Oppo-95 or Sony XA5400ES - Page 13

Originally Posted by bakerwi 


Because I hear differences between the 3 transports in my setup via my Zektor MAS7.1 audio switch. So I am satisfied that I do hear differences.

Originally Posted by runnin' 

My opinion is based on something other than the dogmatic rigid zealotry that yours is based on.

Originally Posted by runnin' 


My opinion is based on something other than the dogmatic rigid zealotry that yours is based on.

Originally Posted by runnin' 

Am I the the world's judge of dogmatic rigid zealotry? Are you for real? Stop preaching.

Originally Posted by dbphd 

AVfile,
Following your suggestion and after some consultation I've decided to use a passive balanced switcher so both the Oppo and Sony can connect to the balanced input of the Cary 11a. When the Sony was the only CD/SACD player in the system, I used balanced analog for stereo and HDMI for surround.
db

Originally Posted by AVfile 

Good stuff and I appreciate your analysis. Although people may have different methods doesn't invalidate their results. The measurement crowd / scientific types will no doubt object to different methods and assume everyone else is a newbie. School is for science and theory; real world is engineering which is all about approximation and assumption.

Originally Posted by AVfile 

The measurement crowd / scientific types will no doubt object to different methods and assume everyone else is a newbie.

Originally Posted by bfreedma 

I think most engineers would take issue with that statement - the engineering I'm familiar with deals in science, fact, and precision. Assumptions and approximations often lead to incorrect and potentially dangerous outcomes.

Originally Posted by AVfile 

Good stuff and I appreciate your analysis. Although people may have different methods doesn't invalidate their results. The measurement crowd / scientific types will no doubt object to different methods and assume everyone else is a newbie. School is for science and theory; real world is engineering which is all about approximation and assumption.

Originally Posted by AVfile 

My point is the RS meter, even uncalibrated, is perfectly capable of making repeatable RELATIVE measurements. It reads the exact same value every time at mid-range frequencies. So for level matching at mid-range frequencies it is just fine. Certainly within any possible range of adjustment on the preamp and therefore ultimate usage of the equipment when listening.

Originally Posted by DonH50 

Quite a diversion this thread took...
Last follow-up from my tests: I still cannot hear any difference between analog outputs and HDMI from my Oppo BDP-83 now that I have the analog outputs hooked up again. I did not try to do any special level-matching, just loosely matched relative levels at 1 kHz using my (gasp!) RS meter and a test CD. I find the lack of on-screen display quite annoying, but less so than losing the first note of a song.

Originally Posted by DonH50 

It sucks having to admit getting old enough to have problems reading the Oppo display from only 8' away...

Originally Posted by JA Fant 

Happy New Year! Kal.

Originally Posted by WestCoastD 

Looks like Sony is continuing to produce the SCD-XA5400ES player. Noticed it is listed on their site with estimated ship date of January 10, 2013:
http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&productId=8198552921665537319&langId=-1&XID=O:remark_HAV_criteo&catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&identifier=S_Televisions#overview

Seems like this player has been compared to just about every popular SACD capable player out there. Would like to get comparisons between Oppo BDP-105 and SCD-XA5400ES.

Originally Posted by bakerwi 

Has Sony ever sold a universal player? I would at least audition an SCD-XA5400ES if it was a universal player.

Originally Posted by gbaby 

If being a universal player is a hold out for you, you may be depriving yourself of some great musical moments.

Originally Posted by dahester 

If you have the rack space, I highly recommend the XA5400ES and BDP-S5000ES combo. It's a shame the Blu-ray/SACD functionality wasn't combined together (like the old PS3 fat). With the XA5400ES the engineers were able to focus on two channel analog performance. Both SACD and CD are rendered flawlessly, particularly through the XLRs. (The S5000ES may lack 3D, but it has outrageously good picture quality, noticeably sharper than the PS3 and LG BH200 I have on hand). I know everyone is in love with Oppo, and there's little doubt they make the best universal players. In the realm of separates, the Japanese old guard still know what they are doing. I've been quietly slipping Blu-rays and SACDs into these machines without a single problem.

I've probably owned over 100 different electronic components over the years. These two ES models were designed by the Sony A-Team and it shows in the look, feel, and performance. I would consider them to be modern day classics. But the ES product line is shrinking, and the build quality in some cases has been shameful (esp. more recent BD models). The trend does not look good for 'the elevated standard', so if you want in on some of the last 'big iron' components, now is the time. Consider this: prices on eBay for both models have trended up in the last year. Interestingly, the Sony BDP-CX7000ES 400 disc changer was obviously discontinued too early, as prices have now skyrocketed to $4000.

Originally Posted by dbphd 

You really should compare the 5400ES and 105 balanced outputs. I've done quite a bit of listening to both. The 95 got the XLR, the 5400ES HDMI and RCA. The Sony sits on a shelf just above the processor, so the unbalanced cables are short. Individual preference may be system dependent. I use is a Cary Cinema 11a (analog inputs set to bypass) to KEF 107/2 KUBE to Proceed HPA 3 (500 watts per channel into 4 ohms) to KEF 107/2s. Using the Cary remote, I could compare HDMI, balanced, and unbalanced outputs from the Sony by selecting the input. I preferred HDMI, with DSD pushed to the Cary DACs. The HDMI interchange between the Oppo and Cary seems to have more artifacts (clicks and pops) than the between the Sony and the Cary

Originally Posted by WestCoastD 

The DSD thing still confuses me, does the Cary actually decode DSD? Or does it convert DSD-to_LPCM?.

Originally Posted by dbphd 

In my setup, the Oppo BDP-95 "decodes" DSD to analog; the Sony sends DSD via HDMI to the Cary DACs or uses its internal DACs for analog output. I don't think there is conversion to LPCM unless you set that as an option in the Oppo menu. The LPCM option in the Oppo menu provides bass management which DSD does not. But a Cary bug causes it to treat LPCM as DSD and provides no bass management. LPCM with analog output, on the other hand, does provide bass management. I use DSD with analog output, however, because my speakers extend to a usable 20 Hz and don't need to be supplemented by the subs for music. The DACs in the Oppo BDP-95 are superb -- analog is the reason for buying a 95 rather than a 93 or a 105 rather than a 103. It seems to me that the DACs of the Cary are superior to those of the Sony, and the HDMI interaction between the Cary and Sony is well behaved, so I use HDMI but leave unbalanced analog connected.

The Cary Cinema 11a is buggy, but is capable of fine sound quality, and the bugs that annoyed me are gone with analog input. It has the flexibility to set its analog inputs to bypass so analog input is not digitized. With the Cary analog inputs in bypass mode, the Oppo provides processing like speaker configuration and so forth; the Sony has only stereo analog output, so I rely on HDMI for multichannel and that invokes the full range of Cary processing