2 new Yamaha uni players - including one with balanced analog outputs

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by soundboy, Jul 16, 2016.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. soundboy

    soundboy Senior Member Thread Starter

  2. 56GoldTop

    56GoldTop Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nowhere, Ok
    Plays high res wav and dsd files off discs... for under $600. I'm good with that. :righton:
     
  3. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I just looked at the specs for the BD-A1060 and it doesn't show DVD-A playback capability so it really wouldn't be a universal player. If one doesn't need DVD-A playback both players look very interesting.

    Bill
     
  4. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Weight, 6.0 and 8.4 pounds, can't have much at all for a power supply in those flyweight things.

    I've found these budget play all players more often than not contain just too many compromises to hit a low price point. No thanks.
     
    F1nut likes this.
  5. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    I found this in a review:

    Audio is one of the main focuses of the BD-A1060. It can play SACD, CD, DVD, BD-Audio, DTS-MA, Dolby TrueHD and HDCD, as well as FLAC, ALAC up to 192/24 and DSD at up to 5.6 MHz resolution. Though not listed, I can confirm that this player also plays DVD-A. Hooray! You only get two analog stereo outs in the back though, not the full 5.1 outputs available on the BDP-103.

    Yamaha BD-A1060 Universal Blu-Ray Player Review - HomeTheaterHifi.com ยป
     
    tmtomh and Kristofa like this.
  6. soundboy

    soundboy Senior Member Thread Starter

    Looks like an unit which converts DSD directly to analog for SACD playback. See page 45 of owner's manual. Under $500.00 now.
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2016
    tmtomh likes this.
  7. moops

    moops Senior Member

    Location:
    Geebung, Australia
    I've had the Yamaha BD-S681 for about a month now. I was surprised to find it also appears to decode HDCD discs.
    It's not listed in the website specs, or mentioned in the promotion of the player, but when I loaded the disc, "HDCD" appeared in the front panel display.
    I wasn't expecting it, but upon closer inspection of the manual, it's listed.
    Nice bonus anyway and the CD Mode and Pure Direct functions are a nice touch.
    I was originally just looking to upgrade my BR player, but I'm now thinking it may just be the player to cover all bases for me.
     
    tootull, Bananas&blow and 4xoddic like this.
  8. Baron Von Talbot

    Baron Von Talbot Well-Known Member

    I am thinking about getting that player for 450 Euro, too. It was reviewed recently in tandem with a new AVR Integrated, that puts out 85 watts per channel at 8 Ohm on 5 channels. The backside got even 9 speaker terminals. The AVR got top reviews too esp in tandem with that Blue Ray Player. By far the best AVR combo in price/performance. Reference class actually and that for around 1000 Euro ! Makes Surround Sound in good quality more affordable. Paired with Bonus faber's brand new entry line - Principa - Principa 5 front , Principa 3 back and PRINCIPA C - combined a bit over 2 grand - Best of both worlds. Full bodied 3 way stand mountains for HiFi and every good back speakers and a great Center with the same chassis for TV vocals.
     
    tootull likes this.
  9. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    Balanced Analog Outputs? Woah, am I ever behind the times...:shrug:
     
  10. BIGGER Dave

    BIGGER Dave Forum Resident

    "CD Mode - Sound sensitive. CD mode reduces disc revolution by 30%, thus improving data reading sensitivity. In addition, the HDMI video output and other circuits shut off, and the combination of drive motor stability and disc rotation greatly reduces vibration to provide the best audio playback possible."

    Interesting.
     
    4xoddic likes this.
  11. jedstar

    jedstar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    woodstock
    This player is looking better and better

    I would seriously consider this....
     
  12. Isaac K.

    Isaac K. Forum Resident

    Does the 681 recognize both PAL and NTSC DVDs, as well as an iPod through the USB? If it does those two things along with everything else that I'm reading about in this thread then this player is a no brainer.
     
