GSB said:
Spursgator,do you not use the dacs off the oppo then...i read the sabre's are referance!
What is your set-up mate?
Sorry for the slow reply GSB. On my main system, almost all of my music is in Apple Lossless on a Mac Mini routed through the Benchmark via optical. So that part is pretty simple. The Oppo is connected both to the Benchmark (via coaxial) and directly to the amp (via XLR). It is also connected to my TV via HDMI, along with the Mac Mini and a PS3 (also via HDMI). The digital output of the TV in then connected to the digital input of the Mac Mini.
So basically all three of the sources connected to the TV are sending a digital signal to the Mac, on which I installed a little playthrough app that sends anything on the digital input directly to the digital output (and thus to the Benchmark).
So when I am using the Oppo, I can listen three ways:
1. Directly through the Benchmark via coaxial.
2. Less directly though the Benchmark: HDMI to the TV, then optical to the Mac, then optical to the Benchmark.
3. Through the analogue outputs of the Benchmark via XLR (i.e., using the Sabre DACs on the Oppo).
I cannot hear any difference between #1 and #2 when listening to CDs - in effect I am listening to the Benchmark either way and the extra digital signal path doesn't hurt at all in #2. The Apple Lossless files on the Mac v. the same CD on the Oppo, through the Benchmark, also sound exactly the same as either #1 or #2.
With two DVDs that I tested, I thought maybe that #1 was slightly better than #2. It could be that the Mac is dithering the 24 bit words to 16 bits before sending it to the DAC. Or maybe it's my imagination. The difference is slight, if it even exists.
On the only DVD-A disc I own, a Marvin Gaye compilation, I really felt like #1 was superior to #2. It seems clear that the Mac is not sending the full 96/24 signal to the DAC. I'm sure it's possible to tweak the Mac to fix this but I haven't bothered - easier to just flip the switch on the DAC.
Now, to answer your question: there is always a clear improvement when switching between #1 and #3. I did not try it blindfolded but the first time I flipped that switch, my wife said, unprompted, 'Woah, it sounds better like that.' This was on a DVD. With a Redbook CD the difference was less - I still think the Benchmark is better but it's not the obvious improvement you get with DVD. The Oppo sounds excellent and I would not describe the difference as overwhelming, but the Benchmark DAC is clearly better.
Note that you cannot play an SACD through an outboard DAC - when I listen to SACDs it has to be #3 (in case you don't know, SACDs are encrypted and cannot be streamed digitally except though HDMI with HDCP. An SACD directly though the Oppo DACs sounds very, very good - generally better than a Redbook CD played through the Benchmark (though with newer, well-mastered CDs, the difference is prettty minor). The sound is a bit analytical compared to the very best disc players that I have heard (the
WHF review of the Oppo is dead-on, in my opinion).
All of this reporting is to satisfy the curious. The bottom line is that I am really happy with the Oppo. It is versatile, it's a splendid Blu-Ray player that pairs very well with my 3D TV, it will play basically any disc you throw in it, and the sound will satisfy all but the most cripplingly obsesed. It is thoroughly recommended.
But if you are in the market for a DAC, and just want a disc transport to go with it to play CDs, the Oppo is overkill. A CD player in the 200-300 range, a digital cable, and the Benchmark will beat almost any CD playback system on the market save for the most exotic - and play your lossless files from a computer as well as the discs. I have the Oppo because I wanted a Blu-Ray player with great DVD upscaling, that would also play hi-rez discs, that had the attention to detail to satisfy an audiophile. I am really happy with it.
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