Starting from scratch - 2 channel that needs to play movies too

"I actually went to college in Lawrence, KS, so Martin Logan is a hometown player that i'll have to look at again. My wife isn't a fan of electrostats from a dust collection standpoint, but maybe that can be overcome."

dust is no problem , they are powdercoated frames and easy to clean . you just hoover them gently every so often . absolutely no more dust problem than any other speaker but sound for pound is one of the best speakers
 
Unless going to use an outboard DAC for music why spend $10k to play from a $600.00 source?

I'm personally a source advocate as if you don't get the detail from the source nothing you can do downstream will allow you to hear that lost detail.

It's not everything has to cost the same but you at least want your components to be in the same league of performance to get the most out of the system, and the money you spent.

Online retailers allow a return policy if not happy. We have Salons in St.Louis, actually St. Peter or Lake St. Louis if you were in driving distance. Also, KEF, JBL, Levinson. Another place has Mac, Classe, B&W and more. I'd think KC would also have some stores. The place who sells Salons and Harmon is a custom installer and if buying that range of gear I'm sure he'd be willing to deliver and assist. If at all interested PM me and I can give contact info, website, etc. There were a few Salon 2 with possible shipping blemish, sold as new to have full warranty etc. at a considerable discount. He has KEF Ref 5's on display and can get any of their product as well.You may want to look at the Levinson 585 integrated, on a package with Salons, or similar I bet he'd keep your budget.

With buying online you pretty much have to do your research then pick something to try.
 
Mr Peabody said:
Unless going to use an outboard DAC for music why spend $10k to play from a $600.00 source?
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Well, the $10k budget was for "electronics", which was intended to include sources, amps, preamps, streamers, cables, power, and so on - everything but the speakers. The Oppo 205 is actually $1300, which seemed like a reasonable percentage of a max budget. Plus, it has dual ES9038Pro Sabre DACs, which can't be a completely awful starting point. At some point I'd like to try high res streaming via a networked DAC, but at the moment I have no media of higher resolution than 16/44.1 CD, so let's just say that I have to start somewhere, and may elect to upgrade further in the future. If you have in mind a source that meets your quality requirements and can play both CD and 4K BluRay video (yes, a high quality video player is a requirement here, and I don't think I can afford both that and a high end CD source), I'm interested.

Mr Peabody said:
We have Salons in St.Louis, actually St. Peter or Lake St. Louis if you were in driving distance. Also, KEF, JBL, Levinson. Another place has Mac, Classe, B&W and more. I'd think KC would also have some stores.
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I'm actually originally from Lake St Louis, and I think I know of the custom installer you're referencing (by website; never visited in person). Could be an option if we make a trip to see the family soon. Kansas City is surprisingly down to just one store that carries higher end in a retail setting, and that's where I heard the GoldenEar (Triton 1) and B&W. They carry Mac, Parasound, and Anthem. We've heard the Salons locally, powered by the same Levinson integrated you mentioned, and it sounded quite good. So the more "popular" names I can find without too much trouble. The more esoteric brands popular on this forum are where the online leap of faith is required.
 
When I upgraded my bluray player last year I decided to go with the 103 instead of the 105 thinking that my next upgrade(s) would be a better streaming/DAC option anyway. The only other downside is that the 103, like the 203, doesn't have balanced XLR outputs. It's funny that in all of the reviews I've read that nobody is raving about the audio quality of the 205, although the 105 seemed to be pretty highly regarded. There have also been comments that Oppo is no longer supporting streaming options in the 205, but my 103 has integrated Netflix, Pandora and Tidal (the remote even has a handy "Netflix" button). Tidal actually appeared in an update and I'm hoping for an MQA update in the future which would probably negate my desire for a new streaming option. Does anybody know if Oppo is integrating these services into the 205?
 
Unworthy said:
When I upgraded my bluray player last year I decided to go with the 103 instead of the 105 thinking that my next upgrade(s) would be a better streaming/DAC option anyway. The only other downside is that the 103, like the 203, doesn't have balanced XLR outputs. It's funny that in all of the reviews I've read that nobody is raving about the audio quality of the 205, although the 105 seemed to be pretty highly regarded. There have also been comments that Oppo is no longer supporting streaming options in the 205, but my 103 has integrated Netflix, Pandora and Tidal (the remote even has a handy "Netflix" button). Tidal actually appeared in an update and I'm hoping for an MQA update in the future which would probably negate my desire for a new streaming option. Does anybody know if Oppo is integrating these services into the 205?
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Yep the 203 or the 205 Do Not support any streaming. I got a email from OPPO noting streaming was not included. Its my best guess , OPPO didn't want to impact the sales of the Sonica DAC which does support streaming and has the same ES9038PRO SABRE DAC chip that is in the 205. Maybe OPPO will at a later date if people complain, release an update like they did for the 105 to offer streaming services like Tidal.
 
