Review: take SACD and BlURay Hirez directly to your DAC!!!!

AVnerdguy · « **Reply #400 on:** 1 Dec 2011, 06:20 pm »

Quote from: Claude on 30 Nov 2011, 10:56 am

Thanks to all of you.

@AVnerdguy and djmckaytx:

Which de-embedder have you been using with your Oppo 93/95? It seems that not every player/de-embedder combination is working.

I have the Altona AT-HD570. It was the current version when I purchased - about 6 mo. ago I believe.

ted_b · « **Reply #401 on:** 1 Dec 2011, 06:43 pm »

Since I started this thread i thought I ought to tell you why I have been responding less and less.

I have been 100% dedicated to the Mr Wicked project (I am a beta tester) of doing true SACD DSDIFF and ISO ripping. It uses the PS3 as per my other threads about it. I have completed version 1.2 of a word doc or pdf that walks you through "SACD ripping For Dummies". i'll send it to anyone who needs it. PM me your email addy.

I am evaluating the Mytek DSD DAC. I'll write up soon.

djmckaytx · « **Reply #402 on:** 2 Dec 2011, 08:54 pm »

Quote from: jjc1 on 1 Dec 2011, 06:09 pm

I assume you rip SACDs with a Play Station? From what I've read here, it seems that is the only way.

That's correct. I have invested in 2 PS3s that can do the job (now carefully maintained and cooled). The sound is greatness...much better than de-embedding. You can get the details from ted_b if you're interested.

djmckaytx · « **Reply #403 on:** 2 Dec 2011, 08:56 pm »

Quote from: ted_b on 1 Dec 2011, 06:43 pm

I have been 100% dedicated to the Mr Wicked project (I am a beta tester) of doing true SACD DSDIFF and ISO ripping. It uses the PS3 as per my other threads about it. I have completed version 1.2 of a word doc or pdf that walks you through "SACD ripping For Dummies". i'll send it to anyone who needs it. PM me your email addy.

Really appreciate everyone's hard work on this. It is a dream come true for me...really.

donny619 · « **Reply #404 on:** 2 Dec 2011, 11:41 pm »

Thank you everyone that has contributed to this post. Has anyone tried Gefen's product equivalent to this thread?

http://www.gefen.com/gefentv/gtvproduct.jsp?prod_id=8202

http://www.gefen.com/kvm/include/prod_html/closeup/gtv-auddec-closeup.shtml

natf · « **Reply #405 on:** 28 Feb 2012, 06:53 pm »

Hello to all! This is my first post here....

My setup is: OPPO BDP-83, DAC Zhaolu D2.5C, preamplifier Rotel RC-980BX and so on.

I carefully read all this thread and it seems to me that:

1. With the Monoprice de-embedder I can obtain on its digital output port up to 24/192 with DVD-Audio and 24/88.2 with SACD
2. With OPPO BDP-83 the Monoprice doesn't need a device connected on the HDMI output port for handshaking and it sounds even better with no device attached
3. The Monoprice sounds better if 5.1 audio is selected on it

Is this all right?

Now I have some questions for you:
1. What kind of HDMI cable should I use to connect OPPO and Monoprice? A 1.4 compliant cable should be good for this? Is an HDMI cable with audio return channel required for better working?
2. My DAC seems to be able to directly decode DSD streams in input; did someone try to avoid DSD2PCM internal OPPO conversion and try to de-embed a DSD stream instead of a PCM stream in input to the Monoprice? does it works?
3. I would like to mantain a direct connection between OPPO and the DAC, for audio CDs and for DVD-Audio. Provided that my DAC has a coax input and a toslink input which combination should be better (toslink from Monoprice to DAC and coax from OPPO to DAC or the opposite)? I'm asking this because Phil stated that coax out from OPPO has PCM word length truncated
4. What are the best settings on OPPO? I was thinking of Secondary audio set to off, HDMI audio set to auto, SACD out set to DSD (in order to try to de-embed DSD streams)

Many thanks in advance!

jacobacci · « **Reply #406 on:** 1 Mar 2012, 02:00 pm »

Hi all, also my first post here.
I have been trying to get audio deembedding (Atlona 570) to work for a few days now and I have not been very successful.
My setup is as follows:

Oppo BDP 83 -> Atlona HD570 -> Weiss DAC202

As the Oppo 83 apparently needs a HDMI end device to handshake with, I have bought a Gefen HDMI Detective Plus, as I don't have an AVR in my audio only system.

I have tried the following:

If my Onkyo SC5507 AVR is connected after the Atlona, everything works fine. The Oppo handshakes and the Atlona outputs 88.2khz over Toslink to the DAC.

If I remove the Onkyo and put the Gefen in its place, no sound at all. I have programmed the Onkyo's EDID into the Gefen (using the procedure in the Gefen manual and getting all the correct blinking and permanent LED signals). I have also tried programming on of the Gefen's preprogrammed EDIDs into memory. But no joy. The Atlona is staying silent.

