Am I crazy? Possible 4.0 setup with the Oppo UDP-203 with no AV receiver

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javiernn

New member
Joined
Jun 26, 2016
Messages
9
Location
Spain
Since the launch of the Oppo UDP-203, I was fascinated with the incredible analog audio processor, which nearly nobody can enjoy because they use their AV receiver with worse harmonic distortion (THD).
Also, if you check the Oppo manual, you can configure the device like an AV processor. You have a HDMI input and also you can configure the speaker layout for the analog outputs, and even you can enable DTS Neo:6 mode for surround recordings in CDs, for example.
So I thought if I were possible in terms of audio quality this setup:

Connect TWO Hi-Fi stereo amplifiers (same model) with low THD to the connections FL/FR and SL/SR of the Oppo, and use Hi-Fi class speakers with great bass for avoid subwoofers. For avoid delays, all cables of the same type will have the same length.

What do you think? Am I crazy or genius? :D
 
Since the launch of the Oppo UDP-203, I was fascinated with the incredible analog audio processor, which nearly nobody can enjoy because they use their AV receiver with worse harmonic distortion (THD).
Also, if you check the Oppo manual, you can configure the device like an AV processor. You have a HDMI input and also you can configure the speaker layout for the analog outputs, and even you can enable DTS Neo:6 mode for surround recordings in CDs, for example.
So I thought if I were possible in terms of audio quality this setup:

Connect TWO Hi-Fi stereo amplifiers (same model) with low THD to the connections FL/FR and SL/SR of the Oppo, and use Hi-Fi class speakers with great bass for avoid subwoofers. For avoid delays, all cables of the same type will have the same length.

What do you think? Am I crazy or genius? :D
In a modern setup, in today's reality one needs a center channel for the surround mixes being done - this includes what has been mixed in the last 17 years. You will need one more amplifier to do it right.
 
Since the launch of the Oppo UDP-203, I was fascinated with the incredible analog audio processor, which nearly nobody can enjoy because they use their AV receiver with worse harmonic distortion (THD).
Also, if you check the Oppo manual, you can configure the device like an AV processor. You have a HDMI input and also you can configure the speaker layout for the analog outputs, and even you can enable DTS Neo:6 mode for surround recordings in CDs, for example.
So I thought if I were possible in terms of audio quality this setup:

Connect TWO Hi-Fi stereo amplifiers (same model) with low THD to the connections FL/FR and SL/SR of the Oppo, and use Hi-Fi class speakers with great bass for avoid subwoofers. For avoid delays, all cables of the same type will have the same length.

What do you think? Am I crazy or genius? :D
Nope. Should work fine.
 
In a modern setup, in today's reality one needs a center channel for the surround mixes being done - this includes what has been mixed in the last 17 years. You will need one more amplifier to do it right.

But he is asking about playing 4.0 for which there is no center channel. Also, if he sets up the Oppo for only 4.0, it will mix any center channel info (if he ever has any) into the FL/FR.
 
But he is asking about playing 4.0 for which there is no center channel. Also, if he sets up the Oppo for only 4.0, it will mix any center channel info (if he ever has any) into the FL/FR.
I was thinking the same that you. Anyways, I would spend a little more later to add a third amplifier plus speaker, or a modest active speaker.
 
I was thinking the same that you. Anyways, I would spend a little more later to add a third amplifier plus speaker, or a modest active speaker.

I agree with you but not if he stuck to 4.0 exclusively.
 
Crazy? No way. I run 3 identical stereo tube amps connected to the Oppo 105 analog outs and love it. I especially like having separate analog volume controls for fronts, center, and rears which allows for very precise balancing of speakers.
 
I agree with you but not if he stuck to 4.0 exclusively.
I'm the thread author :D, but I don't know if I stuck in 4.0 or not. I would like to play movies also, but my focus is the music, 4.0 or 5.1. Is it very important to have the central channel for surround music?
 
Crazy? No way. I run 3 identical stereo tube amps connected to the Oppo 105 analog outs and love it. I especially like having separate analog volume controls for fronts, center, and rears which allows for very precise balancing of speakers.
WOW! That's exactly the same I want to do with cheaper but good amplifiers (Pioneer A-10), awesome, I'm not alone. Maybe with 4.0 is enough for me. Is it very important to have the central channel for surround music? I want to save some money :D
 
WOW! That's exactly the same I want to do, awesome, I'm not alone. Maybe with 4.0 is enough for me. Is it very important to have the central channel for surround music?

You will find varying opinions on that but personally I want a center channel amp for center channel content. I like to be as faithful to the source as possible. When I play 4.0 content I turn the center amp off. By the way I also have 5 identical full-range speakers but I don't have a subwoofer.
 
I recently got rid of my center speaker, which didn't match my FL and FR. The consensus appears to be that 5 speakers is better than 4 ONLY if you have 3 identical speakers across the front. That makes a lot of sense to me.

I started this discussion several days ago. Have a read thru this - http://www.avsforum.com/forum/91-au...8-i-ditched-my-center-speaker-revelation.html

Oh, and all the Oppo players have had HDMI inputs going back at least as far as the BDP-103, which I have. The 103, 105, 203 and 205 can all be used as a processor and video switcher, and the analog outputs can easily drive amplifiers directly. Like you, I am also contemplating getting rid of my AVR and replacing it with a multichannel power amp or a pair of stereo ones. The only things you give up compared to an AVR are EQ, room correction, and fancy surround modes, none of which I use. Well, also a few more HDMI inputs, if you need them. I do use Dolby PL II for stereo sources, but the Oppo has onboard DTS Neo 6 which is just as good.
 
