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Oppo BDP-105 or Schiit Audio Modi 2 Multibit? DAC comparisons.

ginny said:
I just bought a pair of Tekton Pendragon's and am in desperate need of a dac to smooth out the mids and highs which are a little harsh. I only have about 30 hours on them and new Mogami cables. I hope the harshness is in fact due to only having 30 hours on them as well as the Fiio music players dac that I am currently using.

I am considering the oppo udp-203 for at least as a transport, and possibly for its internal dac. If I do purchase an external dac, I am considering the Schiit Bifrost Multi bit dac.

I am seeking advice, should I go with the oppo udp-203 as a do all or run it through the Schiit Bifrost mb.

In other words, which dac is better?

Current source is a Jolida jd1501 rc integrated amp. Soon to be a Decware SE34I.5 integrated.
Click to expand...

I have both the 203 and the Bifrost MB. I have been impressed with the the DAC in the 203. Whoch one is better? Who knows, they both sound very good to me.

If you know you want a 203 for a transport, DVD player, etc I would give it a listen before buying the Bifrost. I believe schiit has a return policy that would allow you to try it out and return it if you couldn't tell a significant difference.
 
ginny said:
I just bought a pair of Tekton Pendragon's and am in desperate need of a dac to smooth out the mids and highs which are a little harsh. I only have about 30 hours on them and new Mogami cables. I hope the harshness is in fact due to only having 30 hours on them as well as the Fiio music players dac that I am currently using.

I am considering the oppo udp-203 for at least as a transport, and possibly for its internal dac. If I do purchase an external dac, I am considering the Schiit Bifrost Multi bit dac.

I am seeking advice, should I go with the oppo udp-203 as a do all or run it through the Schiit Bifrost mb.

In other words, which dac is better?

Current source is a Jolida jd1501 rc integrated amp. Soon to be a Decware SE34I.5 integrated.
Click to expand...


My Pendragon's are not harsh at all. And what's funny is I started this thread nearly a year ago and have actually had the Oppo 203 in my system for about 3 months. I really liked it. And the DAC in it is sweet. But of course, in this hobby of ours, we are always looking for that extra bit of fidelity so I sold it and am going with the 205 and calling it a day. I am going to run the dedicated stereo outputs from the 205 into a Marantz SR-6011, the dedicated 7.1 inputs on it. Then I will also run the audio only HDMI from the Oppo to the Marantz for surround sound decoding. I am also going to use the HDMI input on the Oppo to plug my comcast cable into and use the audio and video processing of the Oppo for my cable. I am also going to take advantage of the 2 digital inputs on the Oppo to plug in both a music streamer and my PS4. Bam! All my audio and video needs solved with one unit. IMO, go for either of the Oppo's. They are VERY, VERY good players. You will also have BD, Redbook cd's and SACD covered as well!
 
HiFiJeff said:
My Pendragon's are not harsh at all. And what's funny is I started this thread nearly a year ago and have actually had the Oppo 203 in my system for about 3 months. I really liked it. And the DAC in it is sweet. But of course, in this hobby of ours, we are always looking for that extra bit of fidelity so I sold it and am going with the 205 and calling it a day. I am going to run the dedicated stereo outputs from the 205 into a Marantz SR-6011, the dedicated 7.1 inputs on it. Then I will also run the audio only HDMI from the Oppo to the Marantz for surround sound decoding. I am also going to use the HDMI input on the Oppo to plug my comcast cable into and use the audio and video processing of the Oppo for my cable. I am also going to take advantage of the 2 digital inputs on the Oppo to plug in both a music streamer and my PS4. Bam! All my audio and video needs solved with one unit. IMO, go for either of the Oppo's. They are VERY, VERY good players. You will also have BD, Redbook cd's and SACD covered as well!
Click to expand...

Jeff,
So let me see if I have this correct...because it sounds exactly like what I'm trying to do.

Hdmi out from Comcast cable box to the Oppo 205 hdmi input . Then hdmi out of the 205 to your tv for video only, plus optical out of 205 to amp, (or to DAC then amp) for audio ? Using the 205 as a preamp correct?

Then you select the right video source on your tv (for video) and the right hdmi source from the 205 (for audio)....and viola??

Do I have this right?
 
I believe he, and many like him, are using the Oppo 205 as the DAC, and thus is using the analog stereo out from the Oppo to connect to the receiver for music. He is also using the HDMI out from the Oppo to provide the 7.1 surround (in this case, using the Marantz's decoding).

