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RE: SACD does make a difference

Posted by stehno (M) on February 10, 2015 at 17:51:58

In Reply to: RE: SACD does make a difference posted by fantja on February 10, 2015 at 03:30:29:

We're going back 10 years for APL swap and about 8.5 years for the Esoteric.

What I do recall is that the APL was a significant musical gain over the Sony SCD-1,

the Esoteric after its 275 hours of burn-in was a tremendous improvement over the APL. Far more dynamic was one of the characteristics I still recall.

The initial OPPO swap was a nice overall improvement over the Esoteric. In this case, a more detail and more fluid. I would have been satisfied if for the price it was the Esoteric's equal.

I was more than satisfied. But over time several things occurred that turned the OPPO a tremendous improvement:

1. For the first few months, I only used the OPPO's CD disk drive for music playback. Once I started using the USB ports and a 128gb thumb drive and now an SSD drive (by-passing the CD transport), a very nice musical improvement with greated detail and less distortion.

2. Due to some technologies I employ, I've always had a very dynamic system. However, when I swapped in a 600wpc int. amp to replace a 200wpc int. amp, the dynamics, especially a note's initial attack induced such an electronic jump factor, that was so in-my-face, there was nothing realistic about it whatsoever and in fact took me further from the live performance as it seemed my ears were 1 foot from the instruments for the initial attack and then somewhere in the first 2 rows for the remainder of the note. Very unmusical. So I replaced the int. amp with that mfg'ers 600wpc mono block amps (no preamp) and used the OPPO's passive volume attenuator which utilizes OPPO's 32-bit SABRE DAC's. What a fabulous gain and was near perfect for my new configuration. The dynamics fell back onto the soundstage with the instruments where they below. Because of the 600wpc amps I still have perhaps one of the most dynamic systems you've heard, only now far more realistic with the dynamics occurring up on the soundstage as they should and with a good distance between the instruments and my ears now planted deeper into the audience.

Think of .45 cal. gunshots going off maybe 5 or 6 ft. from your head where you're flinching/jumping with every gunshot. Exciting but when it comes to music there's nothing realistic about it unless your position is next to the instruments on the soundstage. Now imagine those gunshots going off maybe 45 or 50 ft. away from you. Still quite dynamic but now there's a distance.

Moreover, by utilizing the OPPO's passive volume attenuator utilizing the 32-bit SABRE DAC's that supposedly induce little to no signal loss, the music is significantly more pristine, detailed, and delicate. So it seemed that the seemingly lack of signal loss from OPPO's volumene attenuator greatly enhanced the detail and overall music presentation.

3. There's the convenience I also now have using the OPPO as a music server with my iPad mini and an SSD drive.

4. The OPPO's picture quality, especially with the Darbee option is a significant improvement over the Esoteric.

In the end the sonic improvements of the OPPO are quite a leap over the Esoteric.

Frankly, I'm quite surprised by these improvements. I put a lot of emphasis on quality of construction, etc. The Esoteric with its world-renowned VRDS transport, its build contruction and materials used, and its 60 lbs. of heft, I did not think the OPPO could do this well.

I never had any experience with OPPO products prior to this. In fact, if the OPPO did not come with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee, I never would have demo'ed it because all of the reviews I read about it were so-so. Always seeming to compare it to another $1500 CDP like a Marantz and a little better here and a little worse there.

Ahhh, what do they know?

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