You will find varying opinions on that but personally I want a center channel amp for center channel content. I like to be as faithful to the source as possible. When I play 4.0 content I turn the center amp off. By the way I also have 5 identical full-range speakers but I don't have a subwoofer.

Ok, you convinced me, I will save the enough money to setup my 5.0 system (y)

PD. I will stuck in 4.0 because is getting very expensive for only a extra channel.
 
Since the launch of the Oppo UDP-203, I was fascinated with the incredible analog audio processor, which nearly nobody can enjoy because they use their AV receiver with worse harmonic distortion (THD).
Also, if you check the Oppo manual, you can configure the device like an AV processor. You have a HDMI input and also you can configure the speaker layout for the analog outputs, and even you can enable DTS Neo:6 mode for surround recordings in CDs, for example.
So I thought if I were possible in terms of audio quality this setup:

Connect TWO Hi-Fi stereo amplifiers (same model) with low THD to the connections FL/FR and SL/SR of the Oppo, and use Hi-Fi class speakers with great bass for avoid subwoofers. For avoid delays, all cables of the same type will have the same length.

What do you think? Am I crazy or genius? :D

That's actually a more simple straightforward "old school" system config. Using your own preamp and amps. It's also a lot smarter and efficient to only invest in one set of quality DA converters - a big ticket item - in that disc player than to invest in two (disc player + integrated surround receiver) but only ever use one of them.

I'd take it a step further of course and buy the best quality AD unit I could budget for separately and use a computer to serve the music (always in the fullest quality and with no format restrictions) but you have the right idea.
 
You will find varying opinions on that but personally I want a center channel amp for center channel content. I like to be as faithful to the source as possible. When I play 4.0 content I turn the center amp off. By the way I also have 5 identical full-range speakers but I don't have a subwoofer.
Same here, except I do have subs.
 
Please post the comparable specs for the Oppo and a typical AVR.

Yeah, the Oppo has this specs:
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: >112dB (A-weighted, Unmute)
THD+N: < 0.001% (1kHz at 0dBFS, 20kHz LPF)

And a top AV receiver like Denon AVR-X6400H (more than 2000$, winner of "What-Hifi?" 2017 awards) has this specs:
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 102 dB (IHF–A weighted, Direct mode)
6 ohm, 1 kHz, 0.7% THD 2ch Drive

The amplifier that I want to use twice has this spec:
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 105 dB
THD 0.1%,4Ω, THD 0.05 %, 8 Ω
 
Crazy? No way. I run 3 identical stereo tube amps connected to the Oppo 105 analog outs and love it. I especially like having separate analog volume controls for fronts, center, and rears which allows for very precise balancing of speakers.
It could be a shared madness, mind you.

I use 3 Lexicons CP3 for 5.0.

Some DVD-As do not allow splitting the center channel between L&R.
 
Since the launch of the Oppo UDP-203, I was fascinated with the incredible analog audio processor, which nearly nobody can enjoy because they use their AV receiver with worse harmonic distortion (THD).

I read the specs you quoted above for the OPPO 203 and the Denon AVR as well. Keep the following in mind:

You seem determined to keep the THD as low as possible, which is fine. But there is much more to it.

A device like the DAC in the OPPO player will almost always have lower THD and an AVR or amplifier simply because it is so much easier to design a single line level circuit with low THD than it is to design a true high power amplification stage with low THD. The same is true of noise ratings. Trying to compare the THD or noise rating of a power amp or AVR in terms of what can be achieved in a DAC just isn't realistic. THD is additive, both within a single component (various amplification stages) and across all the components. With every additional active circuit the signal must pass through in the AVR, a bit more THD is added.

Beyond that, all other things being equal, I doubt you or anyone else can actually hear the difference between 0.7%THD and 0.1%THD. Its a very hard thing to hear, especially with music. Most audiophiles stopped paying attention to THD ratings years ago because they just do not correlate well to what you actually hear. It is relatively easy to design a piece of gear with very low THD by using large amounts of negative feedback in the amplification circuit. But gear designed that way often sounds terrible. There are many examples of very high end tube components that test relatively high for THD, but sound very pleasing to the ear. The THD in this case is nothing more than a coloration, which in some cases can actually make music sound better.

The largest contributor to total THD are usually the loudspeakers. THD from a speaker will be magnitudes higher than what is added by the electronics. A 0.7 THD level is the least of your worries when loudspeakers often exhibit 3-5% THD

An OPPO 205 has a higher end DAC than a 203 and has the potential to offer much more audible improvement than a few tenths of a percent THD improvement.

There is no problem doing what you want to do. It will all work fine as long as you are willing to dispense with a center channel. The OPPO will reroute the signal as needed. Stop worrying about THD ratings and concentrate on how the overall system sounds.

What do you think? Am I crazy or genius? :D

Neither. This is nothing other audiophiles haven't already thought of and done. As long as you don't need the switching or DSP capability of a pre/pro stage (which an AVR will supply) there is no reason to add it. But to be honest, an AVR with a good DSP room correction feature will almost certainly give you better results. I don't think you are crazy or genius... you just sound too consumed with a single test parameter that really isn't all that important.
 
WOW! That's exactly the same I want to do with cheaper but good amplifiers (Pioneer A-10), awesome, I'm not alone. Maybe with 4.0 is enough for me. Is it very important to have the central channel for surround music? I want to save some money :D

Yes it is.
 
WOW! That's exactly the same I want to do with cheaper but good amplifiers (Pioneer A-10), awesome, I'm not alone. Maybe with 4.0 is enough for me. Is it very important to have the central channel for surround music? I want to save some money :D

No, it isn't.
 
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