OPPO 83SE vs Anthem D1 DACS

The Havana and Bel Canto DAC's were better. Not a big jump but still audible. Anthems Room Correction can cure a lot of ill's. If your room is not setup correctly then it can be a big help. I had Rives Audio tune my room, so ARC in two channel wasn't a big jump. However, in surround it has made the dialog much better and has really help with the overall surround experience.

I've never heard the Oppo.

I appreciate the responses. I may just spring for the SE and see what happens. Might be an interesting comparison to see if 2-channel out of the SE to my current pre sounds any different than if it were processed through an Anthem. Either way I can work the room acoustics a bit since it is a dedicated listening area. The real question will be which Processor at that point.

Bob, I mostly listen to music and not movie soundtracks. Nor do I listen to multi-channel SACD. I appreciate where you're coming from, but I've found many HT preamps are too much of a compromise for me.

In general, IMO, a $3K stereo preamp will typically have better sonics than the stereo preamp section of a $3K HT unit (for 2 CH). I also prefer tubed preamps and there are not many available in HT units.

My speakers are dipolar, including the active crossed subwoofers, and I have little room interaction The performance on 2CH movie soundtracks I get with my system is good enough to suit me.

That’s just my view and opinion. I respect that many people enjoy their HT systems, and I am happy that they do so.

The Oppo looks very nice, but I believe it uses op amps in the output stage. I’d rather go with a DAC unit that has a discrete analog stage. I’m waiting to see how the new Wyred 4 Sound DAC featuring the Sabre32 turns out. Hi-rez 2 CH music via USB looks promising to me.

I just wanted to add an update to this thread if anyone is interested. I received my Oppo 83SE on New Years Eve so I've had a few weeks to do some listening with my Anthem D1. I set them both up so that one input on the Anthem was straight analog 2-channel from the Oppo (no anthem processing) and the other was the digital coax into the Anthem using just standard stereo. I level matched the inputs and have been going back and fourth for some time with lots of different music. I even had the girlfriend do a blind switch back and forth for me and I have to say, I cannot hear any difference which in some ways shows how amazing the Oppo really is for the money. I keep coming back to try and hear a difference and it just doesn't seem to exist. My mains are Alon Lotus Elites hooked up to a Rogue Stereo 90 which I would say are fairly main stream mid-fi to semi hi-end. I switched out the Alon's for some home-grown speakers the other day and again, could not pick out any difference between the two. So there it is... at least my experience.