Hey Monsterzero,
I have it connected both ways, through HDMI and with the DACs in the Oppo doing the heavy lifting and output 7.1 analog. Honestly I cannot hear any difference. So most days I just use the HDMI and let the Marantz do the work. The bass mgmt in the Marantz is a bit better, or easier to manage than in the Oppo to me.
But maybe that is just my old oilfield ears, they are NOT golden ears.
Do you know of a preference?
Thanks, God Bless,
Wayne

WayneWilmeth wrote: Hey Monsterzero,
I have it connected both ways, through HDMI and with the DACs in the Oppo doing the heavy lifting and output 7.1 analog. Honestly I cannot hear any difference. So most days I just use the HDMI and let the Marantz do the work. The bass mgmt in the Marantz is a bit better, or easier to manage than in the Oppo to me.
But maybe that is just my old oilfield ears, they are NOT golden ears.
Do you know of a preference?
Thanks, God Bless,
Wayne

No as I dont have either the Oppo 105D nor the rest of the system yet,but having read a lot of reviews I plan on running the Oppo to an amp balanced via XLR for music and un balanced analog for films.

Im not even planning on getting a pre amp until 2015 at the earliest....waiting for the dust to settle on the HDMI 2.0/HDCP 2.2 fiasco

Monsterzero,
Interesting stuff. You obviously have studied and read up, heck I don't even know what the HDMI/HICCUP fiasco is.
Why do you specify balanced for music and unbalanced for movies? Just to use two different sets of outputs at the same time and you reckon (as I do) that balanced are best, so use them for music?
I just have an Oppo 83SE and 95. I do not think I would get the 105D myself, until the 95 gives up the ghost.
The 105D has Darbee, I will give it that. And might sound a fraction better, not sure.
But the 105s have copy protection that the 95 (over here in T.) do not have, including the horrible Cineavia. Which reportedly messes up the sound in all DVDs.
My 95 has not be updated FW wise since Oppo caved to the industry and took away the ability to play ISO files. Mine still can, and plays EVERYTHING
Just sayin', there are a few still for sale in T. or at least, so I have read.
Blessings,
Wayne

The 95 def has advantages over the 105 due to the issues you mentioned...Ive not seen a 95 for sale in many moons tho...

RE: HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2...its 4k related.Apparently HDCP is the 4k version of Cinevia more or less.

the big brand companies were in a race to release 4k sets...all without HDMI 2.0.True 4k isnt possible without HDMI 2.0,as 4k is transmitted at 6ofps.Anything with HDMI 1.4 is only coming in at 30fps.The screen can do 4k but the HDMI 1.4 isnt strong enough,so essentially all 2013-2014 4k buyers got hoodwinked.The companies are now releasing either firmware or hardware to upgrade these devices,so that seems to be fixed.....however the HDCP 2.2 is set to become industry standard to copy protect 4k content.Any TV/Receiver/Media player/Streamer that doesnt have that included wont be able to play it at all,or will have the quality reduced to standard def.So although they have addressed the HDMI issue,they havent done so for HDCP 2.2.

Netflix 4k streaming service will require it from my understanding,as well as many other providers...so again the early 4k adoptees got screwed.Currently only Onkyo has both technologies available for their 2014 models.The other companies have HDMI 2.0 announced,but zero word on HDCP 2.2

So im waiting til 2015 before I even begin to consider anything 4k,and really its all irrelevant as OLED is a superior technology.Ive done side by side comparisons of 4k vs 1080p OLED here in Bangkok,and the OLED simply blows 4k out of the water...and by a wide margin too.

LG has announced a hybrid of 4k and OLED but currently the prices of a TV are like 20,000 usd or something insane like that.In 3 years 4K OLED will be the indusrtry standard and regular 4k sets will be the Betamax....

Hey Monsterzero,
Thanks for the explanation. I am VERY happy to stick with Betamax.
I do not need 4K and really don't care what they do. And as for copy protection, YIKES.
They lump Thailand in with America in region A for Blu-rays, so I try to order Blu-rays from Amazon.com and NOT A ONE OF THEM HAS THAI LANGUAGE!!!! So where are we supposed to get our discs?
And the concert/music blu-rays I do order and just got a shipment from Amazon.com in fact, WOW what a mixed bag.
One has no video at all, only audio, guess I had better read more closely. Sounds great though, that is a plus!!!!
One is a concert of two old geezers, again sounds wonderful, but they are singing/playing old people's music. Arrrgggghhhhh Should read more closely.
One has a round disc on the screen showing some stills and the title of the songs, and sounds good for bad music. Arrrrgggghhhhh
Should read more closely.
One has Mischa Maisky playing with a lady on the piano and orchestra but it is all new, jarring, weird music, ARRRRRGGGGHHHH
One is a blu-ray of the 75th Anniversary of Tanglewood music festival, and has some mixed music, some great, some really good stuff with Yo Yo Ma on there, and some old people's music with James Taylor singing.
One is a blu-ray of Chopin Piano Concertos with Barenboim and it is AWESOME!!!!!!
One is a blu-ray of Eddie Vedder in concert and it is AWESOME!!!!!
Also got a CD of "Spheres" by Daniel Hope, this is delightful and wonderful stuff.
Hard to buy music online.
God Bless, Wayne

and I thought I had a diverse taste in music!

Im not real big on BluRay music performances,in fact the only live music concert Blurays I own are of the Eagles and Metallica.

I dont have a Thai wife/grrrlfriend so the Thai aspect of it is irrelevant,at least to me.But for a falang/Thai family I can understand your point.

There are some legit video shops in BKK that sell non pirated Blurays,and although ive never bought any I would assume that at the very least they include Thai subtitles...but dont quote me on that. Of course theyre 2-3 times what you would pay on Amazon.

As for lossless music I download everything.