Oppo 105 USB Computer Audio performance using USB DAC input.

[john_k_antony]

Friends,

After using my Oppo-105 for almost 8 months, I tried the computer USB audio through Oppo-105 for the first time today. A friend of mine came along and he had some music in his windows laptop. We played the music (24/192 HD) through VLC player and connected the laptop to Oppo-105 through the USB DAC input. We set the sampling rate in the laptop to 24/192. And to our shock it sounded ATROCIOUSLY bad . We quickly played the same track from a USB drive connected directly to Oppo-105 and it sounded great. We then played the same track from a CD through Oppo and it sounded great.

Now what could be the issue ?

1. VLC player
2. Windows!
3. USB cable
4. Oppo's USB audio driver
5. Oppo's USB DAC hardware implementation

I am very happy with the Oppo's DAC section when I play music from CD and directly from USB storage. But, tt sounded PATHETIC when I try the computer USB Audio. Sounded extremely life less, no bass, no music .

-John.

 

[Santy]

AFAIK, VLC is not bitperfect on stereo. You must use foobar or JMC.
But it should not be so bad as you have described.

 

[jai1611]

I'd bet on VLC player being the culprit. Try foobar - its free and has good SQ once configured right

 

[reignofchaos]

Foobar + Wasapi should fix most of the issues. VLC is neither good for video nor audio.

It is great for streaming though. Once upon a time, I used VLC to stream the output of my tv tuner on a desktop to my laptop.

 

[john_k_antony]

Thanks guys.

I am still not out of the shock . My friend really loved the sound of my setup. He also got a nice setup : Zu SuperFly speakers + DIY 300B based Power amp and DIY DHT Pre. His source is always computer and uses dragon fly USB DAC. He listens to FLAC/WAV.

When we played music from CDs and USB drive in Oppo, he was amazed to hear the power/punch and clarity of my setup. He did say that my system sounded more detailed and highly resolving but a slightly towards brighter side. That is because, I am still experimenting with my Pass B1's latest output resistor mods and haven't yet found the right combination yet . He also noticed the bass was very powerful and not boomy at all.

Then he wanted to play some music from his laptop and for the first time I tried the USB DAC input of my Oppo and we got shocked to hear the nonsense that was coming out. He said the music sounded so well in his setup even when played from VLC player. We couldn't bear that nonsense for even a minute. We switched back to CDs.

Now I am going to install FooBar and VLC in my windows laptop and do a an A-B-C comparison. I need to find out the mystery behind this. I am also going to write to Oppo if I get strange results. Oppo has been extremely responsive with all my other technical queries.

A = Same track from CD played from Oppo directly.
B = Same track ripped from same CD using EAC , played using FooBar through Oppo USB Audio.
C = Same track ripped from same CD using EAC , played using VLC through Oppo USB Audio.

Let me see what happens.

I am totally confused here .

-John.

 

[reignofchaos]

If it sounds bad even with foobar and wasapi, it probably a case of badly implemented USB on the oppo. After all it is a jack of all trades. You can't expect it to do everything.

 

[john_k_antony]

If it sounds bad even with foobar and wasapi, it probably a case of badly implemented USB on the oppo. After all it is a jack of all trades. You can't expect it to do everything.

I also have a strong feeling that Oppo might have done a quick and dirty job with its USB implementation just to "tick some feature check boxes". But I don't use that feature at all. So I am fine . I am very happy with the CD and USB drive playback and that's what I use the player mainly for.

I am also using the HDMI-IN feature of Oppo to connect my Airtel HD DTH. However the sound is not great at all, even for HD channels. Mtunes HD sounds pretty awful and lifeless. Other HD channels sounds okay, but not great. I am using Dolby Digital Plus option for HDMI audio in Airtel HD STB.

Now I have a feeling that the Oppo analog out sounds good only with CDs and USB drive. For all the other inputs, I am getting very mediocre sound out of Oppo's analog stage!

-John.

 

[Santy]

USB DAC is one of its USP I guess. Though they may not have concentrated on the USB implementation as much its other audio capabilities, I do not think they could do it so bad. I could not find any review that highlights this weakness if it exists. Check this site, OPPO BDP-105 Universal Blu-ray Player Review - HomeTheaterHiFi.com

It has some measurements to conclude that USB input is similar to Disc playback.

I believe 105 is no ordinary BluRay player that would add non-functional or substandard features just to add weight to it. So I still think that the software player is causing the damage here.

 

[john_k_antony]

Yeah Santy, I also wish it is the VLC player's fault.

I can only do the test tomorrow morning as I got some urgent work to take care of now .

-John.

 

[srisaikat]

It's quite interesting, once I had also ordered Oppo-105 from 220-Electronics.com | International Relocation Electronics Specialists especially for it's DAC section. But even after making the payment I cancelled that order next day just for being little doubt or uncertainty about this one box solution. Then I made decision to move towards stand alone DAC like Schiit Gungnir & Audio-Gd. Now it is time to know if my decision was wise or not ( remember, Video is not my priority and most of the time either PC or USB Storage is my source). I am eagerly waiting to see what happened with foober.

