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I'm sorry if this seems a really dumb question, but I keep hearing about sacd players in particular the oppo 103 & 105. What I don't understand is the other bits you need to go along with the player to listen to sacds. Obviously speakers, but do they connect directly to these players or do you need to connect it to an amp??
I am a complete newbie when it comes to audio. The most I've ever had before is a hifi with everything that's needed coming in one package.
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Confuzzled said:
I'm sorry if this seems a really dumb question, but I keep hearing about sacd players in particular the oppo 103 & 105. What I don't understand is the other bits you need to go along with the player to listen to sacds. Obviously speakers, but do they connect directly to these players or do you need to connect it to an amp??
I am a complete newbie when it comes to audio. The most I've ever had before is a hifi with everything that's needed coming in one package.
You always need an amp but there are the options to have a stand-alone amp or ones built into the speakers. The former is more common.
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Kal Rubinson said:
You always need an amp but there are the options to have a stand-alone amp or ones built into the speakers. The former is more common.
In normal circumstances, a SACD player is no different to an ordinary CD player but some require a digital connection to an amp (HDMI) rather than analogue especially when one wants to listen to multi-channel, as opposed to stereo. Few if any SACD players nowadays have 5+1 channels of analogue output connectors. The multi-channel HDMI output must be connected to a D/A processor (separate box) before connection to an amplifier.
A lot of the discussions on this forum centre around the issue of what happens inside the SACD player. SACD discs are encoded with DSD - unlike CDs which are encoded with PCM. [SACD discs look the same as CDs but are not, they are DVD discs].
Consequently you need if possible to buy a SACD player that keeps the digital signal in the DSD domain right though to the final D/A convertor or to the HDMI connector for best SACD sound. Many unfortunately convert and degrade DSD to PCM inside the machine.
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Thanks for the information. I think part of the reason why I'm confused is because I've seen people discuss connecting an a/v receiver to players like the oppo 103 &105. So I suppose if you had one if those you would connect the speakers to that?
All seems very complicating. I think I'm starting to grasp it though. As I said before I'm not that experienced with hifi setups and the last hifi I had was an all in one system I purchased years ago. Nothing fancy.
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Confuzzled said:
Thanks for the information. I think part of the reason why I'm confused is because I've seen people discuss connecting an a/v receiver to players like the oppo 103 &105. So I suppose if you had one if those you would connect the speakers to that?
All seems very complicating. I think I'm starting to grasp it though. As I said before I'm not that experienced with hifi setups and the last hifi I had was an all in one system I purchased years ago. Nothing fancy.
It's really not that complicated. Obviously, it's more complicated than an all-in-one system, but you shouldn't be daunted.
I was new to all of this 6 and a half years ago, and (with the help of the manuals) connected my SACD player via 8 analogue leads to my AV receiver - and my 6 speaker system to that.
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Post by Iain July 5, 2013 (6 of 72)
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Kutyatest said:
It's really not that complicated. Obviously, it's more complicated than an all-in-one system, but you shouldn't be daunted.
I was new to all of this 6 and a half years ago, and (with the help of the manuals) connected my SACD player via 8 analogue leads to my AV receiver - and my 6 speaker system to that.
Indeed. Quite simple in fact.
That was then and this is now. All you need to connect SA-CD player to quality AVR these days is ONE high speed HDMI cable.
Analogue is obsolete in the context of source kit. It's still needed for AVR speaker output though. That will probably never change.
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Confuzzled said:
Thanks for the information. I think part of the reason why I'm confused is because I've seen people discuss connecting an a/v receiver to players like the oppo 103 &105. So I suppose if you had one if those you would connect the speakers to that?
All seems very complicating. I think I'm starting to grasp it though. As I said before I'm not that experienced with hifi setups and the last hifi I had was an all in one system I purchased years ago. Nothing fancy.
I would suggest that you go to a dealer and chat as well as listen to some typical setups. You might learn a great deal, and he could possibly help you in setup of you system, if you buy from him. You need not buy everything he proposes, and most dealers do not have the Oppo players, which are mostly sold direct from the manufacturer and represent excellent values. You cannot go wrong with them.
The hookup of the player is a snap, but there are some setup things that must be done with help from the manual for Oppo and other "universal" players, which do video as well as audio, including SACD. If that seems daunting, buy a complete system from one dealer and have him do the setup and interconnection. If you are thinking multichannel, that is even a fair bit more complex than stereo, but well worth it, in my view.
But, you need to do some listening, information gathering from a good dealer, deciding on what features you want, help in fitting the system to your budget, etc. It might confuse you, but if possible, compare the opinions and options offered by multiple dealers. Do not expect the biggest discount or perhaps any at all from a dealer if you expect him to provide you with installation support. Also, try to evaluate and decide whether you think the dealer sales person is knowledgable and trustworthy. Unfortunately, not all are, and they are, of course, highly biased toward the stuff they have for sale.
If starting out and if you are not interested in going to the high, high end, those here in the US could do worse than going to a Best Buy for players, receivers, speakers, etc. They have decent brands. Their Geek Squad will do the setup for you for a fee, and expect to pay full MSRP for the equipment.
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Post by Claude July 5, 2013 (8 of 72)
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You should go to the Oppo website and download the player manual. It explains everything in easy to understand language
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Yeah I think I'll go to a dealer. I just wanted to be clear in my mind about the potential setup and cost. I'm reading the manual now.
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Post by Iain July 5, 2013 (10 of 72)
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Confuzzled said:
Yeah I think I'll go to a dealer. I just wanted to be clear in my mind about the potential setup and cost. I'm reading the manual now.
IMO, I believe the Oppo may be overkill for you at this point.
If it were me, I would choose the Sony BDP-S5100 as a first player. If you decide later you want a more robust machine, then get the Oppo.
http://www.sony.co.uk/hub/blu-ray-disc-player
Advantages of Sony player over Oppo:
1) Significantly cheaper
2) Decimates SA-CD DSD bitstream to 176.4 kHz/24 bit PCM v Oppo 88.2 kHz/24 bit PCM. This will give a higher resolution signal option in case your receiver will not accept DSD bitstream.
3) Better on-line streaming options
I have the Sony BDP-S790 and quite like it.
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