Oppo BDP-95 as a pure two channel audio source?

I can say I have done direct A/B comparisons between the oppo 95, Ayre C5xeMP, and Emotiva ERC-1. The ERC sounded much more natural on cd playback with a deeper soundstage, obviously could not play SACD's. The oppo won out on ERC-1 to oppo sacd playback with details being a little better on the SACD's but still did not match the depth the ERC had. The Ayre beat them all in every category, just a better player. When I took the Oppo 95 into the movie room it shined, creating great dynamics and wonderful picture. As long as you are not needing SACD, if I were you looking for a 2 channel player I would go with the ERC-2

Thanks Harri009. Based on your findings, sounds like with the Ayre being clearly the better player, the myth of a truly affordable giant killer is alive and well. All the hype surrounding the Oppo remainds me of a very similar buzz that was surrounding the Cambridge Audio 851 CD Player a couple of years ago when TAS proclaimed it to be the equal of five thousand dollar units. They took quite a bit of flack for that one and rightfully so, as it didn't take long for that notion to be dispelled. Thanks, J.

...As long as you are not needing SACD...
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Hum, standard CD format is pretty poor compared to SACD high-speed serial (which is roughly equivalent to 24bit/196K high-res files). The only source of digital that is even close to a LP record is SACD and hi-res 24 bit digital.

To me, using standard red book or 16-bit audio as some sort of digital hi-fi reference is pretty lame to my ears. If a unit can't play SACD, I'd skip right over it. There isn't enough in a 16 bit CD to be worth the effort to capture. CD digital is all about what is WRONG with "Hi-Fi" to day...source material is too limited in quality.

Until the music industry settles on a standard for h-res digital, were stuck with 16-bit garbage. I wish SONY didn't shoot itself in the foot AGAIN (beta verses VHS) and limit SACD to almost obsolescence.

Appreciate the input Rower30 and I couldn't agree more. However, I think you and I know that the chance of the music industry committing to a hi-res digital standard is slim to none. Just not enough money in it for them.

Good thread good knowledge. Rower30 I agree with the fact that SCAD is a superior format but my experience now is that 44.1 can sound damn close. SACD off the Oppo is excellent. And its limitation may be the Oppo. I haven't listened to an reference quality SACD player in a reference system so I can't comment beyond the fact that Sony, in its blind wisdom, has chosen to shut off a goodly portion of the audiophile world. More and more folks I see are going the music server route. That leaves out Sony and its SACD format.

Playing with DACs and servers of many types I come to realize that digital audio even at the 44.1 redbook format can sound equal or better than my pretty good vinyl rig. This at a reasonable cost! The downside is that it isn't easy. I've been using the BDP-95 as a benchmark as both a native CD, SACD player and as a transport to outboard DACs of many flavors. I think I mentioned this that generally speaking, the outboard DACs were better and better still when they could take advantage of the I2S bus such as the Oppo-NAD M51 combo. That was really good. But the Mac mini Cora PS was amazing. Warm and detailed, solid soundstage, I really was surprised as it was not subtle. But that's the cost of an outboard power supply and a Mac mini and some software. The PC version we built was equally amazing, more detail, less warmth and it utilized the Cora power supply. But the .02 cent wall wart cord fed the computer. It was ugly. So I soldered a VH-Audio power cable directly to the mother board fed from the PS. I know it's not topical but I felt compelled to add this little bit of information as the difference is sound quality was substantial, far exceeding anything from any source I've heard to date. I can't get out of my room.

I've been fortunate to have passionate audio friends with better ears than I and the means to rotate equipment like nobody's business. So I benefit with being able to listen, with them, a good number of sources. I'm hopeful today, we'll have a shootout between the mini, the PC and a purpose built Cora server.

My 2 cents is that I would stick with the Bryston, an excellent player, unless you decide to go an entirely different route such as computer audio, which is a bit painful.