I have tried putting the Gefen the other way around (HDMI in / out). Still silent.

Has anyone got this setup to work?
Much appreciate any support.
Thanks a lot and regards from Switzerland

Rudi

jacobacci · « **Reply #407 on:** 2 Mar 2012, 07:17 am »

Thought I had it solved, but not quite.

Phil A · « **Reply #408 on:** 2 Mar 2012, 01:10 pm »

I use the Port-ta/Monoprice de-embedder with a BDP-83 and don't need a handshake. I've also used the de-embedder with an old Oppo DV980H in the secondary basement system and do not need a handshake. I've not been able to get the BDP-93 to work under the same circumstances, although I have not exhausted every combination. I have the BDP-93 in the secondary basement system and at some point I'll experiment more. It's not a big deal in the basement system as I have the BDP-93 going into an Onkyo 1008 so if it needs a handshake I can always try the second HDMI out.

natf · « **Reply #409 on:** 2 Mar 2012, 01:23 pm »

Quote from: Phil A on 2 Mar 2012, 01:10 pm

I use the Port-ta/Monoprice de-embedder with a BDP-83 and don't need a handshake. I've also used the de-embedder with an old Oppo DV980H in the secondary basement system and do not need a handshake. I've not been able to get the BDP-93 to work under the same circumstances, although I have not exhausted every combination. I have the BDP-93 in the secondary basement system and at some point I'll experiment more. It's not a big deal in the basement system as I have the BDP-93 going into an Onkyo 1008 so if it needs a handshake I can always try the second HDMI out.

Hello Phil, I would appreciate some help from you regarding my questions.... Can you help me please? Expecially about choosing the best connections between OPPO, Monoprice and the DAC.
Thanks again

dminches · « **Reply #410 on:** 2 Mar 2012, 02:04 pm »

I couldn't get it to work with the BDP-95 either.

Phil A · « **Reply #411 on:** 3 Mar 2012, 01:26 am »

Quote from: natf on 2 Mar 2012, 01:23 pm

Hello Phil, I would appreciate some help from you regarding my questions.... Can you help me please? Expecially about choosing the best connections between OPPO, Monoprice and the DAC.
Thanks again

You don't need an HDMI 1.4 cable (all it really gives you is ethernet from end to end). I'm use a short Pangea HDMI cable I got at Audio Advisor. Seems to work well and not tons of money. I've not taken a DSD stream with either the main system DAC (Bryston) or basement system DAC (Emotiva) as they don't decode DSD. I prefer coax to toslink from the de-embedder. I have the coax output of the BDP-83 in the main system and the BDP-93 in the basement system connected to the DAC. In the main system I prefer my Marantz DV9600 (DVD universal) as a CD transport. I have a modded BDP-83 in the main system and while there are positives and negatives, I prefer using the de-embedder into the DAC and then the preamp (Modwright LS36.5 DM).

Here's a checklist for the BDP-83 with default settings - http://watershade.net/wmcclain/BDP-83_Settings_Checklist.pdf
For audio, I have secondary audio off and of course the LPCM rate to 192k

Phil A · « **Reply #412 on:** 3 Mar 2012, 01:31 am »

Quote from: dminches on 2 Mar 2012, 02:04 pm

I couldn't get it to work with the BDP-95 either.

At some point I'll try the BDP-93 in the basement system and try the handshake on HDMI 1 to the Onkyo 1008. I'd like to know as I'm thinking about moving in a couple of years and may end up using the Onkyo as a HT processor and use the built in amps for the height channels and back channels. I'd like to be able to have just something like one player for hi-rez and Blu-Ray. I'm kind of in the very beginning stages of looking at things down the road. With my thinking now, I'm going to be simplifying the main system a bit.

jacobacci · « **Reply #413 on:** 3 Mar 2012, 04:35 am »

Thanks to the friendly folks at Gefen Switzerland, the problem has been solved for me.
The Gefen HDMI Detective Plus does NOT work. The Gefen GTV-HDMI-2-HDMIAUD-CO HDMI to HDMI Plus Audio Converter DOES.
The issue seems to have been that the Oppo BDP-83 imperatively needs an HDCP capable HDMI endpoint in order to handshake. EDID alone is not sufficient. This condition was fulfilled with the Onkyo connected, but not with the HDMI Detective Plus connected. The Detective supplied the correct EDID, but not the HDCP endpoint.
The HDMI to HDMI Plus Audio Converter seems to reliably supply the HDCP endpoint without anything else connected to its output.
I had not been aware about the EDID and HDCP issues being totally separated and independent. The guys at geffen were the first to explain this to me clearly and to propose a solution that solves the issue at the root of the problem.
Using the Oppo 83 as source, the Berkeley Alpha DAC reports 88.2khz/24bit.
Using the Sony S770 as source, the Berkeley Alpha DAC reports 176.4khz/24bit.
Finally I can deembed SACD in my audio only system. THANKS

Phil A · « **Reply #414 on:** 3 Mar 2012, 11:51 am »

I did not see bit depth on the Berkeley Alpha DAC. The Sony 70 series truncates it to 16 bit. The BDP-83 does not require a handshake with the Port-ta/Monoprice de-embedder.

zootallures · « **Reply #415 on:** 3 Mar 2012, 10:36 pm »

Hello everybody. First post here as well.

