Oppo udp-203 into ML Netzleiste

NBPF,

I hope you don't mind me piggy backing on your thread, but the New 4K TV thread has been closed.  If you don't like this post, then I'll open a new thread (which seems like a waste).

So, 2 new toys have just arrived: a Samsung QE49Q7F TV and an Oppo UDP-203 blu ray player. 

They are now installed and I'm waging war with the multitude of wires.  So far, so good.  At this point, I would normally connect the TV audio output via a long RCA interconnect to a line level input on the NAC52.  Then wondrous, cinematic TV sound would emerge from the hifi.

However, the Samsung TV only has an optical toslink type digital audio output.  What do I need to put between this toslink socket and the NAC52's line level DIN inputs?  Presumably some form of DAC and some adaptor cables.  Any affordable recommendations most gratefully received.  I'm expecting £100-300 for a small DAC with RAC phono outputs + an optical input cable for it.

Thank you in anticipation, FT

A fine choice if I may say so sir! 

Regarding DACs, there are quite a few relatively cheap ones around, but the Cambridge Audio DACMagic's supposed to be very decent, and if you can stretch to it, there's the Arcam iRDac which is very good indeed. Owned by one of our mutual friends.

FT, there are plethora of DACs of varying quality you can use. However I do find using a good quality DAC despite source sound tracks being quite highly lossy compressed, does make a worthwhile difference ...  Yes you are right to take digital out from the TV as opposed to the source as a quality TV adjusts the sound slightly to adjust to the the lip sync... it makes quite a difference on my LG OLED screen between AV sync and bypass, and that is without even using any hard offset delay.

Hi Foot Tapper! I do not mind at all. Since yesterday I also have a 203. For the time being both the new 203 and my TV are connected to a Naim DAC. The 203 via coaxial, the TV via optical. The 203 is also connected to the TV via main HDMI. Best. nbpf

Thank you all!  As a get us by measure, we connected the Oppo 203 analogue outputs to the NAC52 and it worked well, once we had muted the TV sound.  However, that will only work on material played from the Oppo.

A follow-up question.  If I buy a toslink cable, is it possible to route the TV sound out via optical to the toslink input of the OPPO, then out via the OPPO analogue outputs?  If so, this would use the OPPO DAC, which is supposed to be a good one.

If not, then I'll buy a small DAC from ARCAM or Cambridge Audio.

Best regards, FT

Foot tapper posted:

Thank you all!  As a get us by measure, we connected the Oppo 203 analogue outputs to the NAC52 and it worked well, once we had muted the TV sound.  However, that will only work on material played from the Oppo.

A follow-up question.  If I buy a toslink cable, is it possible to route the TV sound out via optical to the toslink input of the OPPO, then out via the OPPO analogue outputs?  If so, this would use the OPPO DAC, which is supposed to be a good one.

If not, then I'll buy a small DAC from ARCAM or Cambridge Audio.

Best regards, FT

FT, the Oppo 203 does not have a toslink (optical SPDIF) input as far as I know. The 205 might have one. But you should be able to route the TV sound via HDMI (the 203 has a HDMI input, see page 17 of the manual) to the Oppo if your TV has a HDMI out. Also, your TV should have a standard 3.5mm jack output that you could connect to the NAC52 directly, I suppose. In this case, the sound quality would be limited by the TV's DAC, of course. In my setup, I have both the 203 and the TV connected to a Naim DAC via SPDIF: 203 electrical, TV optical. The optical SPDIF connection between the TV and the DAC is used only when the TV is not fed by the 203.

High FT, indeed your DAC should be the best option ultimately from the TV (and not the source player) ... it is the cursed lip sync with consumer TVs/AV equipment one has to careful, if you are like me and sensitive to it, and the TV receiver is going to be the best place to align the video and audio streams at decoding time. 

A good source for lip sync alignment is to use a tool like this, although this on the internet uses a different method of time stamping than MPEG video/audio

nbpf posted:

Any concerns powering an Oppo udp-203 through the same ML Netzleiste that also powers Naim DAC, SN2 and the two TP PSU that supply my fitPC3 and my USB->SPDIF bridge? I plan to connect the Oppo to the Naim DAC via Toslink or coaxial. Thanks, nbpf

I have meanwhile connected the Oppo to the same ML "Netzleiste" power strip and so far I cound not notice any negative effects. I have played a little bit around with a Supra AC sensor and the cable that connect the Oppo to the power strip does not apper to radiate more (or less) electrical noise than the other cables.

So, a quick trip back to the retailer today to purchase a DAC, a Toslink cable and an HDMI cable.

After much discussion about the merits of a DAC that costs £37 and is slightly smaller than a matchbox, I eventually bought a Cambridge Audio Dacmagic 100 and a 75cm Toslink cable.  One end of the cable into the DAC, the other into the TV's optical socket, the 2 phono cable connectors into the DAC, then select optical out for the TV sound.  Result?  Brilliant.  The TV now plays through the main Naim & ART system a treat.  The retailer is still a little mystified as to why I wouldn't want a Samsung sound bar, but there you go.

I decided to lavish £59 on a posh HDMI cable and bought an Audioquest Cinnamon HDMI to go between the Virgin box and the TV.  The store manager assured me that posh HDMI cables make no difference, so £59 was the limit of my financial indulgence.  Playing an HD (not 4k) channel from the Virgin box to the TV with the old QED HDMI cable blurred some surfaces, for example the folds in an actor's clothes where the contrast was quite low.  The TV was struggling to show the folds and just blurred a lot of them together.  Out came the old QED and in went the Audioquest Cinnamon.  Suddenly, all the folds were clearly visible and stable, without any of the wishy washy blurring of before.  It would seem that there may be merit in decent HDMI cables after all.  However, I'm still using the OPPO one that came the with 203, as they seem to know what they are doing!

Best regards

An FT living in a 4K world!