Classe SSP 800's DAC vs Oppo 105's DAC


Hello,
I am wondering which is a superior sounding DAC for listening to CD? The DAC in the Oppo 105 or the DAC in the Classe SSP 800 preamp processor? 

I have the Oppo 105 connected via Transparent Premium HDMI cable to my Classe SSP 800 in my dedicated home theater room. My power amps are : Classe CAM 600 monoblocks (pair) to power front speakers; Classe CAM 300 monoblock (single) to power a center speaker; Classe CA-5300 multi-channel amp to power the surround speakers. Doing 7.1 setup. 
My front speakers are B&W 800 D3, B&W HTM1 D3 center, B&W 804 D3 & 805 D3 used for surrounds. 

I'm using these gears strictly for home theater, bluray movies mostly but occasionally I wanted to spin some red book CD in this home theater room.
I do have a dedicated stereo setup in a separate dedicated 2ch listening room that consists of completely different equipments and speakers. And I use this 2ch room to listen to music (hi-rez PCM/DSD, SACD & CD. My 2ch equipments in this dedicated 2ch room are of much higher qualities than my Classe/B&W gears in my home theater room. 

So back to my dedicated home theater room setup....before I purchase a pair of xlr balanced analog interconnects to connect my Oppo 105 to my Classe SSP 800 I wanted to know which has superior sounding DAC for listening to CD, the DAC in the Oppo 105 or the DAC in the Classe SSP 800 preamp processor? So far I've only been using the Oppo 105 strictly as a bluray player for bluray disc playbacks only via HDMI to my Classe SSP 800. I never got to try the quality of the DAC in the Oppo 105.
Again this would be for occasional listening to cd.

Thanks in advance.


caphill
I’ve been on a fence for getting a used PreAmp for over 4-5 yrs now. However my budget is very low ~$2000, especially after reading about some of you guys’ setup & investment.

My Setup: Oppo 105, Parasound Halo A51 amp, Tyler Acoustic Linbrook System II for L, R, C; JBL S312 for Surround, & SVS 2039 PC Plus sub, connected to Panasonic ZT60 plasma (1080p). I primarily watch movies but also love music that emphasizes on vocals (80/20). That’s why I’m leaning more towards tube or tube sounding preamps that can also provide 5 channel balanced XLR output. Also Video processing is not a priority.

I’ve shortlisted SSP-800, Krell S-1200U or HTS 7.1, Anthem AVM-50V or D2V, McIntosh MX series (don’t know a specific model yet), etc. Modded Oppo 105 may not be an option because I think most enhances Stereo but don’t affect HT setup much.

After reading some of the comments above, I’m still not clear:
@ caphill: "... Both DACs (Oppo 105 & SSP 800) sounded pretty good and IMO the SSP 800 is slightly superior but not by much. IMO the Classe was a bit more refined and smoother overall. The difference wasn’t large..."
@ lalitk: "... Modwright Oppo 205 is the only way to go in your HT room, IMHO ..."

Is it worth spending $2000 for a slight improvement on SSP-800 or go with Modded 205 or something else?
Some additional info for you all.  I recently discovered that 2 channel PCM through HDMI is really bad.  Sound is compressed without dynamics and tends to be shouty in the upper midrange (due to clock/jitter issues with spdif through hdmi).  You will get highly superior sound quality by using a really good digital coax cable from your Oppo (or other Blu-ray player).  
How does Krell S1200 compare to Denon AVP-A1HDCI preamp for Analog audio? Anyone has listened to both?
By the way, I totally forgot to post and report back here re the SSP 800’s DAC vs the Oppo 105’s DAC for listening to 2ch PCM music sources such as CD/HDCD or DVD-Audio downmixed in stereo.
I now have the Oppo 205 and the Lyngdorf MP-50 pre pro in my dedicated home theater room. But when I still had the Oppo 105 and the Classe SSP 800 I finally did get to compare between the two DACs just for kicks eventhough this is my dedicated home theater room and strictly used for home theater (surround movies) and normally the Oppo is connected to my AV pre pro only via HDMI. But I was curious how the two DACs would compare in stereo for music playbacks. So for the sake of comparison I had to add a pair of XLR balanced interconnects to patch between the Oppo 105 & the SSP 800 as well as a spdif cable to patch between the two.

I found that the DAC in the Classe SSP 800 is indeed superior sounding : more refined, smoother, better dynamic inner details rythm and drive and better image focus and overall less digital sounding than the Oppo 105. In comparison to the SSP 800 the Oppo 105 sounded flatter less dynamic not as refined and smooth especially with vocals more digital sounding but a bit more airy and transparent.
For comparison purposes I was using a Nordost Valhalla 2 HDMI cable for DVD-Audio playbacks downmixed in stereo, Shunyata Research Sigma spdif cable for CD/HDCD playbacks and a pair of Transparent Reference XLR analog interconnects for CD/HDCD & DVD-Audio playbacks downmixed in stereo.
Using the same Shunyata Sigma power cables for both the Oppo & the SSP 800.

The differences between the two DACs or how much better the SSP 800 compared to the Oppo 105 depends on your associated gears (power amps, speakers, cables, etc). In a highly resolving and revealing setup and system the differences were readily discernible and wasn’t subtle at all. In less resolving and revealing setup and system the differences can be perhaps somewhat subtle but still discernible.
But I must say that the Oppo 105 wasn't bad considering the asking price and it is a universal bluray disc player after all, not a dedicated audio only player.

I did the comparison in my own home theater room. My front L/R speakers are B&W 800 D3 driven by a pair of Classe Delta CAM 600 class AB monoblock amps. This is a highly resolving and revealing setup and system. My AC power line products are 2 Audioquest Niagara 7000 for this home theater room since I have several power amps in this room : 3 monoblocks for front LCR, a five-channel amp for surrounds, and recently added 2 stereo amps for my overhead height ceiling speakers for Atmos setup.
Everything are plugged to these two Audioquest Niagara 7000 except for the 2 subwoofers. The subs are plugged directly to the wall.