In short:
Oppo analog stereo -> Receiver
Oppo HDMI (Audio Only) -> Receiver
Oppo HDMI (Main) -> TV? (I admit this part was not explicitly covered, so I am just guessing).
 
judsonw said:
I believe he, and many like him, are using the Oppo 205 as the DAC, and thus is using the analog stereo out from the Oppo to connect to the receiver for music. He is also using the HDMI out from the Oppo to provide the 7.1 surround (in this case, using the Marantz's decoding).

In short:
Oppo analog stereo -> Receiver
Oppo HDMI (Audio Only) -> Receiver
Oppo HDMI (Main) -> TV? (I admit this part was not explicitly covered, so I am just guessing).
Click to expand...

All of that is correct.
Correct.
 
ginny said:
Jeff,
So let me see if I have this correct...because it sounds exactly like what I'm trying to do.

Hdmi out from Comcast cable box to the Oppo 205 hdmi input . Then hdmi out of the 205 to your tv for video only, plus optical out of 205 to amp, (or to DAC then amp) for audio ? Using the 205 as a preamp correct?

Then you select the right video source on your tv (for video) and the right hdmi source from the 205 (for audio)....and viola??

Do I have this right?
Click to expand...

Comcast to Oppo=HDMI for audio and video

PS4 to Oppo=Optical for audio only, for video, HDMI to tv

Music streamer to Oppo=Coax digital


Oppo to Marantz AVR=HDMI audio only

Oppo to Marantz=2 channel dedicated stereo outs form Oppo to dedicated stereo in on Marantz

So the Marantz is going to be used for processing audio only. No video.

So when listening to 2 channel music for cd's SACD's and my music streamer, I will use the analog outs on the Oppo and analog ins on the Marantz.

When watching comcast, blu-ray movies or listening to any type of multichannel audio, I will be using the HDMI to the Marantz for that.

When using my PS4, obviously the digital optical out from PS4 to AVR.

Hope that clears it all up.
 
HiFiJeff said:
Comcast to Oppo=HDMI for audio and video

PS4 to Oppo=Optical for audio only, for video, HDMI to tv

Music streamer to Oppo=Coax digital


Oppo to Marantz AVR=HDMI audio only

Oppo to Marantz=2 channel dedicated stereo outs form Oppo to dedicated stereo in on Marantz

So the Marantz is going to be used for processing audio only. No video.

So when listening to 2 channel music for cd's SACD's and my music streamer, I will use the analog outs on the Oppo and analog ins on the Marantz.

When watching comcast, blu-ray movies or listening to any type of multichannel audio, I will be using the HDMI to the Marantz for that.

When using my PS4, obviously the digital optical out from PS4 to AVR.

Hope that clears it all up.
Click to expand...

It does. It's exactly how I have it drawn up with the exception in my case of having rca as the only option to my integrated amp.

What music streamer do you have?

I am considering 2:
Bluesound Node2 and Oppo Sonica.
 
ginny said:
I just looked at it...it IS nice.

I am strongly considering the Oppo Sonica streamer and Oppo UDP-205.

I wish the Oppo UDP-203 had 2 ch. rca out. It would save me $800.
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Yeah, that Yamaha really makes Spotify shine. Sounds real good! And the simplicity is so VERY nice!

The 203 does have rca outs. I know it's for 7.1 but just use the left and right one on the 7.1 outs. Thats how I had mine hooked up and it sounded phenomenal. The 203 is a legit player, I just want the best of what Oppo offers. Now am I going to hear a major difference between the 203 and 205??? Probably not, but I want every little bit of performance out of my main source and $1299 is still reasonable in my opinion.
But if you want to save the money and still have an outstanding player/dac, get the 203, you won't regret it.
 
So I had another question about the AVR I am going to buy. I am trying to figure out what the output voltage is on the 7.1 pre-out on the avr? Here are the specs. But I am a little confused.

Rated RCA Output Level and Impedance

200 mV/470 Ω(Pre Out)
Maximum RCA Output Level and Impedance 4.6 V/470 Ω(Pre Out)
 
I have the Modi Multibit, Bifrost Multibit with vs 5 USB. Both are awesome Dacs for the money. Very similar, but the Bifrost is more refined, tighter bass.
However...after living with the Chord Mojo for a month, it easily bests both Schiit units, in terms of ease, musicality and flow. It just does everything right IMHO. The Bifrost has a tight soundstage right in front of the speakers, were the Mojo has a huge flowing soundstage, a much more precise instrument placing. I think the ultralow noise of the Mojo, better overall specs has a lot to do with the ease flow and tone of the music. Pretty cool!!
The Bifrost MB has more "meat" so to speak and is exciting and dynamic, but the flow and timing seems off, or even backward, at times compared to the Mojo. Both are great, and some is a matter of taste for sure. The Brifrost is solid and heavy, and much easier to integrate in a main system. If you aren't using a PC, you need a USB type charger to keep it going. Even with a computer, you need to free port, one exclusively for charging.
The Mojo is more of a challenge to integrate in a main system, but it's well worth the effort!! I'm not sure how they do, in such a small package...pretty darn amazing!!
By the way..if you have, and are using lower then the 5.0 USB board on your Bifrost, get the upgrade. Especially with vs1,2 etc. They sound marginal at best. Schiit finally got it right with vs 5.0 sounds awesome!! Easy to install, just watch the LED, easy to bend.
 