  13. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    I'm considering the 1060 model to serve as my CD an Blu Ray source. It looks as though this Yamaha was designed to compete with the Oppo BDP-103. The Oppo doesn't have an XLR output and I believe the Oppo doesn't support 5.6 DSD, while the Yamaha does.

    I also wonder if these Yamaha models use the ESS Sabre DAC as do their AVRs.
     
  14. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    I went ahead and took the plunge on the BDA 1060. Kraft Music was offering them bundled with a free HDMI cable, coax cable, and thumb drive.

    I'll let you know my impressions when it arrives.
     
  15. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Please report back. I am also considering either this unit or the new Oppo 203. I like that the Yamaha does HDCD. For some reason I think it makes more sense to buy this one since I would be pairing it with my Yamaha A-3030 receiver. Although that probably makes no difference.

    Anyone else notice any differences between the Oppo 203 and the A1060?
     
  16. Eduardo Denaro

    Eduardo Denaro Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minnesota
    My oppo 103D does HDCD. Essential for any Beach Boys fan.
     
    The Beave likes this.
  17. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    For sure. But the new 203 does not. Essential for any Dead fan :)
     
    The Beave and htbomb like this.
  18. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    I thought about the Yamaha. . . but ended up getting a Cambridge Audio CXU. Pretty darned nice machine.
     
    Brother_Rael likes this.
  19. Murphy13

    Murphy13 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland
    I wonder how the network -wifi portion of the Yamaha handles gapless playback over wifi? My Oppo 103, with latest Firmware, is choppy at times. I also wonder what the Oppo 205 will be priced like
     
  20. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    I just got the Yamaha BD-A1060 set up tonight.

    The build quality is decent but not quite up to par with Yamahas current Hi-Fi line of amps/ CD players.

    I took off the top cover because I couldn't help but wonder what's under the hood.

    There's some good quality caps in the audio section, lesser quality caps in the power circuit. The DAC uses the BB PCM1795 chip, which I believe is one of their higher performance chips.

    The analog output jacks are the same high quality jacks that Yamaha uses on their upper end amps and they provide snug connections.

    I didn't get a chance to watch a Blu Ray movie this evening, I only listened to a few CDs (one was a Dire Straits HDCD). This player allows the user to essentially shut off all circuitry that is non-essential to CD playback, even the HDMI audio output.

    I switched back and forth between the 1060's onboard DAC and my Parasound Halo's onboard DAC (by Coax). They are very close but the Parasound DAC has just slightly better bass. I also noticed this player's output seems to be lacking some gain. I had to turn up my amps volume just a bit more than usual.

    I did notice in the manual that this player outputs DSD only through its HDMI jack. That's how I read it, though maybe I missed something...

    I'm quite satisfied with the sound quality, though I've never owned a "high-end" player for comparison.
     
    The Beave, Dan Steele, sasho and 2 others like this.
  21. rbbert

    rbbert Forum Resident

    Location:
    Reno, NV, USA
    A player can output DSD only over HDMI or a proprietary interface (such as PS Audio's and MSB's), not Toslink or S/PDIF. That has nothing to do with whether it performs a direct DSD>analog conversion for analog output.
     
  22. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    thank you for the review. I'm still considering this unit but will probably wait a few months until the funds become available.
     
  23. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    I looked through the manual again and it appears that the BD-A1060 will decode DSD 2.8 and 5.6 for output through HDMI, but for the analog RCA outs, it will decode DSD up to 2.8 only. It appears that only PCM or raw bitstream data can be output to the coax and toslink outs. I'm no DAC expert, so maybe that's typical and raw DSD data is usually transferred by USB?

    None of this is a deal breaker for me. My goal in purchasing this player was to replace my extremely temperamental Sony player with one that has decent CD playback.

    It's a good upgrade from my old mid-nineties Technics CD player.
     
  24. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    I just noticed your post after I replied above. That could've saved me a couple minutes. :doh: Thanks for the clarification.
     
  25. This Heat

    This Heat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Has anyone else tried the 1060? Like other folks, I was thinking about upgrading to the Oppo 203 but the lack of HDCD is a deal breaker.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine