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Oppo 105 DVD player as a "preamp"?

Question for anyone who owns an Oppo BDP-105 DVD/DAC player: As I understand it, this unit has its own internal volume control and can act as a “digital preamp” for 2-channel audio systems by allowing you to route the DVD/CD - and other digital input signals - through the unit’s internal DAC, and directly to your power amp – without the need for a separate dedicated preamp. From the reviews I’ve read, the Oppos 105’s analog 2-channel output stage is quite robust, compared to other DVD players.

 

My question is, has anyone tried using their Oppo 105 as a digital preamp and routed the 2-channel stereo analog output directly into your power amp? If so, what sound quality differences, if any, did you hear by removing the dedicated preamp from your system?

 

I’m stuck between 2 schools of thought on this:

 

  1. The fewer circuits and cables in the signal path, the better the sound should be. Therefore, eliminating the dedicated preamp and running the Oppo’s output directly to the power amp should increase sound quality.

  2. A separate dedicated preamp will likely have better circuitry and signal quality than the comparatively basic gain stages in the Oppo. Therefore, using a separate preamp should deliver better sound quality.

 

Thoughts?

 

Thanks A’Gon gang!

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mhwalker

Showing 1 response by georgehifi

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georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

I’m stuck between 2 schools of thought on this:

  1. The fewer circuits and cables in the signal path, the better the sound should be. Therefore, eliminating the dedicated preamp and running the Oppo’s output directly to the power amp should increase sound quality.

  2. A separate dedicated preamp will likely have better circuitry and signal quality than the comparatively basic gain stages in the Oppo. Therefore, using a separate preamp should deliver better sound quality.

Thoughts?


1: Correct, the output stage of the Oppo is 47ohms at over 2v completely matched to drive any poweramp, unfortunately the digital domain volume control can "bit strip" if used too low, this is usually below 75% of full but can vary, so if you can use it above 75% then your hearing the Oppo at it's best with no "bit stripping" warts and all.

2: A dedicated preamp "may" have "better" circuitry, but the best preamp is one that sounds like "straight wire with gain" but the signature will be already given to it by the Oppo, so if the preamp is that good it will let the Oppo’s signature sound through and not sound any different, if not it’s got distortions that will colour the sound, maybe to your liking, maybe not if you were happy with the Oppo’s own sound direct.


Cheers George

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