Ralf11 Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 I have the Oppo-205 and am curious about the DAC in the unit. Is it known to be the same as their stand-alone Sonica unit? How do you prevent the unit from shutting down and going to sleep when only using the DAC? - the disc player itself often goes into a dysfunctional sleep mode and cannot be made to play a disc without unplugging the AC power cord Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted December 14, 2019 Author Share Posted December 14, 2019 @tmtom recently posted about his 205, and I'm sure others have them as well Link to comment
Popular Post tmtomh Posted December 14, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted December 14, 2019 FWIW, here's Amir's review of the 205 over at ASR: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-oppo-udp-205-uhd-player.3660/ The review is from July 2018. Since then he's tested several standalone DACs (and some DAC/streamers and DAC/headphone amps) that surpass it. But it remains in the top tier of what he's measured, with 115dB SINAD, excellent consistency of THD across the audible frequency range, functionally perfect linearity, and no dreaded Intermodulation distortion "hump" from the ESS DAC chip - I believe the Oppo 205 was the first DAC Amir tested that had solved the ESS IMD "hump" issue, although a handful of other DACs have since done so as well. Jitter performance appears to be very good but not as outstanding as many of the other measurements. Also, the headphone amp is good but not a world-beater by any means. I've hardly ever used the headphone amp on mine so I have no thoughts on that. As for using the Oppo purely as a DAC, I've had no problem waking it from sleep. Ever since I've had it, I've used it headless, and I've left it on for hours at a time (and a few times overnight by accident) in "USB Audio" mode (meaning the USB DAC was the selected input) and it's never been an issue. It always wakes up instantly. Since I don't have a TV or monitor connected to it I don't know what it's actually doing when I let it sit for a long time, and I've never timed it, but I can say that its response time after sitting idle for a long time seems virtually identical to me compared with its response time during frequent use. Finally, what I really find convenient about the 205 is that it has a built-in digital volume control, which as far as I understand is of good quality. That means that beyond serving as a disc player and outboard DAC, the 205 can be used as a very good digital preamplifier, which is how I use it. I have only digital sources right now, and they all feed into (or are part of) the 205. So I can go straight form the 205 to a power amp with no analogue preamp in the chain and control both input/source selection and system volume with the Oppo's remote. Makes things very simple. Ralf11 and Bobg813 1 1 Link to comment
Norton Posted December 15, 2019 Share Posted December 15, 2019 For me, the 205 sounds best when used as a DAC (as does the 105). It’s not as good as my Mirus, but my sense is that the 205 could be stellar with more attention paid to power supply and output stage than the price point allowed. Never had “sleep” problems after DAC input, but the unit does seem to get confused and needs turning off and on again if you try playing a disc after any form of Ethernet input. Don’t know if you are aware, but the DAC input goes up to DSD512 and 768 pcm (and of course MQA) and also has switchable 2x upsampling just for 44 and 48 kHz streams, which sounds quite good to me. Note that the DAC input has it’s own set of additional FW updates. Link to comment
robocop Posted December 15, 2019 Share Posted December 15, 2019 Quote How do you prevent the unit from shutting down and going to sleep when only using the DAC? Go into Device setup menu of the Setup menu Check your Auto Power Off is off to disable it. Turn Sleep Timer Off which is default at Off. I leave my Oppo on all the time never had a problem with shutting down or sleeping. Its worth going through the setup manual and going through all the Oppos menus to check settings. It does take time but worth it especially to optimise playback settings. The DAC is superb and my main DAC after selling the Benchmark DAC2. There are better DACs but cost much more. DAC's have not advanced much in the last year or so I believe. For dedicated audio use I also disconnect any connection to the internet, wireless in particular caused interference issues with my speakers. I only use the Oppo in stereo so have also disconnected the power supply feed to the 7.1 Analog board under the hood. This is a worthwhile audio improvement. It only involves pulling the plug from the power supply board, so easily replaced. Only do this if you know what you are doing otherwise get a Techman. Does void warranty but is harmless to the machine if less than 2 years old from purchase. Warranty on mine is long gone. The power supply in the