Oppo BDP-105: A Game-Changer

danomar

My spoon is too big.
For a long time, I thought digital was digital. I always have a good setup running and was content with limitations of digital music. The convenience outweighed the shortcomings, especially while I was traipsing around the world.

After quietly reading up on DACs the past year, and finally committing to eventually getting a Blu-Ray player, I found a reasonably priced Oppo BDP-105 in silver. It arrived today. It is now my DAC as well as my disc player.

Everything. Is. Different.

Everything.

To quote @Supercool!, it is a game-changer. I never thought a DAC could make such differences in what I hear.

Thanks to all who share their experiences with Oppos. This machine was much more valuable an investment than I ever could have anticipated. I expected it to be nice, but damn. Just... Day-um!
 
Well mastered digital certainly can sound amazing with a good DAC. The convenience part is a bonus...
Welcome to the dark side! :beerchug:
 
For a long time, I thought digital was digital. I always have a good setup running and was content with limitations of digital music. The convenience outweighed the shortcomings, especially while I was traipsing around the world.

After quietly reading up on DACs the past year, and finally committing to eventually getting a Blu-Ray player, I found a reasonably priced Oppo BDP-105 in silver. It arrived today. It is now my DAC as well as my disc player.

Everything. Is. Different.

Everything.

To quote @Supercool!, it is a game-changer. I never thought a DAC could make such differences in what I hear.

Thanks to all who share their experiences with Oppos. This machine was much more valuable an investment than I ever could have anticipated. I expected it to be nice, but damn. Just... Day-um!
Check out oppomod.com. I just installed their new LPM mod in my new UDP 205. The difference is again as much as your impression. I replaced my BDP95 with the 205 a few months ago. I didn't upgrade to the 105 because not much difference was being reported. But the new 205 is as you said, again a "game changer", even before the mod; with it it's just incredible.There's a good level of upgrade potential for the 105 for when you feel up to it. I loved the 95 but it was like 5 years old and the 205 came along. Wow.
 
Having recently purchased a 95 all I can say is enjoy and yeah, it's real

So... In order to make sure that I am taking FULL advantage of the superb dac's in the 205, is it best to buy an AVR with dedicated 7.1 analog inputs?
 
So... In order to make sure that I am taking FULL advantage of the superb dac's in the 205, is it best to buy an AVR with dedicated 7.1 analog inputs?
I would say "yes," only if the DAC in the 105 is better than the DAC in the AVR. The thing with some AVRs, though, is that there is no "direct" mode where you can turn off all of their digital processing inside the receiver. Even my ancient Sony GX700ES runs its tone controls and everything through a digital processor, so the only way I can listen is by putting it in direct mode.

For many of us, the 105 is being used only for its 2-channel analog outputs. I pretty much use mine as a network media player. I pull music from a Synology NAS in the basement, and play it either with Oppo's network media player, or send music via DLNA from JRiver (as I am often working at a computer while listening). If I want an easy way to access Pandora or stream music to the Oppo, I connected a Chromecast to the #1 HDMI input. This is so much easier than turning on a TV and going through the Oppo menu system--now I can "cast" any app to the Chromecast. For Tidal, I can access it via the Oppo smartphone app, where browsing files is similar to how the network playback works. (Be sure to download Oppo Media Control, vs. Oppo Remote Control, and be sure it is for the 105.)

I agree that the sound is way better. I had a Pioneer Elite DV-45A and (pardon the expression) it sounds like ass compared to the Oppo--bright, harsh, nasty. I tried a DACMagic external DAC but it did not really help much. The Oppo's soundstage is much fuller, the music has more body to it, the harshness and glare is gone, and I can more easily hear the difference between CD and high-res.

I am actually leaning towards the new Oppo Sonica DAC, and having it modded by Modwright. I heard a couple at AXPONA and they sounded superb.
 
So... In order to make sure that I am taking FULL advantage of the superb dac's in the 205, is it best to buy an AVR with dedicated 7.1 analog inputs?

I use my 95 in a 2 channel system for audio playback, but if you do want to use multichannel, then pretty much yes.
 
