Cambridge Audio CXU vs. Oppo BDP-105 on CD Sound Quality?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Vinyl Rules!, Nov 14, 2015.

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  1. Linger63

    Linger63 Forum Resident

    Location:
    AUSTRALIA
    Bill,

    Considering you now use your Emotiva' DAC and it's DIRAC for stereo needs............

    Maybe it's time your 105D and 103 were sold off and a nice new 203 moved in??
     
  2. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    John,

    That's a great plan :)! But I don't have a 4k TV and probably won't for a year or two. I'm definitely keeping the 105D but will sell the 103 when the time comes to get the 203. If I ever setup a small 2 channel only system the 105D's analog section will come into play.
     
  3. Linger63

    Linger63 Forum Resident

    Location:
    AUSTRALIA
    Wasn't really thinking about the 4K ability actually..........I'm not into it myself either.
    I was thinking about the apparently improved 1080P video......the new USB 3.0 inputs.....other general improvements in the tray loader area.
    Definitely potential to be a perfect transport for you and covers the future 4K plans too..
    Heck you could sell it in 2 years for a 205 and probably not lose that much $ anyway!!!

    Great idea to sell you 103 as it would help fund the cost of a new 203..........Maybe worth waiting just a little bit longer though in case a few bugs need ironing out.
    Keeping the 105D for another setup is cool too.

    I wonder if the upcoming 205 will give your Emotiva a run for it's money?.......I guess that DIRAC is a pretty powerful tool though!!
     
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2016
  4. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    I have a CXU for my home theater and it's spectacular on music, cd's and SACD's. Much better than my old Oppo (which was the one below the top of the line).

    I have the matching Cambridge AVR. The setup is so good I don't really need a two channel system anymore.
     
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  5. Diskhound

    Diskhound Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Alrighty then. I have some views on the OP's question. First some background. I had an OPPO 105 in my system starting November 2014. At the time, I ran tubes and Tannoys and I loved the sound. It was just plain fun. Over the last 18 months though I have been on a mission to upgrade my system with a view to achieving a more modern sound. To me this meant greater resolution and transparency, a kind of delicacy in the detail without harshness and a deeper/wider soundstage. I wanted all this while still retaining a fun, musical un-fatiguing sound that I could listen to for hours.

    I got there on the vinyl side but as I upgraded my system the OPPO sounded less and less pleasing. It was never unpleasant mind you. It was just a bit too forward, too bright - not as analogue sounding as it was when I used tubes and Tannoys. While vinyl is clearly my main thing, I do have a large jazz collection on SACD/XRCD and a decent world and electronica collection collection on CD. So I needed to do something because even though I have most of it ripped, I still like to play shiny discs!

    So .... Recently, I had a chance to pick up a very gently used CXU and a brand new CXC on clearance for basically the same dollars that I sold my OPPO for. My rationale was that if I didn't like the sound then I would use them as transports and buy a Bryston BDA-3.

    Well, I gotta tell ya, in my system, using my ears, the CXU/CXC sounds mighty fine - it addresses the most important issues that I had identified with the OPPO. Its just a more musical set-up and less fatiguing. Its not like I am missing detail or the higher notes. The bass is all there too. It sounds more analogue I guess. Now .... I may still go the Bryston route but I have definitely lost any sense of urgency!

    So I know there are DSD purists out there, so before I finish I want to acknowledge that before the signal hits the Wolson DACs, the CXU converts DSD (and everything else) to 196/24 PCM using an Analogue Devices DSP with proprietary algorithms written by the good people at Anagram Technologies. It uses DSF software for DSD to PCM conversion and Q5 upscampling for PCM. Bottom line -- this is darn good technology. Now I know why Cambidge bought Anagram.
     
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  6. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    Good shout and a good choice. Going on four years down the line, my 752BD is still an absolute treat. Glad you found the same with your purchases too. :righton:
     
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2018
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  7. Converting DSD to 192 Khz doesn't seem to be the right thing to do, 176.4 Khz suits DSD to PCM conversion better as it's an even multiple of DSD sampling frequency.
    For the price of the Cambridge I'd get something that converts DSD natively, like the Oppo 203 or 205, if SACD/DSD is important for you.
     
  8. thegage

    thegage Forum Currency Nerd

    I have the same general opinion. There is of course better out there for much more money, but I'd take a CXU over an Oppo any day.

    John K.
     
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  9. Khorn

    Khorn Dynagrunt Obversarian

    I was really satisfied with my SCD-1 for many years until the laser went kaput a while ago. I bought a new CXU haven’t looked back. Personally I love the sound of 24/192 PCM in this unit and don’t believe I’ve lost anything at all in SQ. IMHO quite the contrary.
     