Oppo 205 is better than the Sonica. The UDP-205 has two separate power supplies, digital(switch mode) and analog audio circuitry is powered by a toroidal power transformer(not sure how linear this is). The only issues I have had are HDMI connection ones with video sources from TV tuner and computer when switching from one to another causes audio sync problems or screen goes purple. I think this is largely an HDMI problem but remains unsolved. It is an excellent Blue ray/DVD player. Bloody shame they stopped making them. Robert Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted December 15, 2019 Author Share Posted December 15, 2019 Thx. If a single power supply in the Oppo 205 drives the CD motor and the DAC, it makes sense that it would be bigger and so maybe is better than the Sonica (DAC only). Link to comment
Samuel T Cogley Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 I have both a 205 and a Sonica. I have not used the 205 as a USB DAC, but I have played more than a few SACDs with it. I give the Sonica a slight edge when playing DSD64 files. Ralf11 1 Link to comment
robocop Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 As a direct result of this topic I have changed the Switch mode power supply for a Linear one and boy does this make a large difference to sound and picture. I still have the original 205 Linear power supply in place as well. I would suggest anyone using a Sonica or Oppo video players should investigate this upgrade. I don't use the analogue multi channel board so left this out. Robert Link to comment
Norton Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 7 hours ago, robocop said: As a direct result of this topic I have changed the Switch mode power supply for a Linear one and boy does this make a large difference to sound and picture. I still have the original 205 Linear power supply in place as well. I would suggest anyone using a Sonica or Oppo video players should investigate this upgrade. I don't use the analogue multi channel board so left this out. Robert Thanks. Which LPS did you use and was it easy to fit? I don’t doubt what you say, but going right back to my motorbike days, I have always been sceptical about the value of user mods, in that if a big improvement is available so easily, why didn’t the manufacturer apply in first place, assuming they know what they are doing and operate in a competitive market (unless there was a legal consideration to the specification etc) . I’ve just started using my 100% stock 205 as a Roon endpoint with Qobuz and I have to say it sounds absolutely excellent. I thought Qobuz was being somewhat hyped on this site, but not a bit of it, it really deserves the plaudits. Link to comment
Samuel T Cogley Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 15 hours ago, robocop said: As a direct result of this topic I have changed the Switch mode power supply for a Linear one and boy does this make a large difference to sound and picture. I still have the original 205 Linear power supply in place as well. I would suggest anyone using a Sonica or Oppo video players should investigate this upgrade. I don't use the analogue multi channel board so left this out. Robert I'm a bit confused by this. Neither the 205 nor the Sonica use any kind of wall wart. Oh, and the Sonica is a DAC, not a BD player. EDIT: I see up-thread that you opened up the 205 and replaced the power supply? Where did you get the LPS for the 205? Link to comment
soares Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 On 12/14/2019 at 2:32 PM, Ralf11 said: I have the Oppo-205 and am curious about the DAC in the unit. Is it known to be the same as their stand-alone Sonica unit? How do you prevent the unit from shutting down and going to sleep when only using the DAC? - the disc player itself often goes into a dysfunctional sleep mode and cannot be made to play a disc without unplugging the AC power cord I use my Oppo DAC almost exclusively all the time and never had a problem with shutting down/sleeping. Perhaps the manual could help with it. My LPS came from Clones audio (https://www.clonesaudio.com/product-page/psudp205) Deluxe version: 588 US $. But there are other versions around, notably from OPPOMOD or Coris. If I am not wrong these two also substitute the Oppo LPS; the Clones just the Oppo SMPS. While it improved SQ and PQ, I can't comment on the full result from the upgrade, as I am using a cheap step transformer (from 120 v to 230 v) to feed the Oppo (a connection to the US 120V wall plug, sounded better than going through the transformer at 230v). When ordering the LPS you should choose just one voltage!!! As I am planing to move this year definitely to a 230V country, I was obliged to pick the 230V. Cheers Jorge Samuel T Cogley 1 Jensen VRD-iFF>Router>Rj45>opticalModule> SFP>Buffalo2016>SFP>opticalModule >Rj45> IZen Mk3>Rj45> Delock62619>Rj45> etherRegen (Master Clock+ Mini-Circuits BLP)>SFP>opticalRendu>USB>IsoRegen> USB>Phoenix>USB>OPPO 205 (Modded)>HMS “the Perfect Match”>Proac Tablette Reference 8 Signature. Link to comment
