OPPO BDP-103 and BDP-105 Networking Universal 3D Blu-ray Players (part4)

Other than the fact that mc sacd's take up a lot of space on my portable hard drive, I love that I can play my entire music library without getting up from the sofa.

 

I am also in the same boat .
One of the users - cyclistsb - wrote about successful gapless playback after installing MinimServer.

 

I gave it another go today and no luck ! Even the simple task as entering the IP address for my player went sideways. Tried to type in the address on the Sonore link and it just doesn't type in right. Then when I try to clear it and retype it doesn't work. For someone as computer challenged as I am this process is well beyond me. I know for many here this is child's play. Oh well I still can spin the shiny discs .

Bill

 

Bill I had problems with the IP address as well and had to use the delete key a lot especially with the zeros. Stick with it, you CAN do this.

 

I'm using a portable, USB-powered Toshiba external drive with my OPPO. Noise isn't really an issue. With 2GB bus-powered drives for under 100.00, there's good value and minimal issues with that approach, I think.

 

Ace,

Thanks for the support ! I'm lucky I can power up my laptop !

Bill

 

Sorry I don't stream or know much about it.

I play actual stereo SACD discs........ or DSF/DFF files via a usb stick or external HDD.

Due to the fact that I use my system without a PC..........I don't have the capacity for sending DSD to my external DAC (which accepts it at USB level).

Consequently my DSD gets converted to PCM 88.2 by the OPPO before HDMI output.......

BUT.........

SQ is STILL superior than DSD directly via the OPPO's analog outs..........to my ears anyway!!!.......... YMMV

 

Wow, I was prepared for this not to work but it really was a piece of cake using my Oppo 105D and Macbook Pro! For those who like me are not great with computers, give it a go and you may be rewarded. Providing you have the hardware, it really isn't that complicated if you stick to the very helpful instructions highlighted in this thread. No need to seek out that elusive PS3 now!

 

Bill,

That's what happens when you try to go to the "dark side" such as having a "virtual collection"...you know better... stick to the physical media, man

 

The forum seems to be quieter now. Everybody busy ripping.

 

Cesar,

I knew I couldn't fool you . Maybe if I go "disc less" my collection will go south of the border !

I only wish .

Bill

 

Quick, stupid question:

I've forgotten how to change from the SACD layer to CD.

 

I'm not sure how to change on the fly. But if you set the SACD Priority to CD in the Playback Setup menu the CD layer of hybrid SACDs will be the default playback.

Bill

 

Thanks, yeah, I knew that. But there's a way to do this on the fly. I've poured over the manual and despite all of the info about how to select points a to b within a track, shuffle them and other stuff, I can't seem to find this essential feature I found on my own years ago. I thought it was with the Option button. Nope. Ironic. I'd mined the Oppo for undocumented shortcuts and shared them here. I guess I sound like trump. "Humble?! You don't know how humble I am!" And utterly clueless.

 

If you do figure it out I'd be curious as to how to do it as well. I thought of the option button but I guess not. The audio button is only to switch between the stereo and the multichannel layer of an SACD. I'm "trumped" as well .

Bill

 

I'm considering getting the oppo 103 to play flac files. A few questions:

1) how well are hi res files played from external hard drive to usb input?
2) how long does it take to read a 1tb hard drive?
3) is there sound degradation if I use wifi instead of usb? If not, is wifi the recommended way to play large libraries?
4) does the oppo 103 random/shuffle via wifi and/or usb?

5) finally, is there big difference for what I want to do between the 103 and the 105? Do they play equally well via wifi or usb?

Thank you very much for your patience if these are basic questions.

I really want to join the oppo club if it can do the above for me.

 

I have both the 103 and 105. I pretty much squeeze every media option use the players offer outta them. I play Blu-rays (inc 3D), DVDs, SACD, CD, every kind of audio and video media files, even YouTube and Netflix from the player. Additionally, I have the external aftermaket USB region free dingle so I can play anything from anywhere.

I occasionally use an external 1 or 2 TB HD via USB to play audio files ranging from lowly MP3s to CD quality WAVs up to HiRes. The audio quality is generally excellent, obviously the better quality resolution, the better it's gonna sound. A/B'ing a CD played on the Oppos vs. the same track ripped from that CD played from the external HD, there's no sonic difference, imo.

