Weirdness-or things I don't understand

It’s been topsy turvy here. My brain has been on the fritz but is back.

I got my Oppo 205 back! Not my actual one but from a dealer in Italy. It was said to be used. It was at a good price, not much more than I had paid for my original which I parted with sometime during my lost 5 yrs. It arrived and there is nothing to suggest it is used. It had the EU electric cable and the UK one. It also had the screen covering.

It plays perfectly. Upscales to 4k as good as always, now upgraded to do Dolby Vision as there are no apps like Prime or Netflix, don’t see the point.

Now for the weirdness: I was expecting it not to accept Roon playback as it is not RR. It does perfectly.

It plays DSD256 thru both Roon and HQP but it will not play 768PCM, or rather it does but the sound is awful. Likje a radio station tuned in very badly. This is with both Roon and HQP. (The 2 DACS in the OPPO play 768PCM and DSD512.)

It plays 705.6PCM perfectly.

I don’t get how it can play DSD256 without 768PCM.

Also, in HQP I turned off DOP and chose none. It still plays DSD256 and 705.6PCM.

It also plays MQA.

However, now that we can hear it, we both prefer DSD256.

I wasn’t expecting it, but we think the DAC in OPPO205EU is better than the Audiolab 8300cdq.

Thanks to whoever it was that made an issue about me listening to only in 9ch stereo instead of just using my front speakers using Pure Direct to bypass the gubbins in the AVR.

We have been listening only to music using the fronts and switching on Pure Direct. I also changed the speakers to Monitor Audio Gold Gx 300. This has made a very audible positive change.

I MAY add a Naim Supernait 3 integrated amp. It will connect to the AVR. By flicking a switch it will use only the fronts for music and then when I want to listen to tv/discs, flick the switch back and all the speakers will once again be part of the AVR’s 7.2 set up. (Even tho it’s an 11.2!)

I think it’s a very clever ability the Naim has.

I like the sound we have now. It might be beneficial to use an IA instead of PD on the AVR. I don’t even know if I shall update to the new Yamaha. It still has not been released and still no no about it. I believe it has HDMI 2.1 connections throughout. The TV tho still is only HDMI2.0B despite it being the new HZ2000 flagship. The next upgrade may make a difference.

I can’t see any need to change anything right now but don’t me to that. I have not made any changes this last year that I regret.

My audio dealer, and genuine dearest friend whom I loved, died suddenly on October 1st. I spoke with him the afternoon. before and in a very typical male way said he felt a bit under the weather. 24 hours later he was dead at 58. He won’t visit with dear old Bridget who has no b een put to sleep. One of the things we spoke about. Her seizures had become frequent and I was gently trying to tell him that it was nearing the time he had to say goodbye. I had no idea at all it was him that would be saying goodbye.

I had an awful feeling and I called him and got the answer phone. He always called back within hours. He didn’t. Everytime I thought of him my stomach sank. Although shocked and greatly upset, I was not surprised to learn he had died. I don’t normally get such gut feelings without a good reason.

This is the first death of a loved one for me. It must be so much worse for his wife and daughters who lovingly came to see me Friday to tell me all they could, to ease my pain. The cause of death is still unknown. I guess C19 has slowed everything down.

I shall miss him not just because of his friendship, the only str8 male I loved and who accepted me without fear and who also loved me. It was a real treat for me. He was so kind and gentle and had no fear of hugging me etc yet he was a bloke’s bloke. Drinking, fishing, etc All the blokey things I hated.

He was also my dealer, my man I turned to ask questions of and to supply me and who would NOT supply what he knew I didn’t need. He always explained why. He never steered me wrong and everything we bought from him was just as he said-right for us.

I will continue to support his business but not sure who will give me the advice nor who will instinctively understand my ‘special needs’. He never thought me of me as odd.

@Knitman It sounds like you’re having fun tinkering with your audio gear. I’m so sorry to hear about your loss, it’s never easy for anyone. My deepest condolences to you, your loved one and his family.

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I have a 205 and it is a Roon Ready network player.

How do you have it connected with the Core?

With Nuc USB connection it does MQA decoding and DSD playback but only through the 7.1 analog outputs and that interface with Roon in my system is 2 channel only.

With NUC HDMI connection it plays hi-res and multi-channel PCM.

For video it will play IMAX HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.

Sorry to read about your friend.

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There are a couple of firmware updates on the Oppo website that may not have been implement on his Oppo 205 also.

I think I am up to date firmware wise. Only one for my model released in Feb 2019.

It plays DSD 256,MQA and 705.6PCM.

They sound different. However our will not play any above that despite its DAC being able to handle 768 and DSD512.

The reading of the path says that it is playing at threes resolutions and with purple stars.

I am not using the 7.1ch analogue but connecting to AVR with 2 RCA cables. Wireworld if it matters.

It’s late and I am about to fall asleep. I think I have said what I need to about how it is set up.

In bed but memory days thatest FW is 60 - 0131 or close to that
K