robocop Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 I considered 3 devices Coris from Eu($400US), Oppomod from Korea($360US) and Chinese made LPS($200US). I chose the Chinese on price and it certainly looked well engineered. No doubt it could be better as all devices can be. It arrived well packaged and was easily fitted into 205. My only reservation is the onboard plug connectors were not as the original but plugs did fit them and seemed very secure. Firing up all worked perfectly. Audio was immediately noticable as smoother less sharp(digital) sounding. Noise floor reduced. But the picture gosh more depth in colours, sharper image. All I can say is for the money its easily justified for the improvements and Linear Power supplies are well worth trying. My Oppo 205 is 230volt with a Nordost Heimdall II power cord feeding it. By all accounts from other web sites the Coris is better sounding but was double the price with higher freight cost. As you would expect. Now I'm looking at my computer's LPS possibilities. 205 LPS.docx soares 1 Link to comment
Rexp Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 21 hours ago, Norton said: Thanks. Which LPS did you use and was it easy to fit? I don’t doubt what you say, but going right back to my motorbike days, I have always been sceptical about the value of user mods, in that if a big improvement is available so easily, why didn’t the manufacturer apply in first place, assuming they know what they are doing and operate in a competitive market (unless there was a legal consideration to the specification etc) . I’ve just started using my 100% stock 205 as a Roon endpoint with Qobuz and I have to say it sounds absolutely excellent. I thought Qobuz was being somewhat hyped on this site, but not a bit of it, it really deserves the plaudits. I only heard the Oppo as a disc player, inc the Modwright version, and never been satisfied with the SQ. Are you saying using it as a network attached DAC via roon transforms it? Thanks! Link to comment
Norton Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 1 hour ago, Rexp said: I only heard the Oppo as a disc player, inc the Modwright version, and never been satisfied with the SQ. Are you saying using it as a network attached DAC via roon transforms it? Thanks! No that wasn’t my intention. More the first flush of enthusiasm for being able to use it to stream classical favourites in hires via Qobuz. I’m not pretending that the Oppo is the last word in SQ. But now I think about it, it possibly does sound better with Qobuz than it does with discs. So far, for example, I’ve heard none of the excessive brightness I have experienced with some discs. But transform would be too strong a word. Rexp 1 Link to comment
soares Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 The Ethernet input of Oppo 205 is much inferior to the USB input, even when using an optical module and an etherregen. As a DAC I find it superior to the Chord Qutest that I had in my system. I am feeding the Oppo USB with oM + eR + ultra Rendu + isoRengen. I often go to hi-fi expositions and my system has beaten sets over 60000$. That’s my humble opinion. Of course the system uses middle/high end cables and LPS as well as several filters. Cheers Jorge Jensen VRD-iFF>Router>Rj45>opticalModule> SFP>Buffalo2016>SFP>opticalModule >Rj45> IZen Mk3>Rj45> Delock62619>Rj45> etherRegen (Master Clock+ Mini-Circuits BLP)>SFP>opticalRendu>USB>IsoRegen> USB>Phoenix>USB>OPPO 205 (Modded)>HMS “the Perfect Match”>Proac Tablette Reference 8 Signature. Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted January 5, 2020 Author Share Posted January 5, 2020 Jorge - did you do two different tests? i.e. USB vs. ethernet on the Oppo; and Oppo vs. Chord How did you do them / with what setup? Link to comment
soares Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 21 minutes ago, Ralf11 said: Jorge - did you do two different tests? i.e. USB vs. ethernet on the Oppo; and Oppo vs. Chord How did you do them / with what setup? Yes Ralph. I had both the Oppo and the Qutest for circa 6 months. I know it’s difficult to believe how such a product as the chord that received so many prizes is inferior to the Oppo. But that’s my opinion in my system. This being said the chord is a very good Dac. Back at that times I test it just with a sonic Transporter i5 and an ultra Rendu. Speakers and cables the same I still have. Concerning the Ethernet I was expecting that feeding it with my Zen and oM + eR would allow me to sell the rest of my connecting USB equipment. That was not the case. Also despite being a wonderful machine, the Zen MKIII USB output is not a match to my uR. I use one of the Ethernet ports of the Zen with oM + eR + uR + iR connected to my oppo 205 input. I know lot’s of spaghetti. My wife complains but I am happy... Ralf11 1 Jensen VRD-iFF>Router>Rj45>opticalModule> SFP>Buffalo2016>SFP>opticalModule >Rj45> IZen Mk3>Rj45> Delock62619>Rj45> etherRegen (Master Clock+ Mini-Circuits BLP)>SFP>opticalRendu>USB>IsoRegen> USB>Phoenix>USB>OPPO 205 (Modded)>HMS “the Perfect Match”>Proac Tablette Reference 8 Signature. Link to comment
