I have an Oppo Blu Ray player (BDP 103). Do I need a stand alone CD player?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by screechmartin, Aug 22, 2019.

  1. screechmartin

    screechmartin Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    British Columbia
    Any thoughts? Are there any advantages to a dedicated CD player when you already have a damn good Blu Ray player that seems to do a pretty decent job playing compact discs?
     
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  2. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    "need" seems a bit strong here. I'd say no, that 103 is just fine for 99.9% of cases. Especially since you seem happy with it.

    Other players will sound different. It's up to you whether or not different = better. I'd probably not worry about it.
     
  3. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    If you have to ask then you do.
     
  4. Jim N.

    Jim N. Just another day in what was once Paradise...

    Location:
    So Cal
    If a decent job is OK with you then there is no need. Otherwise look into an external DAC. Smaller footprint than a second player and you don't need a different remote. Do some research on DAC's and then shop used. Be careful though as DAC's can be addicting ;-).
     
    DTS-MA 7.1, rodentdog, Shawn and 6 others like this.
  5. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Like Jim said, an addition DAC could improve your stereo sound from this player. DACs coming down in price and all, there are fine ones now available in the $250 to $300 range. You should want to know if you are missing anything.

    The 103 does surround so well, in my opinion you could get better 2.0 with one of the newer lower cost DACs.
     
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  6. mds

    mds Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    I have one and use a DAC for redbook and the Oppo for SACD listening. It works really well in 5.1 also.
     
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  7. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    The Oppo 103 is a great player but not the end all as far as CD playback when using the analog outputs. I'm listening to Bryan Ferry's Boys and Girls SACD in 5.1 with my Oppo 203. The 203 is for multi-channel music and movies using HDMI. For CD and stereo SACD playback I have a Marantz SA-10 using XLR analog. Both players are in the same system and get used pretty much equally. The suggestions for an external DAC are an excellent idea.
     
  8. ghostofzuul

    ghostofzuul Harvester of Sorrow

    Location:
    oregon
    just my $0.02 but i just got an oppo bdp-83 nuforce edition to use primarily as a cd player. so i would say no... i also have a stand alone dac for computer audio... i got the bdp-83 specifically for the nuforce mods to run analog direct straight to my pre-amp. it's got a totally different dac topology than my stand alone dac and i like having two digital sources. although i do have the digital out of the oppo going into my standalone dac but mainly just for movies....
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2019
  9. Vinny123

    Vinny123 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    I went from an Oppo 83se, which sounds very nice to me for cds, to a Schiit Bifrost Multibit DAC fed fr an inexpensive Tascam CD 200. Big improvement in sound quality. Plus, when the Tascam’s laser or transport eventually dies, another inexpensive player/ transport can replace it. A stand-alone DAC gives great versatility. The Schiit sounds really, really. Let us know what you choose to do. Good luck.
     
  10. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    The analog outputs, while not bad, could definitely be improved. However I love using my 103 as a transport to feed my Direct Stream DAC.
     
  11. Anton D

    Anton D Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chico CA
    XLR, baby!

    :agree:
     
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  12. Art K

    Art K Retired but not tired!

    Location:
    Corvallis, Oregon
    I have the BDP103. It’s a great video player but makes a poor transport and CD player. If you have a lot of cd’s you’ll want a good transport and DAC or player.
     
  13. captwillard

    captwillard Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville
    The OPPO is a nice player. I think it sounds better with SACD than it does CD (cd's playback is a little flat). It makes a fantastic transport feeding my Bryston DAC. Video is great too.
     
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  14. audiomixer

    audiomixer As Bald As The Beatles

    I use my 103 to feed HDMI data to my DAC. Sounds great!
     
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  15. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    I don't know why you say that. I have found that the 103 sounds superb when it is run just as a transport into my DAC.
     
  16. screechmartin

    screechmartin Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    British Columbia
    Thank you for all the replies. I've always had a little trouble understanding the role of the DAC. When you say that you are using the Oppo to transport into the DAC, I assume you mean that the DAC stands between the Oppo and the amp and the speakers: The CD in the Oppo is producing a signal that is then run through the DAC, enriching the available information before it hits the amp and speakers. Is that correct? I guess that I have also always wondered why the DAC isn't built into higher end Blu Ray players (or higher end CD players for that matter). Why is it a separate unit?
     
