DIGITAL HIGH-RES AUDIO SYSTEM -HELP PLEASE

Just talked to Nathan at Oppo cust.serv. He said the 105 is capable of doing what I want wirelessly.

Here's what he told me from memory:

-Plug the supplied wireless Dongle into a USB port on the back and connect to my network. The 105 will then show up as a Device on my network and be able to receive firmware updates.
- Set up my audio files to be shared folders and the 105 will be able to access them. I could go into the Network input on the 105, select a file and drill down to play the track I want.
- Or, he said I could go into JRiver and 'push' the selected song to the 105 wirelessly. The 105 should be setup as the 'preferred output device' on JRiver and Windows 7 on the laptop.
-He also recommended downloading 'OSHARE' which is a free file sharing app.
-He suggested this will all become clearer once I actually start using the 105.
-He also suggested isolating the laptop duties from the 105's duties as much as possible for best sound and to minimize chances of a virus.
-Or, an external HD could be added to either the laptop or to the 105. I also could use a NAS attached to the router and would be accessible to the 105.

All good news and things are becoming clearer to me but I'm still a bit fuzzy and my head just did a complete 360 degree turn. I still may employ the services of a pro just to help me setup and explain things.

Steve(Willie),
Your idea of the IPad is probably a good one but the idea of adding another device to this puzzle just made my head do that turn again. I'll consider that down the line, once I get this system up and running. Thanks, appreciate your efforts.

I'm going to search the JRiver website for any more info on this.

Thanks all,
Tim
-

Sounds good!

Setting the folder(s) to be shared on the network is just a matter of a few clicks in Windows 7. Post back if and when you'd like me to describe that in detail.

Regards,
-- Al

Tim - it's sounding much better

I liked the part about pushing to the Oppo with the laptop - that's a nice feature of JRiver and sounds very simple.

Hope everything goes smoothly.

Steve,Al and Willie-Steve,

Thank you all very much for your help and patience. I'm getting closer and will be ordering the Oppo and hard drive(s) later this week. I also found a local independent computer company that will help me set it all up. Only downside is they charge $100/hr. I figure a few hundred bucks to do this is just the price I pay for my ignorance and to stop my head from doing those painful 360 degree spins.
Once it's all operational and I use it for awhile, I'll consider the Off Ramp, iPad remote and other enhancements.

I'll also post a new thread on this forum detailing the particulars and impressions of how it all sounds for others' reference. I hope I can be as patient,knowledgeable and helpful to other newbies as all you guys were to me.

Talk with u all later,
Tim

Just wanted to give an update to all who are following this thread and are interested:

I ordered an Oppo BDP-105 from Crutchfields for $1,219 with no sales tax and free shipping(Amazon and Oppo-direct had it for $1,199 but charged $27 for shipping which made the Crutch a whopping $7 cheaper that I used to buy a 3ft HDMI cable used between my satellite client box and the HDMI input on the back of the Oppo).

It has all been setup in my system via the supplied wireless dongle in one of the Oppo's 2 back panel USB 3.0 inputs. It's now wirelessly connected to my network and updated with the latest firmware.

The Oppo 105's (8)7.1 channel analog outputs are connected into my 5.1 and 2-channel system in the following manner:

Connected 4 of the 8 analog outputs from the Oppo directly into 2 of my 3 amps: center channel out to the right channel input on an Adcom 545, sub out to one side of a Y-adapter attached to the left channel input on the Adcom 545 and the surround side l+r out (Note: the 'SBL' and 'SBR', Surround Back Left and Right, channels are not connected if using a 5.1 system, the 'SL' and 'SR' are used as the rear surrounds instead) to an Adcom 535.

Connected the front l+r outputs to the 'Processor In' l+r on my VTL 2.5 preamp with HT passthru.

Connected the 'Dedicated stereo' unbalanced l+r outputs to the VTL's 'CD' l+r inputs using my best analog cables. Then the VTL's l+r main 'A' outputs into the l+r inputs on my Class D Audio 440CS amp. The VTL's left channel 'B' output to the open side of the Y-adapter on the Adcom 545's left channel input. This Y-adapter allows the bass to be sent to my sub for both 5.1 surround and 2-channel stereo since I won't be listening to 5.1 surround and stereo at the same time. It'll be either one or the other in use, not both at the same time. Control of which is in use via the VTL's front panel 'HT Passthru'.

Sorry so detailed on connections but thought it might helpful to some readers. Plus it's also a good hookup guide if I ever relocate.

As expected, I was able to remove the "oldie but a goodie" Parasound AV2500 preamp/processor and the very good Cambridge DacMagic DAC from my system(both decided to retire to Miami, btw).

My plan is still to incorporate either a NAS (Network Attached Storage) or regular Hard Drives (Laptop or Oppo Attached Storage)into my system. I haven't decided which yet but I'm currently planning on using approx. 2 TBs of storage for my future WAV and FLAC audio files, maybe 3 TB or more if I decide to store video files, too.

I found a good local source, Matt from EZPC, to help me decide and setup my solution.

I'll update again once I have it completed and have listened to some 24/96&192 music downloads for awhile.

I'm very pleased with the performance of the 105 thus far and I'm glad I decided to buy it. I love this thing already and haven't even played a Bluray or hi-rez music file yet, just Directv in DTS/Dolby 5.1 surround

Later,
Tim