It’s not really a question of what under $1k dac will sound better than the oppo as much as what under $1k dac won’t sound better than the oppo. One of the reasons I put off getting into serious streaming was the poor sq I got when streaming Tidal with my 105. It wasn’t until I finally broke down and bought my first “real” dac did I realize what streaming was all about.
USB DACs that outperforms OPPO 105D's internal DAC?
I have some music on an external USB drive.
I connect it to a USB input on OPPO, and it sounds good.
OPPO is connected to a TV and I select songs using OPPO's remote control.
The problem is, there are hundreds of albums and thousands of songs in the USB drive, and it takes time to scroll to the albums or songs I want to play.
I am thinking of two ways to solve the problem: Purchase a wifi USB dongle that will connect the USB drive to an iPad, and browse music using iPad. Another option is to connect the USB drive to a laptop and purchase an external DAC to sit between the laptop and a preamp. The laptop's video output will be connected to a TV and I can use a wireless mouse or keyboard to browse the music.
The second approach will be more expensive because I need to purchase a new DAC. Which DAC would you recommend that outperforms the OPPO's internal DAC at under $1000 used or new?
Would there be another option to play the music in the external USB drive?