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In Reply to: RE: OPPO 105 and external DAC posted by mtbikeNH on April 30, 2017 at 10:17:29
Are you finding the Oppo's sound a bit fey, a little wan? A couple of years ago, I was keen on finding joy in the JLTi modified version of the 105D. But even that failed to convince me musically. And textures seemed overly processed (French horn, anyone?).
What music do you listen to?
And what do you find is missing from the 105?
Big J
"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."
Follow Ups:
I listen to everything except for country, metal and hip hop. I would say blues followed by rock and classical.
Most of my listening is vinyl (VPI Classic 2 and Sutherland Phono stage). What I would like is something similar to the vinyl experience. I tend to get fatigued with long digital sessions. Maybe a bit bright and gain some more depth. Make sense?
You'd like your digital to sound more like vinyl?
I was faced with that dilemma a couple of years ago. After much research and comparative listening I decided on an NOS tube DAC. My choice was the ANK 2.1, and since I'm not a kit builder I ordered mine from ANK as an assembled unit from their builder Pete Fulton (digitalpete) with the upgraded Duelund capacitors.
Fantastic analog sound along with superb customer service from Pete Fulton. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
IMO, all the talk about measurements is hypothetical (do they REALLY know what to look for?) when compared to actual listening. That's where an NOS DAC thrives. Try one out if you can.
Cheers,
SB
Look, I don't know how amenable you are to investing in new examples of old-tech, but none will be surprised to see me steer you in the direction of R2R DACs of yore. I'm talking about DACs that use chips like the TDA1541A from Philips, or the PCM1704K from Burr Brown, or Analog Devices AD1865.
You will find the AD in items from Audio Note or AN Kits, for example. You will find the TDA1541A in fewer and fewer designs, as the supply is nearly dried up - but you may see R versions turn up in cleverly designed DACs like those made in Ukraine by Abbas Audio. And you will find the 1704K in DACs (just about, as these are disappearing fast) such as those made by Audio-gd or Lite Audio (like I use).
All of the above are well engineered designs, with good power supplies that take full advantage of the sonic signatures of each of those DACs. The less processing the better. And if you want to go vintage, then you will find even more examples.
What's your budget?
Big J
"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."
Thanks for those ideas. I'm not opposed to vintage anything.
Budget? I don't really have a budget in mind. What I am looking for is an idea of what it would cost, or even if it is possible to significantly upgrade my OPPO.
I would start looking from US$1,500 up. Answering the question of whether it is possible to do better, I would say emphatically 'yes, and then some'.When they were more generally available, Lite's DAC60 could be had for about US$600. Not sure the Monarchy Audio version cost. However, I think Monarchy still offer a version of it called the NM24 , or similar. The review at that link should be instructive. I have the one above, the DAC83 , which is frankly amazing with I2S connections and even better with glass fibre optical. No problem with macro nor micro-dynamics here. Better overall performance than either the SONY SCD-1 or Marantz CD7, and I owned both of those. These are now very hard to find.
Abbas are still offering DACs for between $1,100 and $1,800 or so. They are quite an esoteric design but full of interesting parts choices and decisions (such as the tube clock and I/V device).
AN Kits and Audio Note do excellent designs, but prices creep up fast.
All of these devices will help you relax into the sound and make it much easier to focus on the performance. Instruments will sound more real and less like simulations (drum skins for example, or the woody resonance of stringed instruments - or the dynamic range of piano keys being struck). Recordings should sound more different to each other than alike, as they should.
Hope that helps.
Big J
"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."
Edits: 04/30/17 04/30/17
Audio-GD direct from The Peoples Republic...
Link below: Stick with the PCM1704U-K products.
Big J
"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."
Thank you so much. This is exactly the type of information I was looking for. I will check out some of the DACs you mentioned.
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