Using Oppo 205 instead of per amp processor

Hey Brian,

      If you're going to definitely buy the 205, I suggest you call Oppo Support at 650-961-1118 and ask them the best method to connect your  HAP1ZES to the 205 with the 205 acting as the preamp.
     Their product support is excellent; they really helped me out hooking up my NAS, laptop and JRiver software with the 105 for my computer audio setup.  Which, by the way, you could also setup with the 205 in the future if you'd like.  
     My guess is they'll suggest a usb connection between the two components but I'm not certain.

      " My dealer carry's both NAD and Parasound, so i am going to compare Parasound A51 and the new A52 plus with the NAD M27."

     That sounds ideal if they'll let you audition them in-home on your system.  Once you have the 205 and it's properly connected to the Sony, you'll be all set to compare the 3 amps.
     I think you'll discover that all 3 amps are very good performers.  In my experience with comparing the performance of good class AB and good class D amps, the most obvious differences I noticed were in the bass response, noise floor level and dynamic range.  I noticed other differences, such as detail levels and degree of neutrality, but these were not as obvious. 
    I'd also suggest playing your best engineered recordings  because a good recording will sound exceptionally good but a bad recording will definitely be noticed as such through a good class D amp.      
     Please keep us posted on your impressions.

Tim  

Hi all,
In resent times I had invested in high quality seperate components in an attempt to jag that which is most sort after of all.....
high fidelity sound
Except for the brand spanking new Oppo 205, the rest of the system ranges back to 2000 or so.
For those considering aging equipment based on the reputation of their greatness from back in the day,
let me say: consider with both amps and prepros that after 10 years you may be up for re capping multi channel amps and processors. Also compatibility issues with modern codecs are an issue for older prepros.
I got caught out here!
My gear: Meridian 558 5ch amp, meridian g68 AVD, 621hdmi switch, Dynaudio and now the Oppo 205.
My g68 is currently being fixed as it has developed an issue with the digital to anolg conversion.

The g68 has room correction and can connect up to hdmi v1.4,
But can’t process DD+ etc,
Question:
so do I...
leave the g68 in the system and use the oppo to LPCM into the Meridian via 621 switcher with hdmi
or
RCA unbalance from oppo into the 5 chanel in of the meridian g68 then 5 chanel out to the 558.
Either of the above give the advantage of room correction and preamp conectivity.
Or
remove the g68, get stuff all for it selling it, or use it in a 2 chanel music listening system in another room.
If I just use the oppo as the prepro,
I could use the xlr balanced for 2 front chanels direct to my 558 and hook up the rears and centre direct to the 558 via the rca unbalanced.
Naturaly the picture would go direct to my tv via hdmi.
Side note:
I have some solid silver 3 core conductor rca interconnects, would just need a pair of xlrs.

Hi paulrp0,

     I would suggest you just use the 205 as the prepro and use a good pair of XLRs to hookup the stereo l+r/front l+r Oppo outputs direct to your Meridian 568 5ch amp.  Then hookup the rears and center direct to the 568 via rca unbalanced cables.  The result is simple, direct and streamlined connections between prepro and amp that I'm almost certain would sound very good.

     This is the hookup I use on my Oppo 105 and I know for certain that it sounds very good for both 2-ch stereo and 5.1 surround.  Including your g68 AVD and HDMI switcher in the chain seems redundant and unnecessary to me.  The 205 uses multiple excellent and expensive Saber dacs with volume adjustments communicated digitally to, and actually performed on, each channel's dac chip so there's no dropped bits and missing information. 
     There's also also an audio setup menu that allows you to set the relative volume of each channel and whether or not you want bass assistance from your sub.  But there's no actual room correction with a mic, software and parametric equalization.  It's completely sufficient for my needs but may not be for yours.
     I'm really not familiar with the performance level of your g68 and whether you consider room correction a requirement but, of course, you could always audition and compare your system performance with and without the g68 and just choose the one you like best.

Tim    
      

@noble100 , that’s exactly how I’m running my 205 and works great. The 2 channel using XLRs direct to amp is very good.