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Should I sell my DAC

I have the upgrade itch and am thinking of selling my OPPO 105 player. Currently I am using the player’s fantastic USB dac to play Tidal web player in my office driving powered KEF speakers. No need for Blu ray anymore and don’t use the unit as transport. If I sell the player for $650 - is there a better USB dac than OPPO 105 in the $1100 range? I prefer advice and recommendations from folks that have heard the OPPO USB dac. 
128x128ghulamr

Showing 2 responses by nekoaudio

nekoaudio's avatar
nekoaudio
489 posts
 
Better to listen to potential units and compare, and only sell your OPPO after finding a better replacement. Versus selling the OPPO only to not find anything you like and regretting that you can't get the OPPO back.

To answer your original question, there are DACs in your budget that some would definitely consider a better choice than the OPPO, but there are also people would would have the opposite opinion. Without knowing what you find lacking, I think any suggestions could accidentally send you down the wrong path.
nekoaudio's avatar
nekoaudio
489 posts
 
@ghulamr both the OPPO and Benchmark use ESS SABRE chipsets, so sounds like you like the overall sound of the ESS, and if you like the DAC3 more than the OPPO BDP-105 then I'd guess you want something as clean and detailed as possible.

That being the case, you might actually like a used OPPO Sonica DAC as something less expensive than the DAC3 but potentially better than the BDP-105. Looks like there is a Sonica DAC on eBay right now.

Another ESS option in your price range is the Matrix Element i, but I haven't heard one myself.
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