Oppo BDP-95 or BDP-93 + External DAC

[Johnloudb]

That definitely makes me think that I should give the Nuforce BPD-93NE a try against the BDP-95.

That would be an interesting comparison alright.

[baniels]

It's interesting. The BDP-83 and the BDP-93 both use the Cirrus Logic DAC. The BDP-83SE uses the ESS Sabre chips, therefore the Nuforce BDP-83SE uses the Sabre chips, PLUS the Nuforce enhancements.

Since the BDP-93NE doesn't upgrade the DAC's, I wonder if work done by Nuforce will bridge the gap between the Cirrus Logic in the 93 and the ESS Sabre in the 95.

It would seem the equivalent for the 9x series to the BDP-83SE-Nuforce Edition would be the BDP-95 Nuforce Edition, which they stopped developing. Is not the jump from Cirrus Logic to Sabre one of the most important steps?

Nuforce Site: The performance of BDP-93 Xtreme Edition has surpassed our highest expectation and we do not believe that we can improve BDP-95 Xtreme Edition with sufficient performance difference to justify a much higher price. Therefore BDP-95 Xtreme Edition project has been terminated.

[audioqueso]

Since the BDP-93NE doesn't upgrade the DAC's, I wonder if work done by Nuforce will bridge the gap between the Cirrus Logic in the 93 and the ESS Sabre in the 95.

Maybe I don't understand your post... the BDP-93NE doesn't use the Cirrus Logic dac. Nuforce built a separate board for the DAC section. Is that what you mean?

[baniels]

I was making an interpretation of this statement by Nuforce's Jason Lim regarding their 93 upgrades:

We designed our two audio boards with the original Cirrus Logic CS4382 DAC whose software coding is locked to Oppo's Xilinx XC9536XL FPGA but then built our 7.1 audio output board from the ground up rather than modify theirs... [source]

It sounds like they change the supporting circuitry, but keep the Cirrus Logic.

Maybe I don't understand your post... the BDP-93NE doesn't use the Cirrus Logic dac. Nuforce built a separate board for the DAC section. Is that what you mean?

[audioqueso]

It sounds like they change the supporting circuitry, but keep the Cirrus Logic.

Ahh.. interesting. I thought they used their own DAC.
It would be interesting to really hear how much their modifications can improve the baseline DAC.

[m_maloney]

Great Thread

Thanks so much for the info. I've been looking into being able to play high resolution downloads in addition to my current library of SACD's, Blu-Ray audio (what little exists), and CDs. The BDP-95 seems to be a perfect device **Except for the fact that I am forced to use the OPPO's navigation to a hard drive.

While I love browsing through my music library via the iPad remote, for $1000 the BDP-95 seems like a great deal. The question is down the road will I live with the inconvenience of navigating via the hard drive for 24/96 flacs.

Currently for CD/SACD playback I'm using an oppo 970-HD and PS3 for blu-ray. I'm assuming the BDP-95 will offer a big jump in audio performance for disc based formats. But for digital files other options are:

Cambridge DAC Magic
Arcam rDac
Benchmark DAC1

I'm really curious to see if people feel that the OPPO BDP 95 analog output is superior to these DACs (or any DAC in the 500-1000 range).

[baniels]

^ I'm with you on that. Navigating large libraries via DLNA or attached disk can be cumbersome. There are other options though.

I don't have it configured this way, as my media resides on a Qnap server and it doesn't allow for this... BUT

Just for giggles, some time ago I configured Foobar2K on my Win7 laptop to act as a UPNP server. I was able to configure it to "push" to streaming devices. In the selection of available servers on the Oppo, I was able to choose a distinct Foobar server that essentially opened the Oppo up to play whatever I was pushing from Foobar. With transcoding disabled in foobar, I was streaming stereo and multichannel flac in 24/96 directly to the Oppo.

Add to that some Android (and probably iphone) remotes for Foobar, and I could do all my browsing and song selection from my phone on the couch, while the computer was in the other room.

[audioqueso]

Just for giggles, some time ago I configured Foobar2K on my Win7 laptop to act as a UPNP server. I was able to configure it to "push" to streaming devices. In the selection of available servers on the Oppo, I was able to choose a distinct Foobar server that essentially opened the Oppo up to play whatever I was pushing from Foobar. With transcoding disabled in foobar, I was streaming stereo and multichannel flac in 24/96 directly to the Oppo.

Add to that some Android (and probably iphone) remotes for Foobar, and I could do all my browsing and song selection from my phone on the couch, while the computer was in the other room.

Very interesting idea there.
I will definitely have to consider this an option (especially since there is a foobar app now).

[bigburner]

It would be more fun if I had any audio enthusiastic friends in the local area. Then we could share experiences and feedback. Anyone wanna take a trip to Japan?

Would it be OK if I brought a case of New Zealand wines with me?

Nigel.

[Chris D]

Ohhhhhhhh, baby. No. You must re-route to Alaska immediately.

[Johnloudb]

Steven Stone answers ALL NuForce/Oppo/DAC questions in October issue of TAS.
Sounds like BDP95 beats everthing in stereo.

[baniels]

Is that a new review, or just a print of this article ?

Steven Stone answers ALL NuForce/Oppo/DAC questions in October issue of TAS.
Sounds like BDP95 beats everthing in stereo.

[Johnloudb]

Is that a new review, or just a print of this article ?

New review also comparing with Bel Canto DAC

[audioqueso]

Sounds like an interesting read. Hope they have it at the store nearby.

------------
Nope... just came back from the store. They do not have it.

[Chris D]

I might just pick one up... I'm STILL using my original PS3 as my sole BD player.

[audioqueso]

Well, it looks like I'll be moving to Hawaii or California in the next two months, so I think I will wait until after the move to make this purchase.

[Johnloudb]

Sounds like an interesting read. Hope they have it at the store nearby.

------------
Nope... just came back from the store. They do not have it.

In short, NuForce Extreme compared favorably (on par) to the Bel Canto.
The BDP95 bettered the Extreme in two channel stereo but not as good for analog multi-channel.