Can somebody comment on Node’s DAC? Would it be better than the DAC on Oppo?
Node DAC is a Burr Brown PCM 5242 and the Oppo is a ESS Sabre. It really comes down to the implementation of the DAC chip. You would have to really dig deep to find the implementation details. If I was venturing a guess/bet I would go with the Oppo as it is 2x the cost of the node so it might have a little bit more engineering $ spent on the DAC.
Excerpt from Oppo review regarding the DAC:
"
Oppo have of course put extra effort in the sound of the 105 model. It has two ESS Sabre32 Reference Audio-digital converters, 7.1 outputs and a stereo output. Both use a 32-bit Hyper Stream DAC topology that is said to provide a wider dynamic range and minimize both jitter and distortion. There is both balanced and unbalanced dedicated analog stereo output and digital outputs in the form of RCA and Toslink.
Had I made a pure CD player in the same price range and a bit upwards, I would be nervous - Oppo BDP-105D certainly sounds compelling with music. Sure, you can find CD players that sound better, but probably not at this price. And it can play all discs and can handle both two- and multi-channel, even a HDCD filter is built in. Considering all the things the Oppo 105D can do picture-wise in addition, it is simply brilliant value for the money.
I have heard many significantly more expensive CD players that gets beaten by the Oppo 105. You get a sound with the calm, the detail and the super quiet background that I really only expect from dedicated CD players of high class. The DAC has a slightly different, slightly warmer character than the Burr-Brown type I’m used to, but it’s just another side of the same coin. It’s still a good DAC."