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

Why wouldn't you use the stereo analog outs of the OPPO and connect it to your amp?

 

Connect the HDMI from the Oppo to your tv. Use the analog outputs to your amp, as Spitfire said above.

 

The Oppo has digital outputs (both coax and optical). It also has an onboard DAC for analog outputs (just not the top of the line DACs of the 105). You would have to try them to see which you prefer, but I would bet the analog out on the 103 is at least as good as the onboard DAC on the Marantz.

You can hook up the Oppo via digital (coax or TOSlink), and/or via the analog connections. Do both and A/B them to see what you prefer. You may even prefer one for some discs and the other for others.

 

I looked at a photo of the back of the Oppo and I didn't a connection area for RCA cables? Are they there?

 

My system is a 2 channel stereo system that is separate from my TV system. This Oppo player would not be used as a Bluray player to watch movies, it will only serve to play back audio over my stereo system. I'm trying to find an inexpensive way to find a solution to play back HDCD and SACD audio over my existing stereo system.

 

7.1 analog outs:

 

Very cool, thank you. I didn't realize the Oppo had a DAC for the analog outputs, I was under the impression there was no DAC at all. So that would work, but in looking at the back of the machine, I didn't see the connections for traditional RCA cables?

Also, if I used the RCA cables to connect to the Maranzt, that would utilize the onboard DAC on the Oppo, but if I wanted to activate the DAC on the Marantz, that would only happen if I hooked up the Oppo using the coaxial, correct?

All of this happened when I got the Neil Young boxset for the 1st four CD's in HDCD. When I played them last night, I wasn't hearing any of the goodness that other people said they heard. I had no clue that my CD player would not be able to decode the HDCD, so the highs sound brittle and compressed. Then I read that in order to fully benefit from the mastering of a HDCD, one would need a proper player to play them back.

 

Oh I see ok thanks, I'd use the FL and FR, white and red RCA connection. At first I thought that was to only set up a 5.1 system, which I don't have.

 

Amazon.ca has this player for 499$, would that be considered a good price for this model? It would appear that in this price range, the unit would be hard to beat. I've read other players like the Cambridge Audio have superior chips and have better audio sound, but it's also twice the price.

 

As a side note, why do various websites state that HDCD will play back on any CD player?? Sure it will play back, but the audio quality will be substandard, making the whole thing useless?

 

Just placed my order for the Oppo on Amazon.ca, really looking forward to hooking it up and hearing the results! Thanks to everyone for their help.

 

To make sure people understand that they can play an HDCD on their regular CD player. Even on this forum, this question has been asked many times (same for hybrid SACDs or weirdly named redbook CDs such as XRCD or Bluspec-CD)

Only if you consider CD quality as substandard and useless.

 

LOL, lets not go there. I'm a fan of vinyl and CD's and when both are done right, they both can sound amazing.

 

If you like the BDP-103 but want top-shelf audio performance, I'd go for the BDP-105 rather than the Cambridge Audio 751.

Now, if only Cambridge Audio came out with a univeral player utilizing their Anagram and Analog Devices chipsets found in their 800-series CD players, that would be a different story entirely!

 

There is one with Anagram - the Cambridge Audio 752BD...I have one and prefer it to my previous Oppo 95.....

 

It's a matter of taste it seems; the 752BD is seen as the better audio performer by some reviewers.

 

Wondering how I can navigate the menu to choose specific settings, if I am not connecting the player to a TV? I'm using it as another media front end unit, and not for watching movies. Would it be possible to navigate using only the front panel, to select something like PCM stereo, or to turn HDCD on or off?

 

You can navigate with the front panel a bit, but it's a PITA. Most of what you are trying to do will work right out of the box. You don't have to "enable" the DAC or anything, You can connect the optical out to your Marantz and go (using the Marantz's DAC) or connect the RCA for FR and FL to the Marantz and go. No fuss necessary.

You need to get into the setup toast up networking and all the myriad features if you want to use them, but it's certainly not a requirement. Stay out of the menus and it's just a fancy super cd player!!!

All that said, I am basing that on my 95, a 103 owner can chime in.

 

Ok thanks for that info, I thought I had to enable the HDCD, and actually select a conversion to PCM stereo, but you are saying as soon as I pop in the HDCD it will know what to do? I am hooking it up to the amp via RCA, as my Marantz amp would not know what to do with the digital HDCD signal should I connect with an coax or optical cable.

So whether I play a CD, SACD, or HDCD, there is no fiddling needed in the set up? It will just know what to do?

 

If you have the OPPO connected to a Wi-Fi network, you can use the MediaControl app on an iOS or Android device. That way, you don't need a TV.

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-103/blu-ray-BDP-103-Support.aspx

HDCD might need to activated in the settings once.

I suggest you download the manual and familiarize yourself with the features.

 

Interesting...I hadn't planned on it, but I could look into it. So by setting it up, I could navigate the menu with my Ipad using an app?

 

You can do almost anything with the app. Change the settings, use it as a remote control, access music and movies on discs, USB or a network drive, etc.

 

Awesome, that is a great work around to not having a TV screen to help navigate. I just read on the link you provided that you do have to enable HDCD decoding, if your amp cannot decode on it's own. So I'll set up the app tonight and try to do it all through the Ipad. The Oppo is being delivered this morning so I'm going to have a lot of fun with the unit tonight. Really looking forward to setting it up. Thanks again.

 

I have a 105, which uses the same menu system as the 103. If you are using the Oppo as a dedicated audio player in a 2-channel stereo system, you can operate it day-to-day using just the regular remote, no monitor necessary. I have a small monitor hooked up to mine, but I keep it turned off.

HOWEVER, there are two one-time settings you will need to change, and for that you need to hook up a monitor/TV temporarily, or connect the included wireless dongle and use the remote app mentioned above:

(1) You have to access the menu to turn on HDCD decoding - for some reason the default is set to Off, and I'm not aware of any way to change that setting without accessing the visual menus. (Edit: Just saw that you found this out already.)

(2) I am 95% sure, based on my memory, that the unit defaults to playing the surround layer/mix of SACDs that have both a 2.0 (stereo) and 5.1 (surround) layer. The Oppo will of course automatically mix down the 5.1 layer to stereo on the fly if you only have the L and R analogue outputs hooked up. But in most cases you'll want to hear the dedicated 2.0 mix on the SACD. So you have to change that setting in the menus. I believe the same holds true for the DVD-A setting.

On a related note, if you want to hear the 5.1 layer on the fly, you can toggle between 2.0 and 5.1 layers on SACDs (and I think DVD-As) without the visual menu, by pressing the "audio" button never the lower-left of the remote. I can't recall if you have to press it once or twice to switch between 2.0 and 5.1, but it's easy regardless. The only thing you need the visual menu for is to set the default behavior when the machine encounters a disc with both layers.

 

Fantastic info, thank you, it's much appreciated. So I'll make sure to set up the app to control the unit, especially when setting up the first time as I will want to turn HDCD decoding on, and have the unit always provide the 2.0 mix, as I am not set up for 5.1. If I run into any trouble I'll simply hook it up to my TV to begin the initial set up.

Is this something I need to do each time I turn the player on, or will the new setting stick? Also, if by turning the HDCD decoding to "on", what will happen when I want to play a redbook CD? Do I then have to turn it off?

Setting it up to the wifi in my home, is that hard to do, and will I need the TV screen at least at the beginning to get into the menu set up to configure the player to be able to use my Ipad app?

UPS just delivered it to my office now, so I'm really happy they were able to bring it to me before the holiday vacation.