Oppo BDP-103 and 105 2 channel stereo audio quality - Does the DAC difference matter?

SholaBaby

New Member
Jul 2, 2013
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Manama, Bahrain
Hello everyone,
I have just got myself Oppo BDP-103 player after lotsa research and review reading to decide against its big brother the 105. Now I am thinking, have I made the right choice? Should I have gone for the 105 in spite that it costs twice more than the 103? As I have gathered from all that I read about them, the difference between them actually lies in their audio output through their DAC chips. 103 uses Cirrus Logic CS4382 DAC chip while 105 uses ESS Sabre32 Reference ES9018 DAC chip. So the question now is have I made a right choice by going for 103 giving the price of 105 being twice as much? Is their any significant difference in their 2 channel stereo analog audio rendition? All I just want is the sound to get as close as possible to vinyl's analogue level —warm and soft to the ears, but so far 103 is doing okay as I use it with my old JVC AX-R 551BK Integrated Stereo Amplifier —cool and tight sound ...

Please folks, help with your opinions... Thank you.
 

Kal Rubinson

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May 4, 2010
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Hello everyone,
I have just got myself Oppo BDP-103 player after lotsa research and review reading to decide against its big brother the 105. Now I am thinking, have I made the right choice? Should I have gone for the 105 in spite that it costs twice more than the 103? As I have gathered from all that I read about them, the difference between them actually lies in their audio output through their DAC chips. 103 uses Cirrus Logic CS4382 DAC chip while 105 uses ESS Sabre32 Reference ES9018 DAC chip. So the question now is have I made a right choice by going for 103 giving the price of 105 being twice as much? Is their any significant difference in their 2 channel stereo analog audio rendition? All I just want is the sound to get as close as possible to vinyl's analogue level —warm and soft to the ears, but so far 103 is doing okay as I use it with my old JVC AX-R 551BK Integrated Stereo Amplifier —cool and tight sound ...

Please folks, help with your opinions... Thank you.
Yes, there are differences and the 105 is a better-sounding player via the analog outputs but, despite the encomiums, the difference is not huge. Depending on the resolution of your system, the quality of the source materials and your listening habits, it may make a significant difference to you or it may not. But, since you already have the 103 (and 30days to return it), why not decide for yourself if it offers the sound you want? You can always spend more.
 

SholaBaby

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Jul 2, 2013
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Manama, Bahrain
Yes, there are differences and the 105 is a better-sounding player via the analog outputs but, despite the encomiums, the difference is not huge. Depending on the resolution of your system, the quality of the source materials and your listening habits, it may make a significant difference to you or it may not. But, since you already have the 103 (and 30days to return it), why not decide for yourself if it offers the sound you want? You can always spend more.

Thank you very much... The problem is I do not know how small or huge the difference is as I have never had them operating side by side. As I have mentioned, I am only using it with my old JVC AX-R 551BK Integrated Stereo Amplifier and Pioneer CS-607 speakers which I do not think are of the kinda resolution you are talking about but as I have said, to my ears the sound is cool and tight though not as close to the analogue sound from my vinyl LP album collections. So what do you reckon sir? :)
 

Kal Rubinson

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May 4, 2010
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Thank you very much... The problem is I do not know how small or huge the difference is as I have never had them operating side by side. As I have mentioned, I am only using it with my old JVC AX-R 551BK Integrated Stereo Amplifier and Pioneer CS-607 speakers which I do not think are of the kinda resolution you are talking about but as I have said, to my ears the sound is cool and tight though not as close to the analogue sound from my vinyl LP album collections. So what do you reckon sir? :)
My suggestion was for you to evaluate, based on your system and your experience, whether the 103 satisfies your needs for sound and for improvement over what you had before. I suspect that it should and doubt whether your system justifies the increased expenditure for the 105.

I am intentionally ignoring your vinyl references because I cannot relate to them.
 

SholaBaby

New Member
Jul 2, 2013
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Manama, Bahrain
My suggestion was for you to evaluate, based on your system and your experience, whether the 103 satisfies your needs for sound and for improvement over what you had before. I suspect that it should and doubt whether your system justifies the increased expenditure for the 105.

I am intentionally ignoring your vinyl references because I cannot relate to them.

Thank you... Yes, that was what I was wondering myself if it will justify it and I do not watch movies a lot in any case so in essence I will be using to play music more than watching movies. So I guess that really answer my query then. Thank you sir. Really appreciate your help and advice.

Be blessed.
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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Thank you... Yes, that was what I was wondering myself if it will justify it and I do not watch movies a lot in any case so in essence I will be using to play music more than watching movies. So I guess that really answer my query then. Thank you sir. Really appreciate your help and advice.