You can find and start playback of tracks pretty quickly and easily, much like on any computer, certainly easier using the tablet/phone app.

My problem with audio playback via USB HD is the rather primitive user interface. You can't really make playlists other then tediously scrolling through the contents of folders and checking off individual tracks you may want to play which will then play in the order you checked them equaling *one* playlist.

Otherwise, You're pretty much limited to playing the contents of a folder in the file order they are sorted by name (ie: 01, 02, 03, etc). You can do random playback and repeat but that's about it. You do not have anything like the flexibility to arbitrarily sort songs and make multiple playlists like you would in say, iTunes or Windows Media Player even on the Oppo tablet or phone app. I do occasionally have the player lock up, usually when playing a series of files buried in several levels of sub-folders. Sometimes these Oppos can be buggy.

My workaround was simply making playlists by burning a disc's worth of audio files from my HD through my PC onto a Bluray, renaming the files with a numeral to reflect my desired play order.before burning the disc. My other workaround would have been simply playing music via my iPod through the USB interface but the Oppo players to not accept data pushes from Apple devices via USB.

The one thing I can't comment on is I have not tried any sort of streaming via my home network.... One of these slow evenings I gotta set it up and give it a shot.

The Oppo's strength is the excellent video and audio sound quality, however unless you have a pretty high end receiver/amp and speakers and golden ears to really hear the subtle but real difference in audio the better DAC in the 105 gives vs the 103, I personally wouldn't recommend spending more then double the price for for the 105 for basically a built-in headphone amp and balanced XLR outputs.

Overall, I give the 103 my highest recommendation despite the clunky handling of the sorting/playlist aspect. For $500, it's real value for what you get both in versatility and quality of media playback. The more expensive 105 is for the serious audiophile who will get serious use from the better DAC, headphone amp and XLR outs.

 

Audio button, just as with a visual disc.

 

Unfortunately that doesn't work. I just tried it with my 103 and a stereo hybrid SACD. I tried pressing the audio button with the SACD Priority set for SACD and then CD. Both times I got the red circle with a line through it at the top left of my plasma. The audio button will switch layers between a multichannel SACD (stereo to multichannel and vice versa) but not between CD and SACD.

Bill

 

I've reviewed the operating manual, and there doesn't seem to be a way to play the CD layer of a hybrid SACD without going into the playback preferences menu. You might write OPPO customer service to see what they have to say.

 

@Partyslammer has given you excellent answers. I just want to clarify one point, which relates to your 1st and 5th questions. Both machines will play files from a USB hard drive. But only the 105 will accept a stream via USB from a music-playing device like an iPod, iPhone, computer, etc. This might be irrelevant to your needs, but it's the biggest functional difference between the two machines so I just wanted to clarify/stress that. IMHO it's important - and was a major factor in my decision to shell out the extra money for the 105 - because if you want more control, and more convenient control, over playing a digital library of music, then every solution involves controlling playback with an external device (again, iPod/iPhone, computer, streamer, etc.) and using the Oppo as the DAC. And only the 105 can do that. (The 103 can do it actually, but only through its HDMI input, and there aren't many audio-playback devices that will natively output HDMI.)

If you're confident that you only want to use the USB input for hard drives, controlling playback with the Oppo machine, then the 103 is the best value for your money.

 

I've had both and in terms of sound quality, the 105 is a better sounding player. The bottom end was fuller and the top end less harsh. The 103 did not better my external DAC where the 105 was on par with my DAC at least up to 24/96. However systems, budgets and preferences differ and I cannot say the 105 is $800 better (or whatever the math might be). If you just want a device to rip SACD then the 103 sounds like it will suffice. IF you want the BEST player that rips SACD then the 105D is your only choice for now.

 

Excellent explanation as to the differences between the 103 and 105D . Does the 105D offer better USB functionality over the 105?

Bill

 

So far as I know, these are the only two things the 105D has that the 105 does not (see Oppo BDP-105D Darbee Edition (Black) »):

• includes Darbee's adjustable Visual Presence technology, which enhances video quality for more depth and realism
• updated asynchronous USB DAC input supports DSD audio in standard rate (2.8MHz) or double rate (5.6MHz)

 

I swear I've used it in the past to switch between CD and SACD. Maybe I'm thinking of the old 83...