Blu Ray or Preamp for DAC? (1 Viewer)

scotty6 · Aug 22, 2015

Just curious - how many of you are using your Blu Ray player to do the DAC work versus your Pre-amp/Processor? Recently bought an Oppo BDP-103 and am toying with the idea of passing analog signal to my preamp (Emotiva UMC-200 preamp).

Thanks

schan1269 · Aug 22, 2015

Well...if you don't do that, you aren't using 80% of the reason to have bought the Oppo in the first place.

scotty6 · Aug 22, 2015

schan1269 said:
Well...if you don't do that, you aren't using 80% of the reason to have bought the Oppo in the first place.

Lol - you presume to know what I purchased the Oppo! Thanks for the reply. I think I will give that a shot and see if it sounds any different.

schan1269 · Aug 22, 2015

Well, I've seen my fair share of Oppo(and other mega expensive players) connected via HDMI only...

While the owners wax prophetically on about why the player is so good...

scotty6 · Aug 22, 2015

schan1269 said:
Well, I've seen my fair share of Oppo(and other mega expensive players) connected via HDMI only...

While the owners wax prophetically on about why the player is so good...

No doubt. I typically try many different set up options before settling on what sounds best to me. I did run analog info for CD playback (before I had everything set up) and noticed a big difference in the sound (Emo vs. Oppo DAC) and it got me thinking about doing similar for all channels.

Thanks again for the reply.

scotty6 · Aug 23, 2015

So...do most people hook their Blu Ray players up this way?

schan1269 · Aug 23, 2015

A better question...

Do people connect their players "multiple times"?

I have two Oppo DVD players. I bought them, exclusively, for SACD/DVD-A over HDMI. Same for two Elite DVD players. My AVR that do have MCH, have either Onkyo/Integra players or a Denon.

I have 7 AVR setups. 4 of the AVR don't have MCH. Every AVR has a 5/6 disc CD player with it. I don't have any "virtual owned music".

But, if I were to consolidate to one player each(Multi region BD player capable of SACD/DVD-A)...

For the AVR with MCH, I would use it...if the players DAC was better than the AVR DAC.

My lowliest AVR is an Onkyo 707. My best(depending on what features you are considering) is either the Integra 7.8 or Denon 4810. 2nd runner up is the 1008.

None of those is a slouch in the DAC department.

scotty6 · Aug 23, 2015

schan1269 said:
A better question...

Do people connect their players "multiple times"?

I have two Oppo DVD players. I bought them, exclusively, for SACD/DVD-A over HDMI. Same for two Elite DVD players. My AVR that do have MCH, have either Onkyo/Integra players or a Denon.

I have 7 AVR setups. 4 of the AVR don't have MCH. Every AVR has a 5/6 disc CD player with it. I don't have any "virtual owned music".

But, if I were to consolidate to one player each(Multi region BD player capable of SACD/DVD-A)...

For the AVR with MCH, I would use it...if the players DAC was better than the AVR DAC.

My lowliest AVR is an Onkyo 707. My best(depending on what features you are considering) is either the Integra 7.8 or Denon 4810. 2nd runner up is the 1008.

None of those is a slouch in the DAC department.

Wow - so how many different rigs do you have???

So, I just changed the HDMI output format from the Oppo to LPCM - how is this different than running the analog cables from the Oppo to the preamp?

schan1269 · Aug 23, 2015

I have 7. Main house has 5, secondary house has 2.

Dedicated theatre(9.1 height. Soon to move to 7.1.4 Atmos/X)
Office(set up to perfect ITU standard with 5 tower speakers)
Living room(5.1)
Family room(7.1 as width)
Master bedroom (5.1)

"Great" room(7.1 normal. Might add 5.1.4 Atmos/X. Room really not big enough for 7)
Bedroom(7.1 height. Will probably move the main theatre AVR here)

Setting the Oppo LPCM and sending HDMI means the Oppo is decoding, sending it to the AVR to use the DAC there.

There should be zero difference. Cause decoding lossless to PCM has nothing to do with the DAC.

scotty6 · Aug 23, 2015

schan1269 said:
I have 7. Main house has 5, secondary house has 2.

Dedicated theatre(9.1 height. Soon to move to 7.1.4 Atmos/X)
Office(set up to perfect ITU standard with 5 tower speakers)
Living room(5.1)
Family room(7.1 as width)
Master bedroom (5.1)

"Great" room(7.1 normal. Might add 5.1.4 Atmos/X. Room really not big enough for 7)
Bedroom(7.1 height. Will probably move the main theatre AVR here)

Setting the Oppo LPCM and sending HDMI means the Oppo is decoding, sending it to the AVR to use the DAC there.

There should be zero difference. Cause decoding lossless to PCM has nothing to do with the DAC.

Holy crap - that's a lot of different systems. Are you a pro equipment reviewer?

So, I am a little confused by your reply. If I am sending a LPCM data set to my pre-amp via HDMI am I sending my pre-amp an analog data set (i.e. my Oppo did the DAC work and is now simply using the pre-amp to "distribute" the data to the proper channels) or is the only way to make this happen via the 7.1 analog outs (from Oppo to preamp)?

Sorry for the 20 questions, I've been out of the HT game for a while. I don't even know what 5.1.4 looks like!

schan1269 · Aug 23, 2015

I sold this stuff, wholesale, for 15 years(can still buy it wholesale). And I've been "in the hobby" since top-load VHS and Quadraphonic. I've got a closet full of antiquated AVR and cassette decks. I still have my first "surround" amp(Technics SU G90, currently in use as a 2 channel amp) and my first "5 channel"(till AC3, rear channel was really 1 channel...ran series) AVR, the Technics SAGX650(first AVR with a universal remote). I've probably got 10 AVR stacked that will probably never be plugged in again.

When I bought the 650, the SU G90 went to my bedroom. As newer AVR showed up...new rooms were included in the fun.

Back to your question. Analog signals never cross HDMI.

Oppo set bitstream -> Prepro ( via HDMI) = Oppo set PCM -> prepro (via HDMI).

The DAC in the Oppo does nothing, at all, via Toslink, coax or HDMI.

scotty6 · Aug 24, 2015

schan1269 said:
I sold this stuff, wholesale, for 15 years(can still buy it wholesale). And I've been "in the hobby" since top-load VHS and Quadraphonic. I've got a closet full of antiquated AVR and cassette decks. I still have my first "surround" amp(Technics SU G90, currently in use as a 2 channel amp) and my first "5 channel"(till AC3, rear channel was really 1 channel...ran series) AVR, the Technics SAGX650(first AVR with a universal remote). I've probably got 10 AVR stacked that will probably never be plugged in again.

When I bought the 650, the SU G90 went to my bedroom. As newer AVR showed up...new rooms were included in the fun.

Back to your question. Analog signals never cross HDMI.

Oppo set bitstream -> Prepro ( via HDMI) = Oppo set PCM -> prepro (via HDMI).

The DAC in the Oppo does nothing, at all, via Toslink, coax or HDMI.

Ok, that's what I thought. I was hoping to have found an option that allowed me to avoid buying 5 more cables but alas, not going to happen. I do feel like the LPCM via HDMI option sounds a little more dynamic so I may sit on that for a bit before making the cable purchase.

Thanks so much for the insight sir, much appreciated!

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