My OPPO BDP-103 Learns A New Trick
It’s a wonderful thing when something works the way it’s supposed to. Remember I mentioned that the engineering team at Oppo offered to modify my BDP-103 so that it would output multichannel digital audio via multiple S/P DIF connectors? Well after a little technician type work, I can report that I can play a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD MCH audio streams from a Blu-ray disc into my Benchmark DAC2 HGC and listen through a set of OPPO PM-1 headphones. That’s one more box I can check off for the AXPONA event happening at the end of the week.
When my friends at OPPO suggested that they could make one of their units talk digitally to a few Benchmark DAC2s, I was excited. As I’ve stated previously, this is not something that you can get from OPPO or any other consumer electronics makers. There are laws that prohibit placing a native high-resolution, digital stream on the digital outputs of a consumer device. Don’t ask me why. It clearly makes no sense. After all, you can visit HDtracks or PonoMusic and download a 192 kHz/24-bit transfer of a classic album or track but the RIAA restricts you from accessing the same quality from a disc player? The output on virtually all optical disc players downconverts the S/P DIF outputs to 48 lHz/16-bit PCM…you are prevented from getting high-resolution AND you can’t get a digital high-resolution connection in multichannel. The HDMI connection does provide the “Full Monty” but you can’t get at it unless you purchase a Kanex Pro audio “de-embedder”.
Every source device has to have an analog output board. The internal DACs convert the digital stream to analog and then output the individual channels to the RCA jacks on the back of the machine. DHL delivered a small box late this afternoon that contained a replacement analog board with about 8 thin wires and a couple of power leads routed to the secondary board. This is the board that has an AK4101A semiconductor at its heart. According to the data sheet, “The AK4101A is a four outputs digital audio transmitter (DIT) which supports data rate up to 192kHz sample rate operation. The AK4101A supports AES3, IEC60958, S/PDIF & EIAJ CP1201 interface standards. The AK4101A accepts audio data and auxiliary information data and etc, which is then biphase-encoded and driven on to a cable. The audio serial port supports eight formats.”
In a brief email with OPPO about the installation of the modification, I assured them that I was technically capable of modifying my BDP-103. Some many months ago, I installed the ARIA music server board in my BDP-105. That operation was much more complicated than removing the analog board in the 103. In fact, I’ve been messing about with electronic since I was a teenager. I spent a lot of time building HeathKits including an electric guitar, color television, HAM radio transceiver, test equipment, guitar amplifier, and audio receiver. I loved making stuff (solder smoke is one type of smoke that I can tolerate). Things didn’t always work when power was applied and I’ve been shocked with 120 volts AC more times than I would like to admit.
Swapping out the analog board on the BDP-103 as trivial. And once I programmed the card via the USB port according to the rather terse instructions from OPPO (and a support phone call because it didn’t work the first time), the multichannel outputs worked perfected on my Benchmark DAC2.
It’s a little delicate and I have to remove the card before shipping the whole thing to Chicago, but it does work. Many thanks to OPPO for providing this custom setup.
So a consumer would not be able to reproduce the sound you are going to demonstrate. Goes to show how difficult true hi-resolution is when you need to have custom modified equipment to even play it. Sad!
Consumers have access to exactly the same modification through third party cards. An add on card that provides 3 S/P DIF digital outputs runs about $1000. I didn’t have access to that hardware and OPPO stepped up an provided the same capability.
I built a number of Knight Kits back in the early 60s, they were fun to build. I hear the Heath color TV was real nightmare, you have my admiration.
BluRay player do deliver a full high red stream via the HDMI outputs, right?
Yes, HDMI can deliver the full resolution but there are not many multichannel DACs that accept it. I used the Bryston SP-3, which is a terrific preamp/converter, but it doesn’t match the quality of the Benchmark DACs.
“I can report that I can play a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD MCH audio streams from a Blu-ray disc into my Benchmark DAC2 HGC and listen through a set of OPPO PM-1 headphones.”
My question: How can it be possible to listen to a 5.1 audio streams through a set of 2.0 headphones?
I plugged the S/P DIF outputs into the DAC one at a time to verify that all the channels were functioning. As for getting 5.1 in headphones, it can be done with a box like the Smyth Realizer or a number of processors. Smyth is by far the best…virtually indistinguishable from being in the room.
It seems to me you are talking about downmixing 5.1 to 2.0. But then comes my second question – what’s the point of having an expensive non-standard 5.1 output if you need it to be downmixed to 2.0 for your headphones?
Why don’t you just use a 2.0 mix?
I was simply testing the individual pairs of digital outputs from the custom card. There was no downmixing. It is possible to create a virtual surround model of my mixing room in a two channel set of phones. Check out Smyth Research.
What use is it to demo a system that the rest of the world can NOT set up in their own place? Legally at least. It’s like dangling a carrot before the donkey!
As I mentioned below, the system that I’m using at the AXPONA show is something anyone can setup. There are commercial, third party cards that you can add to your OPPO machine. The folks at OPPO cannot offer that mod.
If I get it right Mark, the modification had to be done because you are convinced that the Benchmark DAC2 is one of or the best DAC at this time. This means that you believe the Oppo internal DAC is not as good and that any A/V processor fed directly via the HDMI Oppo output is not good enough, even the Theta Casablanca? Am I right?
My goal and the goal of my partners in the room was to meet or exceed the requirements of the JAS’s “Hi-Res Music” logo. It requires 40 kHz range in and out. The dynamic range is 24-bits…or 130 dB plus. The OPPO cannot do that internally and the HDMI on virtually every AVR cannot do it. I haven’t looked at the Theta…
How can one really hear, not to mention listen, to 130db of dynamic range even assuming an unrealistically low ambient noise level? Could one even hope to demonstrate that in an exhibition?
As I stated in the post, I recognize that we’re exceeding the limitations of the real world…especially a ballroom at an airport. But I wanted to try and match the requirements of the JAS Hi-Res Music logo specs. I’m sure no one else will come close.