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DIGITAL HIGH-RES AUDIO SYSTEM -HELP PLEASE

I need your expert advice on building a 24 bit/96Khz, 24/192Khz max, computer based home audio system I'd like to integrate into my home audio/ht system. I'm not totally clueless on what I need but I could definitely use some advice and direction as well as helpful tips. I have a fairly good audio system I currently use for ht and music playback. So, I'm not starting from scratch but want to incorporate computer audio and WAV and FLAC file streaming and storage into my system. Video streaming and storage can wait for a future time.

My current system consists of the following:
Plasma HDTV
Full 5.1 surround setup (5 spkrs and 1 subwoofer with in-ceiling surrounds).
Three separate stereo amps that power the main l/r, subwoofer/ center and l/r surrounds.
Directv satellite source (box has HDMI and digital audio output)
Older DVD/CD player as source used for movies and music.
Surround sound processor (older unit with just coax and optical audio inputs/outputs, no HDMI or USB inputs/outputs).
Separate tube preamp with HT Passthru. I'd run computer analog outputs to this for 2-channel listening.

For computer audio I already have some components:

Newer Laptop with 4 USB2.0 ports, dual core processor, 2 GB RAM and 110 GB internal hard-drive that can be solely devoted to a computer audio system(only 35 GB free on HD, however).
Wireless high-speed LAN with smart HDTV already attached and streaming Netflix, Hulu, Pandora and Amazon Prime to the tv and laptop.
JRiver v19.0 media player installed but no downloads yet and only a handful of cds ripped.
Cambridge Audio DacMagic 24 bit/192khz DAC.

My current budget is only about $1,500 and was thinking my next steps should be to:
A. Buy a new or used Oppo BDP-103 or, preferably a BDP-105 to replace my DacMagic and Sony DVD,CD player and get at least into 21st century technology.
B. Buy a NAS next to connect via USB to my laptop when more funds become available.

So, please let me know the following:

1. Am I thinking correctly and on the right path with buying an Oppo followed by a NAS?
2. Is there a method to connect my laptop, and future NAS wirelessly to the Oppo? I'm currently running a 12ft USB cable from my laptop to my DAC. I know cabled is better than wireless but curious how much better.
3. Any suggestions for a good, affordable NAS?
4. Does the Oppo BDP-105 have internal surround sound decoding capability that would allow me to run analog cables to my 3 HT amps directly from its analog outputs and substitute for my Parasound processor?

Thanks in advance for any advice and guidance.
Tim



128x128noble100
timlub
1,649 posts
 
The oppo 105 has Asynchronous USB in, it will work fine, you'll need wasapi or KS output on JRiver. If you don't buy the oppo, you will need to do as Steve mentioned and get a good USB to spdif converter for your Dac magic, you need your usb out on your Computer to do the conversion before the dac, so you will need an asynchronous converter. There are plenty available, Steve's is the best and most expensive. I can recommend converters from $100 or so up to Steve's off ramp. I would also add another 4gb stick of Ram to your notebook. If you have 2 1gb sticks, replace 1, if you have 1 2gb stick add the 4gb.
I hope this helps, Tim
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Timlub - I recommend the Off-Ramp 5 even with a DAC that has Async USB input. It is not a matter of it working. It is a mater of it sounding really good.

I even recommend using the Off-Ramp with my own Overdrive DAC for best results. I now offer a really good power supply for it, the Dynamo and this makes all the difference.

This all depends on how close you want to come to analog and elimination of harshness that is typical with digital. Its lowering the jitter that gets rid of the harshness without sacrificing detail and imaging.

You can certainly sacrifice detail and imaging with some tube DACs or even cabling etc. to eliminate harshness, but this is not my cup of tea.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
timlub
1,649 posts
 
Hi Steve, Yes, I knew that you recommended an off ramp regardless of a unit having asynchronous or not and agree, it would be better.... BUT, there are some very decent USB inputs on units these days, as I suspect you would agree, they have improved. I may be wrong, but it sounded to me that the op was on a budget and the Oppo 105 is not a cheap unit, I have played with it and helped a friend set up computer audio through the oppo, it worked fine and sounded quite nice. I have also played with a fair amount of Chinese stuff that is incredible for the price.
Also, I did not mentions before, DB Poweramp was mentioned, it works well, I have it and have used it a fair amount, but I find that EAC - Exact Audio Copy is an equivalent product and its free, you can also enable accu rip on EAC.
noble100's avatar
noble100 OP
1,093 posts
 
Thank you all for your very helpful replies thus far.

I'm getting a clearer picture of what to buy/use. Currently I'm thinking of buying the Oppo bdp-105 and the Synology DS213j NAS(thanks to Dz3827 for the heads up on Synology) to use wirelessly in conjunction with my laptop. I'd also use the DBpoweramp (thanks to Dz3827 and Steve N. for recommending) to rip cds. This is friendly to my $1,500 budget since the Oppo is $1,199 and Synology is $199 (Amazon) which would leave about $100 for the HDMI and analog cabling I'd need. I'd use decent Monoprice cabling to get it up and running then substitute better cables as budget allows.
So, the answers to my questions become:

1. Am I thinking correctly and on the right path with buying an Oppo followed by a NAS?

This seems like a yes.

2. Is there a method to connect my laptop, and future NAS wirelessly to the Oppo? I'm currently running a 12ft USB cable from my laptop to my DAC. I know cabled is better than wireless but curious how much better.

This also seems to be a yes. The Oppo comes with a wireless dongle and the Synology NAS can operate wirelessly, too. However, I may need to go wired if frequent dropouts occur or I'm not satisfied with the wireless sound.

3. Any suggestions for a good, affordable NAS?

Seems Synology is one very good answer to this.

4. Does the Oppo BDP-105 have internal surround sound decoding capability that would allow me to run analog cables to my 3 HT amps directly from its analog outputs and substitute for my Parasound processor?

From several reviews and other sources, I found out the Oppo does have internal 5.1 decoding capability(DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby-True HD)that outputs as 7.1 analog. I'd just need extra rca cables to run from these outputs directly into my 3 amps: front l+r mains into my main amp, center channel+ sub into the 2nd amp and rear l+r surrounds into my surround amp. This would mean retiring my Parasound AV2500 preamp/processor and Cambridge DacMagic DAC. Good, since this frees up rack space for the Oppo and Synology.

Looks like a good plan. The only thing I'm confused about is the need for the Offramp suggested by Steve and others.
Is this critical sound wise? If yes, is it something I could add later? If no, is it something I'd want to add later for an incremental improvement?
I've heard mention of the Offramp and know Steve and his products are well respected, but I'm unclear on exactly what this product does and how it improves sq.
noble100's avatar
noble100 OP
1,093 posts
 

Woops, just realized the Synology is $199 and without hard drives. 2 hard drives would cost another $200 plus. This would drive the total cost to about $1,600 which may be close enough. I don't want to skimp on quality since excellent sq is very important to me.

Thanks,
Tim
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