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Late to this thread, but if you are intending on using a 103 or 105 as a DAC only, I believe it wasn't until the 203/205 that you could plug a PC or similar straight into the Oppo and use it as a USB DAC.

That said, I picked up a 95 a while back and it's really nice for what it is. Also have a 103 for a bedroom system; using the HDMI input to convert cable box to analog (Sansui quad receiver) 105 would be better for that use but they're still too pricey used for me to justify it.
 
automojo said:
...after living with the Chord Mojo for a month, it easily bests both Schiit units, in terms of ease, musicality and flow.
Click to expand...

I never heard the Mojo but I can certainly relate to the last part as compared to other DACs as well.
 
I see on Massdrop the new SMSL M8A dac. Uses the latest Sabre DAC ES9028Q2M and XMOS-XCroe 200 Xu208 USB chipset. 5 more dropsto get it at $179. Might be a deal there.
 
gvl said:
I never heard the Mojo but I can certainly relate to the last part as compared to other DACs as well.
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Sure, well plenty of reviews. If you can deal with the connectivity into a main system, and can 98% guarantee you will love it. Amazing, it's really that good!!
I know specs are yawn, but apparently the noise, jitter etc specs are amazing. I thing the ultra low noise compared to many DAC's is why the music flows so good, your not dealing with noise.
Get the cable kit for sure. It's about $600 total if buying new.
I had a 3.5mm to RCA adapter. And ordered a Blue Jeans digital coax cable. with 3.5mm to rca. Not sure how it's with headphones, not into that to much except when analyzing.
 
gvl said:
You do realize that as of today Bifrost is pretty much just a bigger enclosure than the MMB with an option to send more of your hard earned money to Schiit later for "upgrades", right?
Click to expand...
Well, I have both. And while they both have a similar sonic signature, the Bifrost has much tighter bass( the Modi MB is a tad loose) and a more solid and stable sound stage, and a smoother more refined sound overall. And the vs 5 USB board on the Bifrost blows away the Modi MB USB section...
So they aren't exactly the same....
I do think people have a tendency to jump to conclusions when they read the use the same a/d chip.
An A/D chip in reality has little to do with the sound it's how it's implemented.
It's almost like saying any amp that has a certain model/brand of transistor is always going to sound the same.
Far from the truth...
 
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automojo said:
I do think people have a tendency to jump to conclusions when they read the use the same a/d chip.
An A/D chip in reality has little to do with the sound it's how it's implemented.
It's almost like saying any amp that has a certain model/brand of transistor is always going to sound the same.
Far from the truth...
Click to expand...

There is more similarity between them than just the chip. Before the gen 5 USB came to life it was basically just the power supply that was different, which is important but not at >2x the cost. Btw, there will not be gen 5 USB in the Modi anytime soon, if ever.
 
gvl said:
There is more similarity between them than just the chip. Before the gen 5 USB came to life it was basically just the power supply that was different, which is important but not at >2x the cost. Btw, there will not be gen 5 USB in the Modi anytime soon, if ever.
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Ok.. well as I pointed out they definitely sound different.
I think if you have a system that has enough resolution to appreciate the differences they are quite apparent, to even the untrained ear, so to speak.
And the Bifrost probably has twice the amount of components on it circuit board.
Not to say that makes it better because of that, but it's way more refined for sure. They have the same "tone", and forward presentation, but that's about it.
The Modi MB, will give you some things of the Bifrost MB, but not everything.
It's definitely a true bargain in my opinion, but don't think you're getting a Bifrost multibit for half the price, that's certainly not the case in my side-by-side comparisons.
And if that was the case, they were he essentially the same, I wouldn't be selling my Modi MB, after aquring a Chord Mojo... because I could easily get twice the price out of the Bifrost.
The Bifrost MB definitely in its own way, in the same league as the Mojo,
The Modi MB, clearly is not.
It's also half the price, and gives you a lot for that money.
 
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Fair enough, but if the Modi is a "preview" of the Bifrost I'm then not interested in the latter either. Respectable gear, but doesn't work for me, perhaps I will revisit if my setup changes.
 
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