Originally Posted By XenonMan
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.