Oppo BDP-95 Versus Bel Canto DAC 3.5

Doggiehowser, thanks for the followup.

Savjam

Have heard both, to be honest the Oppo was described in such glowing terms in Stereophile that I had expected much more. I was quite disappointed.
I have the VB3.5 with the new analogue board upgrade, for me it's far better than the Puccini I used to own.
Hooked to a MacMini using an external 3Tb time capsule for storage, iTunes and PureMusic. For me, an excellent combo.
Had the Oppo in my system for a one on one, no comparison, Bel Canto better on every level. Strangely the only thing missing sometimes is that tactile involvement of changing disc, likened to picking what vinyl you will play next.

Andy

+1 Doggiehowser, Ricketysmurf. Use BDP-95 as a universal disk source and for great home theater. Go elsewhere for computer audio playback, and a fully configured BC DAC 3.5 system is near top-of-the line, imo.

Doggiehowser, is the Mac Mini a superior digital source than the Oppo? If yes, what USB converter are you using? Also, how does the Mini compare to the Bel Canto CD2 as a digital source?

You mean using the Oppo as a transport? That would only work with DVDA and RBCD I think.

For RBCD, the CD2 has an up sampling mode that outputs 16/44 to 96kHz. In conjunction with the jitter reduction circuits on both the CD2/DAC3.5VB, there seems to be a great synergy. I still think the CD2 is better than a MacMini.

I use a Wavelink HS with the bundled BNC cable (I found that if I used a better coax with adaptors, there are some drop outs with 24/192). I use a Locus Cynosure USB and the software that sounds best to me is Amarra.