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  10. Diskhound

    Diskhound Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Like I said in my post, I had a 105 in my system for more than 3 years. It processes DSD natively. Before that I had the older OPPO player in your profile. I used to think it was absolutely critical to process DSD natively until I heard the CXU in my system. I don't know how the Anagram DSF algorithms convert DSD to PCM in the CXU but the results in my system are excellent. I think I must also like Wolfson DACs more ESS Sabre DACs. It's all personal taste at some level I suppose. And I freely acknowledge that better results can be had processing DSD natively at higher price points. That's why a Bryston BDA-3 is still perhaps on the horizon.

    FWIW, I own more than 400 SACDs. The music on them is obviously important to me. I went where the sound seemed best to me within my current budget. To suggest otherwise because I have offended DSD purist sensibilities is nonsense.
     
  11. BSC

    BSC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland
    The subject in itself is complicated with SACD. For example I've asked this many times how many of us do a comparison with the CD layer? How often can you be sure if you compare a SACD with the CD version of an album it's the exact same source? Last week I spent some time comparing 3 versions of Kind Of Blue (the original single layer Sony SACD, Mofi SACD and Ultra HD CD version) and frankly ended up with a sore head. Could have been the circumstances/frame of mind. But you can knock the fun out of the hobby.

    For whatever reasons as well I found the much cheaper Sony UBP-X800 to be a better transport with my Bryston BDA-3 Dac than the Oppo 105 but even that isn't perfect. The Bryston as we have discussed is noticeably better on all formats than the Oppo was and I would expect it to be the same with the CU but it of course it comes at a price but I think any serious step up in the digital arena is going to be like that.

    There is a strong argument for enjoying what you have and forgetting the next step but we never do-do we?
     
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  12. Kal Rubinson

    Kal Rubinson Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    That is a generally accepted idea but, in direct comparisons, I have been unable to detect any difference between 176.4 and 192.
     
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  13. BSC

    BSC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland
    I can get my set up to send SACD as either DSD or 192....there's another comparison to add to my list. :)
     
  14. Diskhound

    Diskhound Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Do you know what sample rate the CXU outputs on coaxial for SACD and DVD audio? I am very interested in this because I may have the chance to audition an Audio Note DAC.
     
  15. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    Nothing on coax. You'll get the CD layer but not SACD. You'll get PCM via analogue and either PCM or DSD via HDMI depending on your setup settings.

    DVD-A isn't affected but SACD is.
     
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  16. Diskhound

    Diskhound Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Ok, thanks. Very useful information. If I do upgrade then at this time I think There is a very short list of only two DACs to choose between. Here's hoping more manufacturers add a DSD over HDMI option. In the meantime though, I think I will be very happy with the CXU.
     
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  17. Blair G.

    Blair G. Senior Member

    Location:
    Delta, BC, Canada
    What makes the UBP-X800 a better transport?

    I would have liked to get the Sony piece for my future BDA-3 (much cheaper) but got the CXU on clearance because I need the multi channel outs for my old receiver, wanted to retain HDCD capability and the ability the rip SACDs (even though I’ve never used it for that). But the money I would have saved buying the Sony would have paid for 25% of the DAC I’m sruggling to save for
     
  18. BSC

    BSC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland
    Nope only what the Sony does.
     
  19. BSC

    BSC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland
    It just sounds a bit better, a bit cleaner and clearer than the what the 105 produced as a transport. I A/B it quite a few times before selling the Oppo. Why that is the case I couldn't comment. As such ironically I am intrigued with the Cambridge CXUHD as it is similar to the Sony but would guess it will be a bit more robust on build. I retain a little concern on the Sony in that it has froze a couple of times but the Oppo could do that too however with some Sony users they have found the freezes/crashes to be a problem. The Sony is a great wee machine for the money but the Oppo was built a lot better as you might expect but as a transport it was just a tad behind the Sony. I thought it was a good time to move it on as well I got a very good price.
     
  20. BSC

    BSC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland
    I should have added the Sony does the upsample thing on CD as well although I haven't analysed that in any detail but it is nice to see your sample rate doubled on the display of your DAC. Overall functionality with the Sony is better as a transport for how I use it and less conflict with the Sony TV with HDMI which was a problem with the Oppo albeit one that I personally solved.
     
  21. Blair G.

    Blair G. Senior Member

    Location:
    Delta, BC, Canada
    The whole transport thing is interesting.
    One would think they should all sound the same, “all they do is spit out raw data” but that obviously isn’t the case.
    Differences in the lasers, or jitter?
     
  22. BSC

    BSC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland
    There's plenty of debate online or existing articles. Here's one from here.Do the CD transports have „sound”?
     
  23. Dax_Frost

    Dax_Frost A Visual Loop

    Location:
    Houston, Texas
    Is anyone using the CXU for network streaming (spotify, tidal, or flac files on a server)? I'm curious what the apps look like for it. I just read that you have to use a third party app.
     
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