soares Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 1 minute ago, soares said: Yes Ralph. I had both the Oppo and the Qutest for circa 6 months. I know it’s difficult to believe how such a product as the chord that received so many prizes is inferior to the Oppo. But that’s my opinion in my system. This being said the chord is a very good Dac. Back at that times I test it just with a sonic Transporter i5 and an ultra Rendu. Speakers and cables the same I still have. Concerning the Ethernet I was expecting that feeding it with my Zen and oM + eR would allow me to sell the rest of my connecting USB equipment. That was not the case. Also despite being a wonderful machine, the Zen MKIII USB out is not a match to my uR. I use one of the Ethernet ports of the Zen with oM + eR + uR + iR connected to my oppo 205 input. I know lot’s of spaghetti. My wife complains but I am happy... Some pics... Jensen VRD-iFF>Router>Rj45>opticalModule> SFP>Buffalo2016>SFP>opticalModule >Rj45> IZen Mk3>Rj45> Delock62619>Rj45> etherRegen (Master Clock+ Mini-Circuits BLP)>SFP>opticalRendu>USB>IsoRegen> USB>Phoenix>USB>OPPO 205 (Modded)>HMS “the Perfect Match”>Proac Tablette Reference 8 Signature. Link to comment
soares Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 The LPS from Clones ☺️ Jensen VRD-iFF>Router>Rj45>opticalModule> SFP>Buffalo2016>SFP>opticalModule >Rj45> IZen Mk3>Rj45> Delock62619>Rj45> etherRegen (Master Clock+ Mini-Circuits BLP)>SFP>opticalRendu>USB>IsoRegen> USB>Phoenix>USB>OPPO 205 (Modded)>HMS “the Perfect Match”>Proac Tablette Reference 8 Signature. Link to comment
robocop Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 I certainly get a better sound using digital audio files through Xxhighend output to 205 Dac by USB than CD, SACD, and PCM discs. The only discs I play regularly are DVD/Blueray live music concerts. But I've found digital music files much better than CD's ever since I entered the computer audio world. At the time I had a dedicated Meridian 200 transport upgraded, into a Benchmark DAC1 with Nordost digital connect. I was in a state of shock when this sound was beaten by a laptop with Foobar into M2 Tech Hiface DAC24/192 through a Benchmark DAC1 playing ripped 16/44 wave files from my CD's. Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted January 5, 2020 Author Share Posted January 5, 2020 Interesting. I know the Oppo has low THD & low noise... I'm just trying to keep mine from going to sleep (I have to unplug it to get any control over it at all). I have Auto Power off = off and Sleep Timer = off but it still won't stay on... Link to comment
BCRich Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 1 hour ago, Ralf11 said: Interesting. I know the Oppo has low THD & low noise... I'm just trying to keep mine from going to sleep (I have to unplug it to get any control over it at all). I have Auto Power off = off and Sleep Timer = off but it still won't stay on... Could it be CEC/HDMI control turning it off? To be honest I don’t recall if that was supported on the OPPO players, just a thought. Mike My System: https://audiophilestyle.com/profile/9256-bcrich/?tab=field_core_pfield_3 Link to comment
One and a half Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 After living with an Oppo-95, their products were of no interest any more. AS Profile Equipment List Say NO to MQA Link to comment
robocop Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 Quote I'm just trying to keep mine from going to sleep (I have to unplug it to get any control over it at all). Ralf have you contacted Oppo support? I've found them very good. Also try resetting machine to default settings. You will then have to reset all your settings for video and audio in the menus. If this doesn't work then you may have a fault somewhere. Robert Link to comment
Norton Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 6 hours ago, Ralf11 said: Interesting. I know the Oppo has low THD & low noise... I'm just trying to keep mine from going to sleep (I have to unplug it to get any control over it at all). I have Auto Power off = off and Sleep Timer = off but it still won't stay on... Do you mean it goes in to standby (red light) by itself or simply that it stays fully on (blue light) but stops playing and becomes unresponsive (to input, the remote and the app)? If the latter, I’ve experienced something similar from time to time, but usually only during or following use with Ethernet input. Only way to proceed is to turn off and on at mains or to put into and out of standby using front panel power button (the latter only seems to work if you have energy saving standby chosen) Link to comment
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