That's a shame. The 103 and 105 are nicely integrated packages and I would not be likely to go to the Sonica DAC as a hardware upgrade.
 
Ooops, I saw 205 but it registered 203, I forgot the 205 was coming later. I believe in scanning my email there is a recent review of the 205 in Home Theater Review, I'll have to check it out. An earlier press release says it will decode from satellite/cable via digital input and balanced to XLR. If you forgo the having the room EQ built in this could meet a lot of your functions.

Or, get something like the Sony X800 if buying an integrated with built in DAC.


2FlyingYorkies said:
Well, the $10k budget was for "electronics", which was intended to include sources, amps, preamps, streamers, cables, power, and so on - everything but the speakers. The Oppo 205 is actually $1300, which seemed like a reasonable percentage of a max budget. Plus, it has dual ES9038Pro Sabre DACs, which can't be a completely awful starting point. At some point I'd like to try high res streaming via a networked DAC, but at the moment I have no media of higher resolution than 16/44.1 CD, so let's just say that I have to start somewhere, and may elect to upgrade further in the future. If you have in mind a source that meets your quality requirements and can play both CD and 4K BluRay video (yes, a high quality video player is a requirement here, and I don't think I can afford both that and a high end CD source), I'm interested.


I'm actually originally from Lake St Louis, and I think I know of the custom installer you're referencing (by website; never visited in person). Could be an option if we make a trip to see the family soon. Kansas City is surprisingly down to just one store that carries higher end in a retail setting, and that's where I heard the GoldenEar (Triton 1) and B&W. They carry Mac, Parasound, and Anthem. We've heard the Salons locally, powered by the same Levinson integrated you mentioned, and it sounded quite good. So the more "popular" names I can find without too much trouble. The more esoteric brands popular on this forum are where the online leap of faith is required.
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Would be just as easy to buy the Sonica DAC/Streamer along with the 203 so all of the parts are not integrated, especially the transport which could be the first part to go. Price would be basically the same as the 205 and you get full streaming in the deal. As neither piece is generally discounted by dealers you can buy direct from OPPO and have a 30 day no questions asked return. If not married to the idea of all OPPO then there are a multitude of UHD capable transports on the market that will work with the Sonica. If you would rather use an integrated Preamp/DAC then the Auralic Aries Mini gets you full streaming for $500 and you have the option of installing a hard drive of your choice for storage. I have a 500 gb SSD in mine that cost about $100.
 
For anyone interested http://hometheaterreview.com/oppo-digital-udp-205-ultra-hd-audiophile-blu-ray-player-reviewed/

Looks like Oppo got the jump on a decent quality 4k universal player. The reviewer was using a Classe integrated, a link to review is in the Oppo review. He gave the 205 5 stars and obviously had some good things to say. It was all about the music playback and the player, he linked to the prior 203 review for the video comments since they're virtually the same in that respect.
 
2FlyingYorkies said:
i'm particularly interested in the Class D amp suggestions. I think they would work well in my application, but the seem to get a lot of bashing from certain directions. Has anyone heard the ATI AT542NC amps in person? Sound & Vision and Stereophile both seemed to really like them; Stereophile even reviewed it with two of the speakers I'm considering. Also contemplating the new PS Audio Stellar M700 amps, and perhaps the Stellar Gain Cell DAC/preamp. Martin Logan
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I have big Magnepan Planar's, 3.6's, and I've had many amps driving them but nothing compares to the PSA Stellar M700's. I'm using a PSA DirectStream DAC w/Bridge II as a pre. I use a high pass filter for the 3.6's and use two GR Research OB W/Frame subs for the bottom. The M700's are a perfect match for big Planars.
It's like I have new speakers. They are effortless in producing all kinds of detail. There is rich texture in classical strings which is seldom heard. The reviewer at Stereophile bought his sample pair and is now on the PSA forum. I got a great price from HighPerformanceStereo.
 
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