Agree on the M51...awesome DAC. It was Stereophile Class A along with some $10k DACs.... listing to it right now.... I also have it's XLR output going into my headphone amp and it is so quiet and has the most black background I have ever experienced. Its a real sleeper. 2 HDMI, aes/ebu, toslink, coax.....
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.
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I have a benchmark DAC3 connected to Node 2i in my main listening room. I would not drive node2i on it's own as the DAC is below standard and does not sound good at all. For my office set up - I may just end up keeping the OPPO 105 player and use the USB DAC. Maybe have OPPO digital look at adding new capacitors and helping reclock/mod the unit. They are 20 mins drive from my house. |
When I went to the dealer to hear a demo of the Bluesound Node 2i and really liked MQA. The dealer suggest adding a ProJect S2 DAC connected by Audioquest Carbon coax cable. When they did an A/B I chose the Bluesound played by itself. I for some reason noticed a better sound with MQA. However, I questioned myself and thought the dealer new more than I did. However, by adding the ProJect DAC I lost the complete unfold of MQA. When I hooked things up at home using the DAC I noticed my bass to be less pronounced. It sounded thin. I removed the DAC and thought the Bluesound Node 2i sounded better. So, I ended up selling the ProJect Dac on the Audiogon website half the price I paid for it. I wonder if a lot of have been sucked in to paying more with the thought of paying more means it sounds better. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way and I will be more causious in the future. The support at Bluesound was also exceptional. I hope someday they will add video so I can watch the Tidal video concerts and play hi res through my system. |
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 have the opposite opinion. Without knowing what you find lacking, I think any suggestions could accidentally send you down the wrong path.
dgcustomerfirst |
My Bluesound Node2i stopped putting sound out the RCA plugs about 6 months. I bought a Qutest. That sounded better, although very bright. I forgot about the Node2i and just called them for service - 13 months after buying. They want near $300 to fix it, so it is pretty much a paper weight. I hear significant differences based on my player. Roon vs Audirvana are significantly different sounding (not tweaking settings) to the same DAC. I have the red Firefly USB DAC and I don't think it sounds as good as the DAC in my Samsung Note 8 phone. I sound better than my laptop. I have the Fiio M15 coming tomorrow. I'm kinda excited about that, main because it is new, but it has some new chips. I also bought and sold the -Fiio Q5 - good DAC. -Fiio M11Pro - really good DAC, not as good as the Qutest - but more mellow. |
The dac in the oppo isn’t that good. If you have a $2000 budget, you will definitely hear a big improvement in SQ. Also, you can get a much better dac by spending $4000 and then get a much better dac by spending $7000. I like my $7000 dac more than some of the others that sell for $15k but the DCS would be an improvement but not worth the cost for the difference in SQ IMO. Also, the bluenode streamer isn’t that good. The Auralic Mini is better for a few hundred $$$$ if you can find 1. I used to own 1 for my living room. If you want a much better streamer for $1000, get a used Auralic Aries, used to own 1 of these too. If you want something cheap and can stream music from iTunes or be used as a Roon endpoint, get a 3rd generation Apple TV, I use these in 6 rooms around the house for background music, same quality as the bluenode streamer. |
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The market of dac is the milk cow of company that count of audiophilia neurosis.... There exist excellent dac at low cost....Nos dac…. and the most important and powerful upgrade cost little and are linked to the : 1-The mechanical environment of each electronic component (vibrations-resonances controls) 2-The electrical grid of the room and of the house 3a-the passive room treatment with materials 3b-the active acoustical space modifications |
Also am thinking of considering R2R DACs. With digital services like Tidal, Qobuz and Amazon HD (I have all three) as means of music for me - I feel the listening fatigue kicks in sooner than I’d like to. Office setup: dedicated laptop for music service web players > Fedilizer > Shunyata USB cable > Intona USB isolator > OPPO 105 usb dac > KEF powered speakers |
If all you're using the Oppo for is the DAC and your budget is around $1000, you could definitely upgrade sound quality. I have owned Oppo 103, 203, 105D, and HA-1. I still have the 105D in my bedroom system, but rarely use it. I use the DAC in my Sony headphone amp in that system, which is much better than the DAC in the Oppo and I have a Bluesound Node 2 streaming into the Sony, giving me a lot more streaming options than the Oppo does. You might consider using the computer in your office to stream Tidal to a DAC via USB. Setting up your system this way would give you access to other streaming services like Qobuz, Radio Paradise, etc. The MHDT Orchid is in your price range, but does not do MQA (neither does the Oppo) if that matters to you. I've found that it doesn't matter to me, but I know some want MQA. There are other options in that price range and I'm sure you'll get some other recommendations. |
Selling the OPPO is a sideways move at best! There is nothing, repeat nothing, wrong with the DAC in the OPPO! The proliferation of DACs is driven by business profit motive capitalizing on the insecurity and gullibility of neurotic hobbyists. DACs do sound different from one another. Surely you are not saying they all sound the same? Oz |
For a good while now I've been using a Oppo 105, for audio only. It's well known that the weak link in the 105 is it's power supply I found aftermarket LPM (Linear Power Module) and IEC upgrade combining Furutech Rhodium IEC and heavy gauge pure silver wire to board (~ $300) on Ebay. They are straight forward DIYs, and magical additions, along with Machina Dynamica New DARK Matter to the CD tray. The 105 has built in VVC (variable volume control). I run it direct via Wire World Series 8 XLRs to my Ric Schultz EVS 1200 (see my thread). Combined, it's quite a bargain, playing many times above it's price hth |
I used the Oppo 105 as my DAC in my 2 channel system for about a year, including the usb with my MacAir. I then upgraded to a Mytek Manhatten, and now use a Bryston DAC3. I still use the 105 as a transport. Interestingly, the Manhattan used the Sam ESS Sabre Chip as the 105 but sounded much better. This isn’t a criticism of the Oppo, which at its price is a fantastically versatile machine. |
@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. |
@nekoaudio great suggestion. It’s just that I have a buyer ready to take the unit off my hands. Recently I did purchase node 2i and benchmark dac3 for my main listening room and couldn’t be happier. The OPPO takes up a lot of room in my office and I am hoping I can find a ‘better’ and smaller dac for $1100 range. Very happy with the sound from OPPO but after listening to the benchmark dac I do know that dac’s make a difference. Which one - I don’t know yet. |
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. |