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  17. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    Essentially, yes. I am using the Oppo to send digital signals to my DAC. My DAC then converts these to analog so that they can be sent through my preamp to my amp.
    DACs are build into this Oppo. I just happen use an outboard DAC which is much higher quality than the ones which are contained inside of this player.

    There are a number of bluray players out there which lacked analog outputs since it lowers the costs and because they believe that the HDMI connection makes analog outputs useless to most potential buyers. However I do not believe that Oppo ever made such a player.
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2019
    audiomixer likes this.
  18. ghostofzuul

    ghostofzuul Harvester of Sorrow

    Location:
    oregon
    someone could explain in better detail than me but to make a long story short. stand alone dac's typically have transformers (mine has 2 one for each channel) and circuit boards etc that would be cumbersome fitting into your average cd chassis. there are some high end cd players that are 2 chassis units... one solely for the transport the other for the board and other electronics... most people would agree that once you get above $500 the stand alone dac's will rival or best any internal dac that's in anything but the top of line cd players....

    the reason why i got the nu force edition oppo is b/c the internal dac and analog output have been significantly modified and as such as a cd player it's above average.
     
  19. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    Why would you say so ?


    I just replaced my old Technics CDP and Pioneer DVDP with a NOS Oppo BDP-103D. I think it does a terrific job with every format it handles (and handles everything you throw at it). Then again I wanted a an HQ, one-box solution that wouldn't break the bank. Since it's a NOS 2014 unit, it cost half the price of the 203 and a fourth of the 205. Ended up costing a grand, but considering down here a Yamaha CD-301N goes for U$ 890, and I think it can't compare to the Oppo in sound and build Q, I think I did well. At U$ 500 when it came out in the USA, it wasn't an cheap machine. I don't think any budget CDP can't compare in any regard, esp nowadays train-wrecks that skip, have an alarming lemon-to-good ratio, and last no longer than their warranties.

    I don't have a use for outboard DACs because a) they take space I don't have, b) I think all Oppos have superb built-in ones (at least mated with the rig listed in my profile) unless you got a very high-end rig and you can hear the difference, and c) outboard DACs are obnoxiously expensive down here. It's the swiss-army knife of digital formats playback; built like a tank. Loving it to bits; all I need and then some.
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2019
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  20. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    One feature that I miss is indexing.
    So lately I've been on the lookout for a good one that does.
    And of course SUBQ pre-emphasis tag detection.
     
  21. Wasabi

    Wasabi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lutz, FL
    I have an Oppo 103 that I'm not currently using. I bought it used for a good deal to use as a transport and to burn some SACDs which I never got around to doing. I understand that if I go digital coax into my DAC (nova150) that I'll lose SACD playback but I can also go HDMI into a Marantz AVR. For CD playback, I'd go with the nova route but will I keep any SACD playback when I choose the HDMI connection?

    Thanks.
     
  22. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    My Oppo 103 has SubQ disk decoding. But it does lack indexing.
     
  23. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    I did across this old thread we participated in. I guess i'm still not convinced
    on SUBQ detection :laugh:
    Why only this model, did DAC's change before and after these models. According to Oppo TOC is only supported.
    Pre-emphasis and OPPO Blu-ray Players
     
    Last edited: Aug 24, 2019
  24. Paul_s

    Paul_s Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I'd go for a two player setup if funds permit - think of it another way... it'll cut down on the wear and tear of your Oppo considerably.
     
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  25. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    I have arrived at this conclusion by experimentation. I have identified a total of either 5 or 6 disks with preemphasis inside of my collection so far. All 5 or 6 of these will light the preempahsis icon on my Direct Stream DAC when streamed via coax or toslink from my Sony SCD-C333ES SACD player. However only 2 or three of these show that they have pre-emphasis when examined with EAC (which can ONLY read TOC flags). So I am concluding that the remaining three CDs which trigger the deemphasis icon on my DAC but are not recognized via EAC must therefore have SUBQ flags since they clearly have preemphasis but are not displayed via EAC.

    However none of these 5 or 6 CDs will light the pre-emphasis icon when played via my Oppo 103 and streamed via toslink to my DS DAC. And yet, upon critical comparison, none of these 5 or 6 disks are even the slightest bit brighter when streamed from the Oppo when compared when streamed from my the Sony (which lights the flag on my DAC in each case). So my conclusion has been that my 103 is indeed digitally decoding CDs with both types of CD preemphasis flags.

    So believe me or don't. But it's your loss if you don't.
     
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