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OPPO BDP-103 (NON Darby)

Hey all, (My mistake, I know it’s Darbee, not "Darby.")
I think I’m finally going to break down and buy a player that plays SACD disks. I know there are not all that many SACD titles available but I tried getting back into vinyl and was not all that happy with the $800.00 table I bought. Perhaps when I can afford a $3,00.00 PLUS turntable I will try again.
Anyway, I currently play DSD & FLAC files via thumb drive with my Marantz network player and CDR via a good Yamaha CD player. My amp & pre-amp are Emotiva and current speakers are B&W.
My thought is to buy an OPPO 103 - NON Darbee addition as I do not expect to use it for anything but 2 channel audio.
So, my qiestion is; how does the OPPO BDP-103 perform when playing Hi-Res audio and especially SACD? Does anyone have first hand experience with other players that may be a better choice for what I want in the same price range? I’ve read that the OPPOs tend to do better with Video play back than audio. Is this true?
I appreciate any & all replies!
wcc10
leotis
180 posts
 
I have a 103 running a Krell Foundation to Krell TAS to Revel F52 based surround system with JL Audio F112 sub. Using decent, non outrageous, power cords, interconnects and speaker cables. It sounds spectacular. But all the components contribute to the final result. Have ordered a ModWright Oppo 105 to replace the 103 at 8 times the cost of the 103. Won't sound 8X better however. Already have one ModWright Oppo 105 and a couple of 95s. For the price you will never find a better rig than the 103 IMHO. But the rest of the links in the chain are crucial.
wcc10 OP
119 posts
 
leotis, I was looking for a simple (& not too expensive) answer to my situation. You are correct that all links are crucial and the OPPO alone is not going to solve my issue. Too bad for me! Not sure how I am going to proceed at this point, makes a lot of sense to fool around with the pre-amp to start and go from there.
steveg137's avatar
steveg137
15 posts
 
I just got oppo 105. Using yamaha 675 receiver and rega b for 2 channel. 

Will I get better multichannel audio through analogue cables vs hdmi?

also will my audio video be better connecting cable box to oppo vs Yamaha ?

appreciate any thoughts 

leotis
180 posts
 
You still need a source  and whatever preamp you use  the 103 plays way better than anything else for the price. I use it for SACD and hi res streaming. You can download hi res onto a flash drive even and plug and play. I'm going to have a spare 103 soon and will give you a good price if you want to message me. I've already sold 3 of them to family and friends.
For all the 103s out there you don't find many on the used market for a reason. Owners can always find someone they know who wants it.
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

wcc - You'll have to keep your eyes open, like you said.  I don't see any other items in the price range that I could recommend, other than those two.  There is a Rotel RC-1570 up for sale, but I don't know what that is going to sound like.  Based on a brief look, it seems that Rotel has a similar approach to Emotiva, but they use higher quality components (such as capacitors, op amps, etc.).  Hence, the price is somewhat higher as well.  You can see the use of polystyrene caps in the Rotel preamp on the op amp feedback circuits (much better than the metallized caps in the Emotiva).  The Rotel also has much better local power filtering on the op amps (you can see the higher number of electrolytics mounted next to the op amps)  The Rotel may have better resolution than the XSP, or it may be somewhat equal).  It might just be a sideways move, I cannot tell.

The XSP does have one discrete circuit, but this preamp is just littered with tons of op amps all over the place.  Emotiva likes to use the OPA2134 op amp, and this is the primary reason that the Emotiva dac/pre do not have the higher resolution we want.

There are some Brystons for sale, but I have had lackluster results from Bryston.  Either the Brystons are too bright with no body and decay, or the sound is too slow/subdued.  It is all a power supply issue I believe.  There is a Krell KAV-250p that may be okay, but it is not going to have the resolution of the newer KAV-280p.

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