Playing SACD audio on old equipment

[70sMac]

I was pretty hot and heavy about this topic when I last posted to this thread, but I got side-tracked by (take your pick) and lost my focus...I'm getting old, so it happens.

Regardless, I'd still like to realize the original ideal of being able to play the old SACD and DVD-A music we have in our [modest] collection via our old MX130 and MC300, respectively.

Whenever I speak to my brother, he's always trying to get me to "modernize," but, quite frankly, I still think that our old solid state Mac stuff sounds better than the op-amp-based stuff...and, besides, we can't afford to buy better sounding equipment anyway.

So we still have the same Sony UBP-X800 4K Blu Ray Player I wrote about in the original post. If I could figure out how to post a photo of it, I would, but the UBP-X800 has (2) HDMI outputs on its rear panel. One is presently being used to send a video/audio signal to our television and the other appears to be covered with a piece of tape labeled "HDMI 2."

As I recall, if we use the UBP-X800 as an audio source for our SACDs and/or DVD-As, we must convert its HDMI 2 output signal to analog via an active external Digital to Audio Converter (DAC), which, after conversion to analog, will be passed along to the MX130 Control Center.

As most of the recommended DACs I've priced seem to be out of our price range, I was [again] thinking about replacing the UBP-X800 with a different"universal" 4K Blu Ray Player that has a good internal DAC and, of course, analog audio outputs.

If I haven't muddied the water too much, I'd like to ask if anyone has any thoughts about this issue...and, of course, if I'm misunderstanding anything, please feel free to take me to school.

By the way, does anyone have any thoughts about the hard to come by OPPO universal players?

As ever, thank you for your time ~ Bill

[piolaxo]

I think you can find a second hand Oppo BDP-103D (Darbee Version) for around $300.
They are brilliant, I own two. Both image quality and sound are strong points. I never had
issues loading DVD or blurays and their load time is (was) among the best in their class.
They have all the outputs that you'll ever want. The BDP-105 even has balanced outputs,
but its price may be pushed more. With the 103 and 105 you can even rip SACDs to
your computer; it is a bit involved, but it can be done. That is why they have kept their
price after all these years and even if they are not their last models. If you can find a
good buyer and a good piece, I'd recommend them.

[70sMac]

Piolaxo.... You mentioned "ripping" SACDs and, out of coincidence, I recently posted a thread to another forum asking their board about what's involved in recording disc medium with our [oldish] MacBook Pro (MBP). You see, we don't have any advanced firewire- or USB-capability with our early-2011 MPB, so the prospect of recording the advanced medium formats -- like blu ray video, for example -- are rather limited. We have (3) USB 2.0 ports and (1) Thunderbolt 1 port on the MBP, so now you know why transferring and recording a lot of data is problematic for us. The MBP also employs spinning platters -- not solid state technology -- for storage, so that adds to the transfer issue we're discussing.

As for the Oppo equipment, I definitely see what you're saying. My brother has a BDP-103, but he doesn't use it for anything other than a blu ray player. I'm not sure whether or not it's the "D" version you described, so I'll have to ask him about that. He's back home in the deep south and I'm presently in the Berkshires, so it will have to be a phone call.

What are your thoughts on the Oppo UDP-203 and/or the UDP-205 players? My research is indicating that they're a bit newer -- but a LOT more expensive -- so I guess we would have to be getting much more out of said newer models to justify the added cost. Back when I was running around in a camouflage uniform, I spent a lot of time overseas. This gave me the opportunity to purchase expensive [to me] audio equipment, so I bought some brand names of the day like Nakamichi and Carver, but, you know what, all of that crap eventually developed problems ... and, at the end of the day, what's still working like the day it was set up? Our old Macintosh equipment. I'm just [typing] out loud now, but I suppose that I'm also thinking about how long the Oppo players might last; hence, the reference to the "newer" players.

Needless to say, if the older Oppo players are just as good as the newer models, I'm all for saving money. So, if you have any further thoughts on this -- or any of my other nonsense -- it would be much appreciated.

Thanks again for the kind post...

Post Script - I now see that you actually own an Oppo UDP-205, as well as the BDP-103D you mentioned, so your thoughts on the newer model will be most appreciated. I have to say that the idea of replacing our Denon CDR-W1500 with a player that can handle SACD, DVD-A and the HDCD format, which the Denon processes quite well, is sounding more and more appealing to me...

[piolaxo]

Bill, The only difference between the BDP-103 and BDP-103D is that the latter has a
Darbee engine for the video. It is an improved version from the regular 103. For audio
it won't matter much, but if you use your player for playing movies or concerts, there
will be an improvement in quality in the video. The 103 and 105 have also good
streaming support, e.g. Netflix, Vudu and other streaming services.

The 203 and 205 are the last models 4K compatible, but alas, they do not do
streaming, so big difference there. They are improved versions so both audio and video
will give the best that Oppo achieved. Yes they command more money because they
are scarce -- supply and demand.

Since you're worried about the longevity of the 10X models, you could look for a
UDP-203 if you don't care about streaming.

[70sMac]

Piolaxo - Price difference aside, what does one gain from the UDP-205 versus the UDP-203? I'm quickly becoming fascinated with their equipment. It's too bad that quality didn't triumph over iconic brand names.

[GSOphile]

The 205 was designed to give superior audio performance over the 203 (much like the earlier 105 compared with the 103).

[70sMac]

GSOphile.... When you say "superior," do you mean that the -203 model lacked great sound quality or, as I suspect, are you saying that the -205 is being pushed into the rather vague "audiophile" stratus of audio ratings?

Thank you for your time...

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by piolaxo

Since you're worried about the longevity of the 10X models, you could look for a UDP-203 if you don't care about streaming.

Or ripping SACDs.

Originally Posted by 70sMac

GSOphile.... When you say "superior," do you mean that the -203 model lacked great sound quality or, as I suspect, are you saying that the -205 is being pushed into the rather vague "audiophile" stratus of audio ratings?

If you use the analog outputs, the 205 has superior DAC implementation and output stages. It is also physically larger and heavier.

[70sMac]

Okay, so, thanks to all the helpful posts, I understand that it's either an expensive DAC unit -- or "Streamer," as Bryston calls their DAC 3.14 -- or a blu ray player with an internal DAC.

Other than the Oppo equipment that has been discussed previously in this thread, does anyone have any updated recommendations about universal-type players that are similar to the [sorry to say] defunct Oppo players? Is there such a thing out there?

I read a review (from January 2019) of the Pioneer UDP-LX800 in which the reviewer was practically comparing it to opposable thumbs when it comes to advancements...but, alas, it doesn't seem to be around any more...and, even if I could find one, I assume that it would be right up there with the Oppo UDP-205 in the price category. Does Pioneer presently offer anything that compares to these high-grade players when it comes to audio output quality?

Thank you all for your time and I hope to read more from you...

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by 70sMac

Other than the Oppo equipment that has been discussed previously in this thread, does anyone have any updated recommendations about universal-type players that are similar to the [sorry to say] defunct Oppo players? Is there such a thing out there?

I do not know of any that are a less expensive alternative for use with analog outputs.