Official OPPO BDP-105 Owner's Thread - Page 101

XLR doesn't require transformers, although that's one way to do it. The typical circuit is based on opamps.

XLR is great for killing off common noise over long runs (and that's what I use it for). But as Douglas Self points out in a couple of his books, balanced is (non-intuitively, but correctly) actually noisier in other ways than unbalanced. For example, The Design of Active Crossovers, page 467, Line Inputs and Outputs, 16.7 The Disadvantages of Balanced Interconnections: "Balanced inputs are inherently noisier than unbalanced inputs by a large margin, in terms of the noise generated by the input circuitry itself rather than external noise. This may appear paradoxical, but it is all too true, and the reasons will be fully explained in this chapter."

Congrats on a successful simplification/redesign of your core A/V system! When you get the sound right it's obvious and totally captivating... followed by a dope slap to the forehead

Enjoy,

Styln

.....and a large check written to cover the expense.

That is really strange - I get picture from HDMI1&2, but no audio from HDMI1 when connected like that. I wonder if it is because I am using the HDMI2 input for audio as well rather than analog in that I get video (at least menus) - I'll check it...nope - definitely video on both and audio over HDMI2 only. I have turned off all the CEC / HDMI control stuff - could never make sense of what it was doing or trying to do.

I don't get any handshake issues though - playback is fine - I only get dropouts when I turn off the TV, and those are only momentary. I also noticed that on my Zone 3 output that goes to my deck outside, there are no dropouts. That zone doesn't support HDMI video and only supports analog audio in, so the dropouts seem to originate from the Marantz HDMI enabled Zones (Main and Zone 2) rather than the Oppo, as it continues to happily send audio to Zone 3 with no dropouts at all.

That's not to say the Oppo doesn't notice when I turn the TV On and Off - if I have it set to Pure and toggle the TV power, it cancels Pure mode - don't know if that is a feature or a quirk. Maybe it thinks that if I'm turning on the TV, I also want to see the menus and screen saver - and that is usually true for me, so I don't mind it.

So, how's that 8801? (sorry - OT) - I can't believe it is roughly 2x $$$ of the 7701 for only two more pre-amp channels (and better Audyssey), so there must be a lot of nice parts in there - maybe next year the prices will come down and I look to upgrade.
Edited by stevepow - 1/19/13 at 11:09am

Hi Bob ! this was also the case with the 95 I had ( which a few also reported on but ignored), the +1 or +2 setting on the sharpness controls yielded a more detailed or different picture ( or engaged something in the Qdeo chip?) and introduced no artifacts via Spears and Munsil sharpness test, I found this to be the case day one with the 105 as well.

Well the XLR cables look cooler; more manly and robust - they make the system seem more bad-ass, so there. I have turned the pre-amp sideways so that they are visible to enhance the effect.

I happen to love the looks, very stealth and sleek, form and function and wouldn't change it!

I'm glad to see someone else had the same findings. I've had my 95 set at +2 pretty much since day 1 and Spears & Munsil prove to show no artifacting on my display either. I thought I was the "anomaly" case but your post agrees with my findings and proves otherwise.

I like XLR. For one thing, they don't slip off (they latch). But it was a bummer to find out that the circuit is actually noisier. Douglas Self has circuits that reduce the noise to nearly unbalanced levels (and in one case better than unbalanced), but it requires a bunch of components and a world-class EE to make it work.

Why not just flip it 180 degrees so the backside is fully exposed?

Now here is why I say the Red Mere's come into play and I with my own eyes have confirmed the same results with two different display setups one is via my 105 ( which is now set only to +1) feeding my Mitsubishi 73738 with which I can finnaly turn the sharpness or EE off or 0 from the cable box and get a very detailed and 3d image and two I recently put an LG 47 back lit led in the bedroom and while waiting for the Slim Red mere's to come in I used the perfectly functioning mono price cable on it and once again upon installing the Red mere's the image gave the same reported results and the wife who never gives a hoot ! about this stuff noticed the difference in PQ! This is what I see take it for what it is;)

Should should should should... agreed. In the real world, that's not what happens. The cable can and does (if sub-optimally designed or incorrectly spec'd like not being 75 ohms due to RCA terminations) inject timing errors due to the internal reflections in the cable interacting with the data stream.