Be blessed.

Personally, I have found the Oppo responds well to a little damping or isolation. You may have already thought about this. Isolation underneath and a damping plate on top make a nice improvement over the 'solidity' of the tone/signal. I also found using a Sablon Audio power cable made a nice improvement. They also have a 30-day money back, and the Owner is top notch on service in my experience. (no affiliation though I do know the owner).
 

SholaBaby

New Member
Jul 2, 2013
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Manama, Bahrain
Personally, I have found the Oppo responds well to a little damping or isolation. You may have already thought about this. Isolation underneath and a damping plate on top make a nice improvement over the 'solidity' of the tone/signal. I also found using a Sablon Audio power cable made a nice improvement. They also have a 30-day money back, and the Owner is top notch on service in my experience. (no affiliation though I do know the owner).


Oh no ... I am not really aware of this. An AC power cable? I thought the OEM cables are sufficient enough for any electronic appliances such as this, i.e. Music systems, Computer systems, TVs, etc. Well this a new info to me. Wow! Thank you for the info. Keep learning new stuffs every day, huh... :)

Be blessed...
 

amirm

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Apr 2, 2010
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If they allow 30-day returns on both, get the 105, do your own comparison and return the one that you don't like. And post the results here :). The observations on which sounds better is subjective so it may not apply to you. Best to do your own testing if you can.
 

Kal Rubinson

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May 4, 2010
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Note if you are using the HDMI outputs they are the same... For music the start-up lag (or "dead time" at the start of a CD) is less using the analog outputs.
I find the difference insignificant but that might be due to having the HDMI connected anyway.
 

GaryProtein

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Jul 25, 2012
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I agree that you should stick with the 103 unless you'll be kicking yourself each time you listen for not going with the 105.

The audible difference in your system will probably be very small, if noticeable as an 'improvement' and not just a "difference."
 

DonH50

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Jun 22, 2010
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I find the difference insignificant but that might be due to having the HDMI connected anyway.

Hmmm... Oppo and I found it "significant" but it is highly dependent upon the CD. Most of my CDs have a little dead (lead-in) time before they start anyway and on those it does not matter. On the ones that start right off, the HDMI lag seems to run upwards of a second or more, and the analog under 0.5 s (maybe 200-300 ms). I switched to using the HDMI output for movies and analog outputs for CDs as at the time my rehearsal CDs started right off, as well as several of my regular listening CDs.
 

SholaBaby

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Jul 2, 2013
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Manama, Bahrain
If they allow 30-day returns on both, get the 105, do your own comparison and return the one that you don't like. And post the results here :). The observations on which sounds better is subjective so it may not apply to you. Best to do your own testing if you can.

Thank you Chief AmirM... It is good to hear from you too. I think they might but I am not so sure because I did not buy it directly from Oppo Digital. So one will have to return the non-preferred one bearing the full cost of the shipping and all procedure required for a full refund and all. I do not really mind the 103 actually, it is just that I got into a quandary after reading many other on-line review on the differences between them especially on the two DAC (103's Cirrus Logic CS4382 DAC chip and 105's ESS Sabre32 Reference ES9018 DAC chip) which as you have mentioned is quite subjective and I am not an electronic engineer to really know or understand the major attributes of the two chips but going with the little knowledge acquired from my prosumer level of listening and understanding hi-fi equipments and all, I will probably give 103 five stars against any other music CD players —the analog music output that is pumping out of it is just pretty warm and soft to hear, just almost close to what I am used to hearing from my vinyl collections when played on my Technics turntable. I usually get tired quickly of listen to CD music coz I find them too brilliant or bright so much so that sometimes I feel like going for a pill or two of panadol but with Oppo 103 it is just so cool and velvet smooth which makes it pleasant to listen to music for a long time on high volume —I just feel like pumping it up more, dude… That's what Oppo 103 does to you if you are used to music listening within human range of 20hz-20khz I guess… :)

PS: On a different note, Chief AmirM… Is it possible to have my picture appear as well? I have searched for how to do that in "My Profile" but did not find anything of that sort. I always love folks I am dealing with on-line to see what in the name of heaven I look like. No need to just hide behind the screen or the keyboard I guess. :)

Thank you and be blessed.
 

SholaBaby

New Member
Jul 2, 2013
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Manama, Bahrain
I agree that you should stick with the 103 unless you'll be kicking yourself each time you listen for not going with the 105.

The audible difference in your system will probably be very small, if noticeable as an 'improvement' and not just a "difference."