Here's a report on what has worked for me, and what hasn't. BTW, I'm a 2-channel guy and don't have any surround equipment. My initial intent was to use an Oppo BDP-93 as a SACD transport and run the signal to an outboard DAC.

I just received/hooked up my Monoprice HDMI 4-Port Switcher–Product-ID 5557 yesterday and have had but an hour or two to test things. I have the HDMI-2 out from my Oppo BDP-93 to the 5557, then take the 5557's coax-out to a digital coax-in on a Cambridge 840C. The 840C lists the digital-in's bit depth/sample rates on its' screen.

What the setup can do:
• Output 24/88.2 from physical SACD disks via the 5557
• Output up to 24/96 from physical DVD-A disks via the 5557
• Output 24/88.2 and 24/96 FLAC files that reside on a USB flash drive via the 5557

What the setup can't do:
• Output 24/192 from physical DVD-A disks via the 5557
• Output 24/192 FLAC files that reside on a USB flash drive via the 5557

When 24/192 files/disks are attempted, the 840C doesn't see a valid signal and I get mostly silence with occasional "bits" trying to break through. However, these occasional sounds tell me that the 840C is receiving some sort of signal.

Since the 840C has no trouble receiving the 24/192 signal via the Oppo's own coax-out when playing DVD-A's or USB-residing files (and the fact that the 840C has two digital inputs) it doesn't bother me too much, as I only need to select input 1 or 2 on the 840C depending on what I'm trying to play.

When I first hooked up the 5557, I did take one of its HDMI outs and plugged it into my Samsung HDTV plasma (in place of the Oppo's HDMI-1 cable). Afterwards, I totally removed the HDMI cable from the 5557 and replaced the Oppo's HDMI-1 cable to the plasma. It does not seem to need it anymore. Since I did not initially attempt to hook it up without the 5557-to-HDTV connection/handshake, I cannot comment as to its necessity (sorry).

The only thing I may be missing are higher SACD rates (I'm new to hi-res, so I don't even know what the typical recording rates might be) or 24/192 blu-ray material. I don't have any verifiable blu-ray material to test at this point however.

I would like to solve the playing of higher-rate SACD's or 24/192 material via the 5557. When time permits, I'll definitely need to read through this entire thread. Thanks everybody... for being part of this great discussion.

zootallures · « **Reply #416 on:** 3 Mar 2012, 11:49 pm »

This post has been deleted by the author.

zootallures · « **Reply #417 on:** 4 Mar 2012, 02:18 am »

My initial post above has been corrected.

Phil A · « **Reply #418 on:** 4 Mar 2012, 03:31 am »

I assume you mean Monoprice Product ID 5557?

todd95008 · « **Reply #419 on:** 4 Mar 2012, 04:21 am »

Quote from: zootallures on 3 Mar 2012, 10:36 pm

When 24/192 files/disks are attempted, the 840C doesn't see a valid signal and I get mostly silence with occasional "bits" trying to break through. However, these occasional sounds tell me that the 840C is receiving some sort of signal.

The only thing I may be missing are higher SACD rates (I'm new to hi-res, so I don't even know what the typical recording rates might be) or 24/192 blu-ray material. I don't have any verifiable blu-ray material to test at this point however.

I would like to solve the playing of higher-rate SACD's or 24/192 material via the 5777.

All SACD's are output as 24/88k by the Oppo BDP93 so you are good to go there.
I also had similar issues with the Cambridge 840C DAC inputs that will not lock on the output of the Monoprice box when fed 192khz sampling rates.
Just like you I tried inputing the Oppo coax output into the Cambridge and it will lock/play 24/192k content (all I tried were DVD-A discs).

Since that time I aquired a Bryston BDA-1 DAC that has no problem with the 24/192k output from the Monoprice de-embedder but for most content use the coax out from the Oppo. The Oppo coax limits to 48khz when playing Blu Ray audio content but the de-embedder works fine for that also...

P.S. I never had any issue with the Oppo/Monoprice box connected without a handshake from TV (Oppo outout on HDMI 1 with Monoprice HDMI output not connected). Must be a setup issue with the Oppo or could be when both HDMI outputs are used ??

Todd