I guess Ben knows. LOL

OH? Ben must be The Shadow!

While OPPO uses solid hardware they have never been known for using top of the line audiophile dacs.

That said: I can play a cd running directly out of my BDP-103 to the amp and while the sound is good the 975 does a better job. The BDP-105 has a better audio section than the 103 so there would be differences. From what I have read the UDP-203 and 205 will follow the same pattern.

To answer your question, I have no idea. Maybe Ben or one of the other Outlaws could take a minute to give their thoughts. I know of one of the Outlaws is using the 976 at home so could give a hands on comparison between the 975 and 976.

Knowing how busy the Outlaws can be they could just send a 976 to me and I could save them time by reporting back. 😎

As far as pure electronic capability the DACs in the OPPO will outperform the DACs in the 975 just based on the fact that the 975 uses 24 bit DACs and the OPPO uses 32 bit DACs. The capability and future proof-ness of the OPPO is greater than the 975 but...it all depends on whether any source material can use that extra headroom the 32 bit DACs allow for. In the real world dynamic range is limited to around 124db which can be fully "captured" using a 21 bit DAC. CD quality reproduction is done using 16 bits at 44.1khz frequency of capture which is just above the limit of human hearing. Most of us humans will never hear a difference in sound between 16 and 32 bit DACs.

Thanks for the info. I am not too educated on the science behind dac's I just know certain dac's are "supposed" to sound better than others. That being said. What is the best way to send an SACD or DVD-Audio signal to my pre-amp? Right now I am sending it through the HDMI connection and have it set up in the Oppo for PCM. I was thinking about getting the 976 to take advantage of that pure analog stage and hook up the Oppo through analog cables to the 976 and let the Oppo do all the decoding. What do you think? Then again, I am SO VERY happy with EVERYTHING I am hearing with my current set up, I might just be at the end of my journey for audio bliss. I have had a lot, and I mean a lot of systems in my time and this one for sure takes the cake. I am so happy with everything that I might not need another single thing. I am even finally happy with my video display. After going through about 6 tv's this past year, I went back to plasma. I found a VT30 65 inch Panasonic and the picture is amazing.

Let your pre/pro handle all of the audio decoding and processing.

I doubt you would hear any difference by re-arranging your system to use the OPPOs DACs. I would Opt for the simplicity of HDMI. I have used my system both ways and can tell no audible difference.

Yeah, you are probably right. I REALLY like the way it sounds now and really see no reason to change things. I honestly think I have come to the end of my audio/video journey. Which feels good. A lot of times we keep wanting to upgrade and upgrade and upgrade and I get it because that's what our hobby is all about but I am 110% happy with my system. The only thing I need to get is some decent surround sound speakers. Is there an area here where we can post pictures of our systems?