There's something about digital music playback that doesn't completely respond to the things you THINK should put a road-block in any degredation. The best playback of a physical disc I've ever heard was a player that used a high-speed CDROM drive to load the entire disc into memory (in the disc player), then shut-down the transport completely and played the music strictly out of memory. You'd think that an operating disc transport wouldn't make the music sound worse, but it does. Even in computer playback... the music sounds better playing out of memory compared to playing off the hard drive without a buffer (or with a minimal buffer). Stuff that makes a difference can be surprising. Probably because we don't fully understand why jitter from a poor cable design would affect sound quality (and measured distortion in the analog signal) when there's a perfectly good buffer with its own clock just before the DAC(s). That appears to not be enough to stop jitter as you can reduce the jitter at the input to the buffer and get better sound and lower measured distortion in the analog output signal. Somehow, jitter crosses the "wall" created by a buffer... propagates right through the buffer. Seems unlikely and improbable, but you can't argue with the measurements and listening observations.

I find that the wifi that comes with the Oppo is pretty weak. I tried to launch the YouTube application and it literally spent 20 minutes loading. Then, of course, I couldn't play any videos. So I plugged the Oppo into an ancient wireless bridge (a WRT54G) which is sitting right on top of the Oppo, and then YouTube worked fine. Anyone else noticed similar performance? I think I will just leave it plugged into the bridge anyway since I need it there and it has four ports, but I'm surprised a player with so many streaming applications built-in doesn't have better wireless sensitivity.

I can't argue with the measurements, but I don't see any of those being posted. Show me. As for listening observations, that's already been argued with. Double-blind them, then post the results.

Jeff,
I thought I had a pretty good wireless setup in my house but was getting audio dropouts playing through the 105. Last weekend I wired all my wireless components in my HT rack as well as my HTPC which I was sending audio from to the 105. I have no more issues with streaming or audio dropouts and hard wiring with Ethernet cable was the answer to all my troubles.

When I went to a separate amp and pre-pro from just an avr, an Arcam at that which is one of the better avr's out there, I heard a major difference, definitely not a placebo effect to these aging ears. This was with upgrading to a mid-range setup. I honestly can't speak for the cabling and the burn-in arguments although I did opt for some mid range priced cabling. I am actually at the point where I am really enjoying what I am hearing and seeing, and thinking how can it get much better, but obviously since this is also a hobby I like to keep up with whats going on in the a/v world and helps keep my mind young.

I have a Netgear Wireless 4-port Bridge I am using for the my Pre and the Oppo. I tried the Oppo wireless and it was no worse, but no better. They both connect wireless N but at 2.4GHz - just not fast enough. The Roku Stick connects wireless N at 5GHz and it seems to do much better. I agree that running wire is the right thing to do for any hi-res or multi-channel material - I bought the wire and jacks - just need to get to it.

Not one of my complaints. I've had zero issues with the Oppo wireless. Ran my 93 wired and wireless at my last place with no issues either way. And now the 105 wireless. The Oppo, the Roku Stick, and the Panny GT50 are all running wireless so well that I probably wont even run any wires here.
Currently using a UniFi UAP-Pro access point, previously ran an Asus AC-66U as an access point and before that an ancient Linksys WAP54G (running DD-WRT). The performance of the Linksys wasn't as good but it worked for anything I was streaming at the time.

Chris

Anybody have a Mac connected to the USB DAC input of the 105? With Decibel software, I get sound (stereo analog outputs from 105 to surround processor) that goes up and down in volume on about a 2 second cycle that repeats constantly... not on off on off, but it rises to a peak then falls to zero, rises to a peak... etc. forever - more like a sine wave re. volume level going up and down. Volume is set to "fixed" in the Setup menu. Never plays at a constant level. When I switch to a 96 kHz sample rate file, I get sound for maybe 1 or 2 seconds then silence... I never get any sound when sending 176 ro 192 kHz. Oppo info button says the Oppo is receiving 44.1, 96, or 176 or 192 kHz inputs, but I get nothing. Once I started getting no sound with Decibel, I switched to Amarra and get no sound at all from Amarra software. 105 manual says no driver is needed for Macs and both Decibel and Amarra "see" the Oppo 105 as a USB audio device (as does Audio Midi Setup and Sound -- and the Oppo is selected as the output device in both of those as well as in the app itself. Other USB DACs work fine into the surround processor analog inputs. Just updated to the latest firmware before starting this trial (network update) version is BDP10X-38-1220

Have not tried a PC into the USB DAC input yet... will do that soon.