Bought my BDP-83 in 2009 for HT, then picked up a used BDP-93 for the bedroom, then bought a 105D for HT/2-channel, and now bought the 205. I love how well these machines work, and how quickly they respond to customer complaints. The 105D is already superb sounding, but haven't had much chance playing with the 205. One thing I can say is that I'm impressed with the build quality.
 
I bought my 105 as a demo. It said "like new" but dang, if it didn't look brand new when I pulled it out of the box! It is packed like a fortress, and mine came with the black Oppo carrying bag. The weight of the player just said "quality" to me, as did the feel of the connectors on the back. Such a huge step up from the crappy Pioneer 45A, which was so light that it would slide backwards on the shelf if you pressed a button too hard.

Once they overcome the gapless issue on the Sonica DAC, I'll be jumping for one. I'm keeping the 105 largely because I can use it to rip SACDs over the network, but also because it is such a well-built player. I've rarely used the disc transport, in fact. It should last forever.
 
The Oppo's soundstage is much fuller, the music has more body to it, the harshness and glare is gone, and I can more easily hear the difference between CD and high-res.

That is what I first noticed. At first, I thought perhaps it was EQed to give a more tube-like sound, but then I listened and heard all of the highs that were there before, just more of the other stuff, too. And it all sounds much nicer. To be fair, some recordings sound hardly different than before, but for example I am right now listening to Bill Stewart's Think Before You Think and it sounds more like a very good vinyl LP than wireless digital.

Very nice. Very, very nice.
 
I love my 105, its DAC sounds better than any other I've heard. It bested the DAC in a friend's Onkyo 11.2 AVR and his Sony, it was much less grainy, especially on vocals. I like that it has so many inputs, 7.1 controls, and a variable volume, so it can replace your pre amp if you don't use any analog sources.
 
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I love my 105, its DAC sounds better than any other I've heard. It bested the DAC in a friend's Onkyo 11.2 AVR and his Sony, it was much less grainy, especially on vocals. I like that it has so many inputs, 7.1 controls, and a variable volume, so it can replace your pre amp if you don't use any analog sources.

As I've mentioned before, I'm using a 103 (same unit, not as high quality analog section) with a Sansui QRX quad receiver. The Oppo downmixes 5.1/7.1 to 4.0. HDMI switch selects cable box or Roku. So herself can have surround sound TV in bed and I get to keep a rig that'll play quad LPs and tapes and glows green in the dark, not vacuum fluorescent blue :) Would love to step up to a 105 or better yet a 205 when prices come down (the 205 I believe can be used directly from a PC as a USB DAC unlike previous Oppos.) I do have a 95 for my good audio rig, but I couldn't use it to replace the 103 as the 103/105 were the first ones they made with the HDMI input.

I used it briefly to feed a Dynaco ST-120 directly and that worked great. Only downsides: no ability to play quadraphonic stuff, and I was always paranoid about using a 40+ year old unrestored amp with that setup as the 103 does not have a 12V trigger - if it did, I'd have rigged up a relay and power strip to make it transparent (was always worried about falling asleep with the amp powered on, or worse, having it left on all day after forgetting to turn it off.) I believe that the 203/205 have added the 12V trigger so using one straight to power amps would be a viable solution for a compact system.
 
N8NagelI I'm not sure what you mean, I use the DAC in my 105 with my PC through a USB. The reason I upgraded from to a 105 was that the 95 would not play FLACs without putting a three second gap between tracks. Which was very annoying when listening to live recordings.
 
You're right, I just looked it up and learned something. The 103 cannot be used as an asynchronous USB DAC but the 105 can. I thought that that was a new feature of the 203/205 but it was apparently introduced for the 105.

So that is a really good argument that I should keep an eyeball out for a used 105 for the bedroom as that functionality would be really nice, and then pass the 103 onto someone who's going to use it as a digital player, or put it in the living room on the AVR if the Sony player out there ever dies.
 
I have yet to find something my 105 does poorly. It gets used daily as a disc player, DAC, streamer, digital volume control...
 
I rarely play anything over USB (usually no need to), but I may spring for the Schiit Wyrd, which they describe as a "USB decrapifier." It regenerates a clean USB signal, and uses an improved power supply to further improve it. I don't know what, if anything, Oppo does to the USB inside the 105, so feeding it a good diet of a clean USB signal will only help.
 
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