Is dedicated PreAmp with Oppo 105 needed?

If you want to play your tapes, just buy a decent analogue to digital converter, rip your tapes to your NAS, and then sell your Nakamichi. You do not need a separate pre amplifier - your Oppo is perfectly fine for that. If inserting a pre amplifier changes the sound, the pre amplifier is at fault. By definition it cannot improve the sound, and only degrade it.

@hitsofmisses - wow 2-1/2 years later! I think the only thing that will work for you is the Parasound P7 multi-channel preamp.  The P7 does have XLR outputs.  I would recommend using XLR if you can.  It does provide better sound quality and also has higher gain.  

The only alternative is to get some type of HT processor.

The idea that “if inserting a pre amplifier changes the sound, the pre amp is at fault”. This is totally incorrect and goes against all audiophile ideals, it is based on on ideal that if a piece of equipment is good than it will sound no different from any other piece. The truth is that almost every audio device out there sounds slightly different. One of the purposes of a preamp is to help “shape the sound”. It is a tool that can be used by an audiophile to help achieve their goals for the type of sound they want.

I have have heard the Oppo 105 straight to an amp. It sounds good, but it can be slightly dry. A tube or Class A preamp can help add richness and engaging sound.

Well, my audiophile ideal is a completely neutral system that does not get in between me and the music as recorded. I do not want to be a surrogate mastering engineer, or take the place of the musician. I know this is an impossible ideal, but I at least will not add anything that changes the sound.

@ Kr4: "I got that. What else do you want it to do?"
I want to connect my Nakamichi Cassette Deck & want to enjoy a richer, warmer sound of Tube.

@ Willemj: Ripping the cassettes to NAS is an option but I’m keen on spending that much time. Besides, I love how the cassette assembly of RX-505 comes out & to see some moving gears.

I am willing to stretch my budget a little bit. 1.) How is Classe SSP-800 or something from McIntosh MX series or  Krell ( Showcase 7.1/  S-1200/ HTS) or Bel Canto (Pre6/ 2-3 units of DAC 2.7/ DAC 3), etc. whichever sounds better & can process relatively current Dolby & DTS format?

A Tube PreAmp driving all the HT channels will be cost prohibitive. 2.) Instead, can I just insert a Stereo Tube PreAmp driving the front two speakers & connect remaining directly to the Parasound A51?
3.) Or how about Modwright or other similar upgrade to Oppo 105?

Thank you guys!

5 months & no replies?

Anyways, I searched a lot for a decent multi-channel, audio-only preAmps. Apart from Classe (SSP-800, CT-SSP), Krell ( Foundation, S-1200, HTS) & a few McIntosh MX series, there are not many (desirable) options. However, there’s a lot of very good Stereo only preamps. And most have very positive feedback for Stereo only over multi-channel PreAmps.

Is there any way I can connect both, the Oppo 105 & Nakamichi RX-505 Cassette deck to the existing Halo A51 - 5 channel amplifier via Stereo only PreAmp to enjoy HT & Music both?

I might be overthinking here but I was wondering:
1.) On Oppo 105 can I use "XLR/ Stereo Out" >> to connect any Stereo PreAmp >> Parasound Halo A51 Amplifier & connect the remaining 3 channels (C & L/R Surround) directly to the Halo A51 (bypassing a PreAmp) to enable both Stereo & HT listening?
This way, I don’t have to buy another Amp for Stereo only and/or reach out in the back of the A51 to toggle "Input Select" switchm which is not convenient.

2.) Another option I was exploring was to connect Oppo via Toslink to a Multi-Channel PreAmp. But google search indicates that it does not have the bandwidth to carry the lossless versions of Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, or more than two channels of PCM audio.