Is there a
S/PDIF output
setting in your 205 that turns on / off coax output? Likewise, is there a setting in your DAC to set the input to coax? I have to set my DAC's input to coax when using the Oppo as transport, otherwise there is no sound.
Oppo 205 and external DAC?
My goal is to utilize the balanced output of the Oppo but the amplifier(PL Dialogue HP) has unbalanced inputs.
Excluding the modification route.
What external DAC would offer an improvement in SQ over the inboard Oppo DAC? Also with balanced connections, then of course switching to unbalanced from the dac to the PL.
Excluding the modification route.
What external DAC would offer an improvement in SQ over the inboard Oppo DAC? Also with balanced connections, then of course switching to unbalanced from the dac to the PL.
26 responses Add your response
I use my Oppo 203 as a transport, and it is connected to a RME-ADI2 DAC via coax. The ADI-2 then runs balanced to my pre. There is a subtle, but noticeable increase in detail when using the external dac versus the internal in the Oppo. AFAIK, the internal dac in the 205 is better than what's in the 203, so there may not be much improvement with the 205 going to an external DAC. |
ASR compared the analog outputs of the 205 found the differences between RCA and XLR negligible, except for voltage output of course. If using the 205 direct to amp, in most cases (depending on the amp) the RCA outputs might provide greater range of volume control with less potential for bit stripping. The XLR outputs should be less noisier, probably more of a concern if using long interconnects. |
With my Ric Schultz modified 203, I inserted the iFi spdif Purifier, basically a reclocker and galvanic isolator into the end of the run to a DirectStream dac. I've found it to offer substantial improvement over using a Snake River Boomslang spdif cable alone, as if I had purchased a much more expensive cable. With the dac's new firmware, know as Snowmass (to be officially released maybe 11/11), the difference in clarity, size and solidity of imaging and the soundstage coming forward is substantial. It was a surprise, as I thought from reading the reviews that it aimed more at the mobile market. I didn't get the same results though running a toslink cable out of the Purifier, still using the Boomslang, at least with a Silflex optical cable (the 203 mod eliminated the toslink option, so I can't run it all the way with optical cable). |
I'm running my 205 into the Bryston BDA-3. I bought the Bryston almost purely to test what differences there might be. The differences are very subtle (as I believe most digital sources to be) but noticeable. The two DACs are similar enough that I have contemplated selling the Bryston and just using the OPPO. It's been about 2 months of solid breaking in and extensive A/B'ing with level matched volumes. The Bryston is a bit more clean, clear, and natural to my ears. Supposedly the Bryston also re-clocks the signals it's fed, so I wonder if what audioengineer said above about the OPPO needing re-clocking is correct in this case. |
What's wrong with the Oppo's unbalanced outs? If you use an external DAC, you will not use the analog output of the Oppo, balanced or unbalanced. You will use the digital out, likely spdif. You will use the analog output of the DAC. If you have only an unbalanced input in your pre, you will use the unbalanced analog out of the DAC. As for the DAC, you’re simply asking what’s the best DAC out there without any price point. There are many that can outperform the DAC in the Oppo. I think my DAC is the best value, but everyone thinks the same about their DAC which is probably why they bought it. |
There are 2 ways to go here: 1) get a Final Drive transformer buffer to change from bal to SE: http://www.empiricalaudio.com/products/final-drive 2) add an external DAC with SE outputs. This will sound better, PROVIDING that you reclock the Oppo digital output and use a really good coax cable. Here is a jitter plot to show how much jitter before and after the Synchro-Mesh reclocker: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=154408.0 Here is the jitter added by different coax cables: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=154425.0 The only thing that matters when using a CD player as a transport is the jitter. The Sychro-Mesh and a good BNC cable will cost ~$1025 Most decent DACs will beat the D/A in the Oppo, but you will need to spend $2-3K for new or $1-2K used. The best DAC will still sound mediocre without a low jitter source. Steve N. Empirical Audio |