streaming, I was relieved to read that it still functions as a player. I have been concerned about losing this unit if it ever fails. I use mine primarily as a BluRay, Cd Transport and for SACD 2 and 5.1 surround. It does seem odd that streaming is the only function that has failed. Have you checked the Ethernet connection, re assigned your Wi-Fi if so used? And I am sure you have tried unplugging the unit, press each face plate button while unplugged for a capacitance reboot, to see if self corrects? Good Luck Theo |