Playing SACD audio on old equipment

[piolaxo]

Originally Posted by 70sMac

Okay, so, thanks to all the helpful posts, I understand that it's either an expensive DAC unit -- or "Streamer," as Bryston calls their DAC 3.14 -- or a blu ray player with an internal DAC.

Other than the Oppo equipment that has been discussed previously in this thread, does anyone have any updated recommendations about universal-type players that are similar to the [sorry to say] defunct Oppo players? Is there such a thing out there?

I read a review (from January 2019) of the Pioneer UDP-LX800 in which the reviewer was practically comparing it to opposable thumbs when it comes to advancements...but, alas, it doesn't seem to be around any more...and, even if I could find one, I assume that it would be right up there with the Oppo UDP-205 in the price category. Does Pioneer presently offer anything that compares to these high-grade players when it comes to audio output quality?

Thank you all for your time and I hope to read more from you...

The DAC on the Oppo 203 and 205 is not up to par with a dedicated (and
newer) DAC, but they have ESS ES9038PRO which is decent.

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by piolaxo

The DAC on the Oppo 203 and 205 is not up to par with a dedicated (and newer) DAC, but they have ESS ES9038PRO which is decent.

The 203 has a single AKM AK4458VN.
The 205 has a pair of ES9038PRO DACs (and a few other things).

[70sMac]

Okay, so I've caught myself doing some crazy clicking on the web. Here I am, looking at prices for Oppo -103s, -105s, -203s and, really insane, the prices of -205s. Why is that so crazy? Because I'm actually considering buying more than piece of equipment...so let me reset and ask if I'm understand things clearly...


The -203 4K blu ray player has RCA analog outputs and it supports SACD and DVD-A audio...and an improved DAC (versus the -105).

The -205 4K blu ray player has balanced analog audio outputs, supports SACD, DVD-A and an even better DAC (versus the -203).

The -105 has balanced analog outputs and it supports SACD and DVD-A audio. Does it support 4K UHD Blu Ray? Does the -105 come without Darbee circuitry?

Maybe it's all the text that I'm reading about the storm known as "Streaming," but I don't want to be without a way to play my own physical media. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I really don't want to "modernize." If I did, I would've sold off my Mac stuff a long time ago. Hell, we don't even have high-speed internet up here in the mountains, so being able to play all of our old music and movies seems like a pretty good idea to me. Thanks again for your time.

[rnrmf1971]

I’m going by memory here, and it’s been awhile, but....

Only the 203 and 205 play 4K UHD discs.

The 103 and 105 can up-convert standard blu ray and dvd to 4K to match the native resolution of your television. Neither will play UHD discs, however.

Not all 105 players have darbee. It was a special edition. I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to get a darbee player.

I haven’t compared a 105 to a 203 but I wouldn’t guarantee the 203 is a better audio performer.

Yes, the 205 sounds better than all that came before, in my opinion.

You have the Sony for 4K so it might make sense to get a 105 for its respectable audio performance, if the 105 is as inexpensive as I saw someone write in an earlier thread.

[doggiehowser]

I actually quite like the AK DAC on the 203.

[70sMac]

Christian.... Believe it or not, the -105s are bringing very good money on the used market. I've seen some ads from owners who are asking $1000+ for them.

DoggieHowser.... It's great to get a post from you again. Before I abandon the idea altogether, do you still think that a separate DAC would be a good idea? If so, do you have any new thoughts on a DAC that's not crazy expensive?

One things apparent, though. If one wants to support their own physical entertainment platforms -- i.e., CDs, DVDs, Blu Ray and even 4K Blu Ray -- you better think about getting decent equipment before it either becomes extinct or it becomes beyond affordable...

Thanks for the posts, folks.

[W9TR]

I would not buy an over-priced abandoned OppO player on the used market. They are great players, I own a BDP-95 and a UDP-205. But they are now overpriced and there are other options available from mainstream audio manufacturers who are dedicated to staying in the business.

Yamaha BD-A1060 Universal Blu-Ray Player is one example. It decodes the most popular audio formats like CD, SACD, HDCD, FLAC, etc. It has balanced outputs and balanced DAC’s and a pure stereo mode that turns off all the video stuff.

It has a WiFi capability so you can stream you audio files to it if and when you decide to go that route. Or you can use an external hdmi DAC if you feel the need to upgrade.

It doesn’t do 4K Blu-Ray, but costs $550.

There are other similar players out there. I haven’t researched the field thoroughly as my Oppo players are running fine.

[70sMac]

Originally Posted by W9TR

I would not buy an over-priced abandoned OppO player on the used market. They are great players, I own a BDP-95 and a UDP-205. But they are now overpriced and there are other options available from mainstream audio manufacturers who are dedicated to staying in the business.

Yamaha BD-A1060 Universal Blu-Ray Player is one example. It decodes the most popular audio formats like CD, SACD, HDCD, FLAC, etc. It has balanced outputs and balanced DAC’s and a pure stereo mode that turns off all the video stuff.

It has a WiFi capability so you can stream you audio files to it if and when you decide to go that route. Or you can use an external hdmi DAC if you feel the need to upgrade.

It doesn’t do 4K Blu-Ray, but costs $550.

There are other similar players out there. I haven’t researched the field thoroughly as my Oppo players are running fine.

W9TR..... I really appreciate the "counterpoint" post you added to the discussion. Yes, the prices commanded by the abandoned Oppo players are hyper-inflated (to be nice about it). The prices being asked for the -205 player, in particular, are quite incredible -- especially when you consider that the original reviews for it consistently placed its [relatively] high price in the "CON" column...So, unless I find an owner of a used -205 who's happy with a reasonable profit, I don't think that an Oppo -205 will end up on one of our Lovan audio racks.

But...having written that, I'd like to put our money into something that's as "universal" as possible and, based on my research, the (other) Oppo players are hard to beat for functionality. Yes, no doubt, their prices are also hyper-inflated, but they're not entirely beyond the realm of possibility -- ala, the -205.

One thing that I'm still a bit confused about, though... the Oppo -103 and -105 can be had with the Darbee ("D") video option. Did Oppo add this technology to the -203 and -205 players? In other words, are there -203Ds and -205Ds out in the audio/video world?

To change the subject (a bit) ... If we can't find an Oppo player that we can justify, I'd still like to know as much as I can about separate DAC units. As I recall, the only one that came highly recommended, last year, was the Bryston BDA-3. There are still some of them out there, but their prices are still pretty high, too. Apparently, Bryston makes a newer external DAC (aka, Streamer) that was dubbed the BDA-3.14, but, alas, it's also very expensive.

Does anyone know of any other brands/models of external DACs that perform well without the hefty price tag?

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by 70sMac

One thing that I'm still a bit confused about, though... the Oppo -103 and -105 can be had with the Darbee ("D") video option. Did Oppo add this technology to the -203 and -205 players? In other words, are there -203Ds and -205Ds out in the audio/video world?

No.

[70sMac]

Kal..... Would you please explain a bit more? "No" to which question?

Are you saying that the Darbee circuitry wasn't installed in the Oppo -203s and -205s?