Yes... I guess you could be right. :)

Thanks.
 

amirm

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Apr 2, 2010
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PS: On a different note, Chief AmirM… Is it possible to have my picture appear as well? I have searched for how to do that in "My Profile" but did not find anything of that sort. I always love folks I am dealing with on-line to see what in the name of heaven I look like. No need to just hide behind the screen or the keyboard I guess. :)
Yes, the software is kind of confusing that way. Go to top right of this page and select "Settings." Then select "Edit Avatar" on the left. Then select the third option to browse for the file on your local computer. Let me know if it does not work.

Thank you and be blessed.
You too :)
 

Kal Rubinson

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May 4, 2010
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Hmmm... Oppo and I found it "significant" but it is highly dependent upon the CD. Most of my CDs have a little dead (lead-in) time before they start anyway and on those it does not matter. On the ones that start right off, the HDMI lag seems to run upwards of a second or more, and the analog under 0.5 s (maybe 200-300 ms).
OK. I consider that insignificant. ;-)
 

rbbert

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Dec 12, 2010
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Hmmm... Oppo and I found it "significant" but it is highly dependent upon the CD. Most of my CDs have a little dead (lead-in) time before they start anyway and on those it does not matter. On the ones that start right off, the HDMI lag seems to run upwards of a second or more, and the analog under 0.5 s (maybe 200-300 ms). I switched to using the HDMI output for movies and analog outputs for CDs as at the time my rehearsal CDs started right off, as well as several of my regular listening CDs.

"Red Book" spec is for 2 seconds of lead-in time, to allow the disc to spin at the correct speed before any music starts?
 

DonH50

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Jun 22, 2010
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Maybe but a number of CDs I have violate that spec. Either that or the decoding delay is longer than 2 s (I do not know). Most transports/decoders pre-load the disc to determine the format and/or buffer to prevent any lag. Oppo's decoder does not; it is a known issue from their decoder vendor and an on-going source of frustration for them (and me). They claim about 1/2-second with HDMI handshaking but I have seen more, and under a half-second with analog outputs. OTOH I have not timed it closely; I am listening to CDs that get the first notes chopped with HDMI and none to maybe 1/2 - 1 note chopped via analog. I have had the issue with commercial and home-made discs.

I love my Oppo; wish they could convince their decoder vendor to fix this! Apparently they are not a big enough customer.

Using the analog outputs for stereo CDs is not a big deal for me, though getting the on-screen display to work was a bit of a pain. Kal helped me get that working (thanks Kal!)
 

NorthStar

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Feb 8, 2011
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1. The OP has a JVC AX-R551 BK (BlacK) Integrated Stereo Amplifier. ...Circa 1989-90 ...No HDMI jacks. ...And with a SEAS EQ.


2. He's going to use the Stereo Analog connections.

3. His Stereo Integrated Amp is NOT a high resolution audio component (amp/preamp). BTW, the amp section is rated at 100 watts per channel (into 8 Ohms).

* 4. The Oppo BDP-103 ($499) player is perfect for his own particular system, and for his own use (Stereo analog connections: front Left and Right channels).

5. Digital HDMI is totally out of the equation.

6. And the Oppo BDP-105 ($1,199), wouldn't be the smart choice for his particular system. ...And I bet that his speakers are not the high res type either.
Btw, they are the Pioneer CS-607 speakers. ...Circa (old vintage).

----


_____________

- As for the lag time, analog vs digital HDMI, for playing CDs: I am less than 1% concerned about it! ...Which means that the difference is so minimal (I just checked) that to be of no concern.
{You can also 'skipback' the first track, if you wish to; in case your degree of acceptance is not up to it and that you want to fight it with another option.}
Personally, I prefer the sound from the analog connection, and in Pure Audio mode, in both my Oppo 103 player and in my Integra DHC-80.3 pre/pro.
...And that, for CD (stereo) playback only.
 
Last edited:

SholaBaby

New Member
Jul 2, 2013
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Manama, Bahrain
Yes, the software is kind of confusing that way. Go to top right of this page and select "Settings." Then select "Edit Avatar" on the left. Then select the third option to browse for the file on your local computer. Let me know if it does not work.

Hey Chief... Thank you... :) It worked, even though it still gave me the same error message "Upload of file failed" (please see the insert image) but this time the picture appeared as intended. Yeah, Cool... Thanks again.
error message.jpg

By the way, the 103 is just getting better as it gets growing older... kinda like a wine huh... :) I'll explain more on that later.

Be good... Have a blessed day
 

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