Post by jbug December 17, 2012 (1 of 66)
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Hi,
I have an Onkyo TX NR709 receiver and have ordered an Oppo 103 Universal player. From what I've read in the Onkyo manual, I won't be able to play the audio from SACD and DVD-Audio through HDMI. Instead of using the analog inputs on the receiver I would like to use HDMI. How about some recommendations for a not to expensive receiver.
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I recently bought the Marantz SR5004 which was not expensive (available for about £350)and takes DSD over HDMI from my Oppo 93 no problem. It will also let you bi amp the front speakers or extract pre amp out into another amplifier for the front Left and Right channels if you so wish. That is the sort of flexibility I wanted as I have a very good stereo amp in my system. However I found the bi-amp route using the Marantz alone sounded very good indeed.
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Post by seth December 17, 2012 (3 of 66)
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jbug said:
Hi,
I have an Onkyo TX NR709 receiver and have ordered an Oppo 103 Universal player. From what I've read in the Onkyo manual, I won't be able to play the audio from SACD and DVD-Audio through HDMI. Instead of using the analog inputs on the receiver I would like to use HDMI. How about some recommendations for a not to expensive receiver.
Check the manual again:
http://www.intl.onkyo.com/downloads/manuals/pdf/tx-nr709_manual_e.pdf
It's listed as a supported audio format on page 88.
If your plan is to listen to SACD over HDMI, then the Oppo 103 may be over kill -- you're paying for its DAC which you're not going to be using. There are much cheaper Blu-ray players out there that do DSD over HDMI.
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Post by Deribas December 17, 2012 (4 of 66)
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jbug said:
Hi,
I have an Onkyo TX NR709 receiver and have ordered an Oppo 103 Universal player. From what I've read in the Onkyo manual, I won't be able to play the audio from SACD and DVD-Audio through HDMI. Instead of using the analog inputs on the receiver I would like to use HDMI. How about some recommendations for a not to expensive receiver.
Jbug, I have the older versions of your gear: onkyo 707 and Oppo 93. They play fine over HDMI, steaming both PCM and DSD - your choice. You should be set.
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Post by jbug December 17, 2012 (5 of 66)
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Thanks Seth. The Oppo would also replace my Samsung 3D BD player. Like I said I'm new to this. I have a Sony SACD player connected to my 709 now via analog cables. That player does not havd HDMI. I am not getting the low end on the SACD disc that I have. I'm thinking that I don't have bass management with analog.
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seth said:
Check the manual again:
http://www.intl.onkyo.com/downloads/manuals/pdf/tx-nr709_manual_e.pdf
It's listed as a supported audio format on page 88.
If your plan is to listen to SACD over HDMI, then the Oppo 103 may be over kill -- you're paying for its DAC which you're not going to be using. There are much cheaper Blu-ray players out there that do DSD over HDMI.
Yes, the 709 will handle SACD over HDMI but the 103 is not overkill. Had the OP said he was considering the 105, that would be overkill for someone using the HDMI as the additional cost of the 105 (over the 103) is in the DAC/analog outputs he will not use.
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Post by seth December 17, 2012 (7 of 66)
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Kal Rubinson said:
Yes, the 709 will handle SACD over HDMI but the 103 is not overkill. Had the OP said he was considering the 105, that would be overkill for someone using the HDMI as the additional cost of the 105 (over the 103) is in the DAC/analog outputs he will not use.
Kal,
If you're not using the DAC in the 103, then what's the benefit that it offers which lesser Blu-ray players? I know it has a lot of bells and whistles, but how many are really going to be used/are necessary?
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seth said:
Kal,
If you're not using the DAC in the 103, then what's the benefit that it offers which lesser Blu-ray players? I know it has a lot of bells and whistles, but how many are really going to be used/are necessary?
Not Kal, but I have not seen a comparison of sonics via HDMI between a recent Oppo and the cheaper players. Perhaps the Oppo is better, perhaps not. I do know that recent Oppos have very low measured jitter from reviews, but whether this translates to better sonics is a good question. But, I tend to think the Oppo might do a better job on HDMI sonics than many cheaper players, even if they do bitstream DSD, which not all do.
Even if sonics are a wash with cheaper players, I think Oppo tends to have a richer feature set, excellent video processing and about the best customer support there is. Oppos are more of a known quantity because they are about the most widely reviewed and praised players out there. That is not true of cheaper players, so they might be more of a crap shoot. This may well translate Oppo into a more worthwhile purchase for many. I think so, which is why I own an Oppo.
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Post by onenairb December 17, 2012 (9 of 66)
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At the end of the day the interesting comparison will be between the OPPO DSD-2-analogue sound and the Onkyo DSD-2-analogue sound. Jbug if you do this comparison lets us know your thoughts. It's a pity the Onkyo doesn't have balanced XLR stereo inputs.
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Post by seth December 17, 2012 (10 of 66)
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Fitzcaraldo215 said:
Not Kal, but I have not seen a comparison of sonics via HDMI between a recent Oppo and the cheaper players. Perhaps the Oppo is better, perhaps not. I do know that recent Oppos have very low measured jitter from reviews, but whether this translates to better sonics is a good question. But, I tend to think the Oppo might do a better job on HDMI sonics than many cheaper players, even if they do bitstream DSD, which not all do.
Even if sonics are a wash with cheaper players, I think Oppo tends to have a richer feature set, excellent video processing and about the best customer support there is. Oppos are more of a known quantity because they are about the most widely reviewed and praised players out there. That is not true of cheaper players, so they might be more if a crap shoot. This may well translate Oppo into a more worthwhile purchase for many. I think so, which is why I own an Oppo.
#1 HDMI: It's a digital medium, not analog. The 1's and 0's either get to the receiver or they don't, and if they don't, then there is no audio. The Oppo cannot somehow enhance the digital signal, resulting in improved sound. I'm not going to debate how audible the HDMI jitter is.
#2 Video: The video of all Blu-ray players at this point is pretty much identical. The only difference is that higher-end players like the Oppo have a bunch of options for tweaking the video.
I'm not doubting the quality of the Oppo, just arguing that if you're not going to use any of its analog functionality and DAC, for the functionality you are going to use, you can get that at a cheaper price.
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