Question Dynamics and Replacement for OPPO 103

[MWRTXT35]

Greetings all - hope this is the correct forum to ask this. I am happy with my AV kit in a dedicated cinema room - Marantz AV7704 Processor, ATI AT527 Amp, JL Audio f212 Mk2 Sub, Epson 9300W Projector, M&K SS150 rear speakers, Dali Phantom E80 ceiling speakers, B&W 805D L/R speakers and B&W HTM4D Centre speaker fed from an OPPO 103. In addition to movies, I listen to a lot of music, predominantly concerts (not classical!) and recently replaced my original 3 LCR M&K S150s for the B&Ws as these do seem to sound (to me) perhaps a little more musical. But I just can't leave well alone! I am forever trying to eke out just a little more sound quality, a little more dynamics! In the good old days when 2-channels ruled, I could save up for better quality speaker wire, interconnects, even an off-board DAC. But how to tweak things now? Is there any merit in better quality HDMI cables for instance? I have always had such a keen ear for sound quality (two in fact), though perhaps we all simply just 'get used to things' and I should be satisfied with the way things are.....which brings me on to the second part of my musings - the OPPO works fine at present. But unlike the Sky Q I have hooked up to the system, it's not capable of anything approaching 4K. So what should I plan to eventually replace it with? I don't actually need a disc spinner as virtually everything I have is ripped to hard drives (mostly mkv format) which I just plug into the OPPO via USB, though I (occasionally these days) stream stereo flac music from a NAS. Any thoughts gratefully considered.....

 

[gibbsy]

Forget better quality speaker wire and interconnects, simply doesn't bring anything to the party other than being parted with your hard earned cash. You have a very good set up indeed for surround sound. If it's just stereo music that you feel is lacking I can completely understand that. That was the big let down in my Denon based system.

My solution was to get a quality stereo amp with HT by-pass as I had to use the same front speakers and integrate that into the system. I then invested in a good SACD stereo player. Simple system as I only use discs for my music. What it gave me is a big improvement in stereo music.

If you are using the Oppo for CD play then I suggest you use the analogue outputs rather than HDMI as that is probably the worse delivery of a stereo sound. I do use a Pioneer LX500 for multi channel SACD but never use it for stereo work.

I've no idea about streaming or playing ripped files as I'm firmly stuck in the 20th century but I still think a good stereo amp will give you what you want.

 

[MWRTXT35]

Forget better quality speaker wire and interconnects, simply doesn't bring anything to the party other than being parted with your hard earned cash. You have a very good set up indeed for surround sound. If it's just stereo music that you feel is lacking I can completely understand that. That was the big let down in my Denon based system.

My solution was to get a quality stereo amp with HT by-pass as I had to use the same front speakers and integrate that into the system. I then invested in a good SACD stereo player. Simple system as I only use discs for my music. What it gave me is a big improvement in stereo music.

If you are using the Oppo for CD play then I suggest you use the analogue outputs rather than HDMI as that is probably the worse delivery of a stereo sound. I do use a Pioneer LX500 for multi channel SACD but never use it for stereo work.

I've no idea about streaming or playing ripped files as I'm firmly stuck in the 20th century but I still think a good stereo amp will give you what you want.

Thank you for the reply, Gibbsy. I don't actually listen to a great deal of stereo stuff these days. In the past when I (and everyone else!) simply had 2-channel equipment, I did actually find that investing in high quality speaker wire and interconnects did make quite a difference to SQ and I guess I perhaps hoped a similar thing applied to surround sound systems. I know many don't buy into the philosophy of spending money on such peripherals, but I have come to believe that we are all perhaps different in what we are capable of hearing - my ears seem to be highly attuned to minute differences in sound. I actually did what you are suggesting with my first surround-sound system and used the pre-out sockets on my old Denon AV11 SR to couple up a stereo Exposure amp which fed the front L & R speakers - the improvement in sound quality for stereo (and multi-channel) was immense. I should probably be satisfied with the sound I get now.....but a failing in me is that I just can't leave well alone! And I'm still unsure what I might replace the OPPO with in future - perhaps something like a Zappity or Zidoo or maybe a music server.....I'll ponder that one when it arises. Again - thanks for taking time to respond.