I do not have my 8801 yet but I will test this when I do.

Do you have a programmable remote to try the codes to switch between the inputs:

INPUT MODE:HDMI 16 01 16
INPUT MODE:ANALOG 16 01 18

I do not have the hex codes for these though.

- Rich

Does the Roku Stick require wireless, or can it connect through the Oppo's ethernet port?

It requires its own wireless.

-Bill

That would shoot down the idea of an all-wired setup.

Streaming stick starting to sound bogus. I just ordered a Roku 2 XS to replace my Roku HD. It's got an ethernet port.

Doug, it should be plug and play on the Mac. All the Mac audio should be audible through the 105. To keep things simple, try just using iTunes to play something. If that doesn't work, give OPPO a call as your Asynchronous USB DAC input may need service.

Do you perhaps have sound volume equalizer software enabled?
--Bob

I just replaced my 95 with the 105. I've always used the AIX calibration disc 5.1 LPCM channel balance signal to calibrate my system. I usually do an A-B repeat on each channel so I can stay there until I get it where I need it...going in and out of the speaker configurator. I know the manual says that some discs won't allow A-B replay or a repeat but I've never met a calibration disc that wouldn't allow it. And I could swear that I could A-B with the AIX disc and the 95. Just now re-calibrated my system with the 105 in the mix but the remote would not allow A-B or repeat......very annoying though it was still easy enough..just took a bit longer. Anyone know what gives??? I have the latest 1220 FW on the 105.
Edited by KevinH - 1/19/13 at 7:21pm

Doug,
I'm not using Decibel or Amarra, but using Pure Music I don't have the issue you are referring to. I do notice the image shifting every so often (mostly steering ever so slightly left on vocals) with the XLR outputs, but no volume variations. Since you are getting the same issue with both servers, you might have a bad input on the Oppo.

Bill

Good catch!

A-B Repeat works for that track using the latest firmware on the 93, but is a Prevented User Operation (red-slashed circle) using the latest firmware on the 105.

I'll post that as a bug through Beta Tester channels and see what happens. It may indeed be a temporary restriction of the current firmware in the 105, but it may also be the case that the powers that be in the Blu-ray Disc Association have cracked down with stricter testing of adherence to Prevented User Operations in newly certified players.
--Bob

All of these services go through bad patches -- server end and internet backbone problems. For example, the Netflix server farm serving my part of the world has once again started limiting supposed "HD" streams to "SD". (NOT my Internet or house network, which have sustained throughput well in excess of anything Netflix tries to use.) Obviously they are having some sort of capacity problem in that server farm -- hopefully temporary. Anyway, when you have a problem with an Internet service it is wise to try again later as the problem may be a temporary one at their end.

Also, the USB extension provided with the player is specifically included to let you reposition the Wifi dongle for better reception. Always worth a try if you are having Wifi problems.

The USUAL advice for Wifi problems is to set your base station to use a different "channel" (not Automatic), as you may be able to manually find a channel which better avoids interference from neighbor's Wifi and thing like poorly shielded microwave ovens and cordless phones.

In general the Wifi dongle provided by OPPO seems pretty typical for its ilk. I.e., it is not particularly better or worse than other, 2.4GHz band, Wifi options. So it is worth trying such changes to see if you can get things happier. But of course, a directly wired Ethernet is always preferable if that is practical.
--Bob

Heck, why not go whole hog and trick this out with some classy, "low rider style", purple neon lighting strips to highlight the sockets and the cable runs?

Of course, the full impact also requires a proper, 18" rack configuration. Real racks makes any gear instantly look more fancy. Even your old 8-track cassette player. Or that Coleco Adam.

But please don't go overboard. For example, having a Jacob's Ladder running in your equipment space just looks tacky. Unless, of course, you actually employ a full-time servant named Igor.
--Bob

I use a mac with Amarra. Make sure you go to audio device preferences and you scan to ensure the oppo comes up. Also, play with the usb outs from your mac. On mine, sounds only come out of one USB (not sure why). Lastly i had to set up the rate to 192khz as the max the mac shows is 96khz until you plug it to the oppo.