Oppo BDP-95 Versus Bel Canto DAC 3.5

The Oppo 95 does not have a direct PC connection.

The USB ports are USB-host, i.e. designed to connect the Oppo to HDD or flash drives, just like the eSATA.

I've found that playing a CD rip on AIFF vs the same CD on the Oppo is vastly different. The spun disc is clearly superior.

I also have the Bel Canto DAC3.5VB which I recently upgraded to MkII.

Even in MkI form, it's a better DAC (to me) than the Oppo's Sabre32. The Sabre32 sounds sweet at first but seems to mask some details.

With Pure Music, SSD, 8GB of RAM and memory play, it's still not quite as good as the same disc spun on my Bel Canto CD2 but it is very close.

I've found the Sabre32 designs have a very close familial trait. They are a bit mellow, a bit less detailed in transients but easy to listen to.

The Bel Canto has that bit better resolution and detail. The last mile, I guess.

The MkII upgrade lowers the noise floor further and is more resolving in more complex pieces. Not as close as the EMM Labs XDS1 in terms of resolution but like with most hifi components, the law of diminishing returns applies.

BTW I am using the DAC3.5VB with the VBS1 power supply and the VB REF cables and I found it still sounds better with good power, courtesy of a Sound Application RLS240 and ASI Liveline power cords.

I had the LNS1 for a while. Then I got the CD2 so it made sense to buy the VBS1 which could power both the DAC and the CD2.

I didn't think the improvements to the VBS1 and VB REF cables were day and night differences. It's quite subtle But then, I use a PurePower battery regenerator and a good conditioner so I am not sure if those have a bigger contributory effect.

When I had the DAC3.5 (mkI), I found that the soundstage was a bit flat and going through the Pre3 improved the depth and height of the soundstage.

After upgrading to the Mk II, I actually found the Pre3 seemed to have masked the improved details so I prefer running it direct, at the expense of soundstage expansiveness.

But I don't have any adverse effects using it with the ARC Reference 5SE to get the benefit of the upgrade and the soundstage.

At the moment, the Bel Canto isn't getting its due because I have run out of space of my main racks so I have had to stack them up on an IKEA shelf which I don't think is doing it enough justice :(

To be honest, I never found the Oppo to be a world class transport the way the CDPro2M is on the Ayon CD5S or Bel Canto CD2.

But it is very versatile and able to read just about any disc, so in a pinch I do use it to read my DVDA discs so I can send the 24/96 PCM to my XDS1 DAC.

You mean using the Oppo as a transport? That would only work with DVDA and RBCD I think.

For RBCD, the CD2 has an up sampling mode that outputs 16/44 to 96kHz. In conjunction with the jitter reduction circuits on both the CD2/DAC3.5VB, there seems to be a great synergy. I still think the CD2 is better than a MacMini.

I use a Wavelink HS with the bundled BNC cable (I found that if I used a better coax with adaptors, there are some drop outs with 24/192). I use a Locus Cynosure USB and the software that sounds best to me is Amarra.

I still have my Oppo.

I use it for 3D BR playback and for stereo DVDA playback (output optical to my XDS1).

If i have the time, I might compare DVDA transport comparison between my Denon DBP4010 vs the Oppo 95.