 

[Nikhil]

From the Oppo 105 Specs:
Features: Two HDMI Inputs, Two USB 2.0 Ports (Type A) for Storage and WiFi (Type A), One USB 2.0 Port (Type B) for Connection to Computer, One Asynchronous USB Audio 2.0 Input on the Front Panel for Connection to iPod, iPad, or iPhone, 3D-Capable, 4K Upscaling (3,840 x 2,160), VUDU HD Movie Streaming, CinemaNow, Netflix Instant Streaming, Pandora Internet Radio, Rhapsody Online Music, BD-Live, BonusVIEW

Did you use the Async USB Type B connector?
From the specs above it looks like the Type B connector has access to the DAC chip.

 

[john_k_antony]

From the Oppo 105 Specs:
Features: Two HDMI Inputs, Two USB 2.0 Ports (Type A) for Storage and WiFi (Type A), One USB 2.0 Port (Type B) for Connection to Computer, One Asynchronous USB Audio 2.0 Input on the Front Panel for Connection to iPod, iPad, or iPhone, 3D-Capable, 4K Upscaling (3,840 x 2,160), VUDU HD Movie Streaming, CinemaNow, Netflix Instant Streaming, Pandora Internet Radio, Rhapsody Online Music, BD-Live, BonusVIEW

Did you use the Async USB Type B connector?
From the specs above it looks like the Type B connector has access to the DAC chip.

Nikhil,

I think I am using the right Type B connector. I am not sure if its Async . How do I know if its Type B?

I used a USB cable that has two different types of end points. One end is the normal type that I plugged to the laptop and other end was different and that went into the Oppo USB DAC input. I guess the end that went to Oppo was Type B.

Thanks,
John.

 

[Santy]

If it fits, its type B.
Async has nothing to do with the cable.
I am surprised this is even discussed!

 

[ranjeetrain]

Did you use the Async USB Type B connector?

What is an Async USB Type B connector?

My understanding is that it's USB receiver chip's implementation which is Async. It would be something totally new if they have started making Async USB Type B connectors.

From the specs above it looks like the Type B connector has access to the DAC chip.

No USB connector has access to DAC chip. The connector is hooked to a USB receiver chip.

 

[Nikhil]

Nikhil,

I think I am using the right Type B connector. I am not sure if its Async . How do I know if its Type B?

I used a USB cable that has two different types of end points. One end is the normal type that I plugged to the laptop and other end was different and that went into the Oppo USB DAC input. I guess the end that went to Oppo was Type B.

Thanks,
John.

Looks like you got it right. Usually Type A is out from the PC/Laptop.
The DAC would have the Type B side.

 

[Nikhil]

If it fits, its type B.
Async has nothing to do with the cable.
I am surprised this is even discussed!

It's not a formal description but in general async refers to when a downstream device controls the upstream device.
Typically A Type connectors are on upstream devices and Type B connectors on downstream devices.

 

[Santy]

Looks like you got it right. Usually Type A is out from the PC/Laptop.
The DAC would have the Type B side.

It's not a formal description but in general async refers to when a downstream device controls the upstream device.
Typically A Type connectors are on upstream devices and Type B connectors on downstream devices.

So you thought John might have wrongly connected Type B end of the cable to PC resulting in poor quality audio?

 

[john_k_antony]

All right guys. Looks like it was a false alarm yesterday

Today I used my basic Sony VAIO laptop (Windows 7 64bit, Intel i3 Dual core CPU + 4GB RAM) and tried the following.

Played 16/44.1Khz and 24/192KHz FLAC and WAV files from Laptop through USB Audio using Foobar2000 + WASAPI and VLC. Foobar2000 output was configured to use WASAPI and the bit rate was set to 24bits in Foobar2000 configuration. To my surprise all the tests sounded great (to my ears) and was exactly similar to the same tracks played directly from CD and USB hard drive connected to Oppo. Yesterday we played the FLACs from a Lenovo high end server grade laptop (Windows 7 64bit, Intel i7 8-Core CPU + 16GB RAM. Model - W530) and was shocked to hear lifeless music!

I continuously played from the laptop for 2 hours just to make sure that sound doesn't degrade over time. But it played with the same fidelity whole through out the testing.

There was a very subtle difference between FooBar2000 and VLC for 24/192 FLACs. For 16/44.1 both sounded just fine.

Now I am much relieved to realize that Oppo does perform well for what they advertise for. For a moment I doubted the capability of Oppo .

Really appreciate all your help and support in trouble shooting the issue.

Thanks,
John.

 

[srisaikat]

As the USB type-B cable can not be fit opposite or otherwise, so this extended discussion about the cable connection ignoring the main purpose is quite ridiculous. Discussion about Foober setup would be more relevant.

 

[Santy]

@john
It is also recommended to use ASIO output on foobar if the DAC supports it. WASAPI is second best option according to the suggestions from JMC. Try it.