cazzesman Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 (edited) Chord Hugo TT vs Oppo 105D Jlti version 4. I spent the past 4 hours running a comparison of the two units Set up was as per my Signature below. Using the Optical cable, I swapped b/t the TT and Oppo into the Elektra Pynx preamp. Same Gary Cawsey RCA's from both into Pynx - 'Tuner' and 'CD' inputs. Using the TT internal digital volume control I could pretty well match the Oppo's fixed vol. I set the Pynx vol to listening level and then just swapped the Optical b/t the two DAC's. Not the most scientific but good enough to get the gist. Tracks used were all Flac 16/24 Buddy Guy - Done got old - Voice/Guitar - close mic Ian Moss - Janelle - Voice/Guitar/Trumpet Charles Kelly - Southern Accent - Vocals b/t Kelly and Stevie Nicks Tool - Forty - Six & 2 - Drums/Bass wall of sound Toto - I will remember - Drums spanning constantly Lorde - Royals - Vocals - Deep bass notes Rag n' Bone Man - Human - Huge Scale/Vocals/Deep bass Todd Rundgren - Pretending to Care - Multiple vocals - A cappella Jason Isbell - If we were Vampires - Vocals Devin Townsend - Deadhead - Wall of sound, dense layers of instruments. My thoughts are that the Oppo was not disgraced. Certainly, the TT is cleaner and more coherent across the board. On some tracks, it was a very clear winner and on other tracks, still a winner but I almost preferred the texture, depth, and earthiness of the Oppo. Sometimes the TT was just a tad clinical and the musical engagement went a miss. I would give it a 5-10% improvement in simple clarity depending on the business of the track played. On the simpler tracks involving few instruments, the TT could sound a tad 2D whereas the Oppo, although not as clean, had more depth and was more involving. I will use the words visceral and earthy coupled with being a tad 'woolly' around the edges when compared to the TT. The TT handled the deep bass of Royals and Human with ease but the TT didn't give the vertical scale on both tracks the way the Oppo did. On the Oppo, playing Human, the vocals can image 7 to 8 feet off the ground but in the TT it was speaker height. The TT was always cleaner but just not as tall and the soundstage not quite as 3D as the Oppo for the most part. On the busy tracks like Deadhead and Forty - Six &2 the TT excelled. Deadhead is so dense with instruments and assorted overdubs it can become a mess. The TT just picked out everything with ease and Devin's Vocals were the cleanest and clearest I have heard. Very, very impressed with this one. So DAC for DAC the TT was the clear winner, with just a few personal reservations on some tracks with its "No warts' presentation. I took the Oppo out of the chain and compared the Pynx pre vs the TT pre using the TT DAC. Much the same outcome. Coherency and cleanliness with the TT vs the earthiness and greater scale vertically and depth wise using the Pynx. On the Toto track 'I will remember you' the TT easily displayed Simon Phillips continually rolling around his drum setup from right to left in a long syncopated beat. The Pynx couldn't give the same clarity of roll. Certainly the Pynx was no match for the TT on 'Deadhead'. This is the first time I have ever made a DAC comparison so it was an interesting few hours. The result is that I can easily live with the Oppo. The TT is an obvious step up, but as ever in Audio, there is the 'Diminishing Returns' issue. Would I pay $5000 for a new TT at the moment? No! Would I buy a 2nd hand one......maybe but I am not rushing out to hunt one down. Right time, right place, right price. Having got a taste of the TT I will attempt to audition the TT2 down the track when it arrives in Australia in the next few months. Many, many thanks to the SNA member who generously lent me the TT. He's one of life's gentlemen. Regards Cazzesman. Edited June 9, 2018 by cazzesman 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to music Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Now do it with a stock standard oppo.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gat474 Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Sounds like your gear went pretty well against what is said to be pretty high end. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy8 Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 1 hour ago, cazzesman said: Using the TT internal digital volume control I could pretty well match the Oppo's fixed vol. I set the Pynx vol to listening level and then just swapped the Optical b/t the two DAC's. Thank you, enjoyed reading your review. Did you get a sense of how well the TT's digital volume control worked? I would have thought that setting both the TT and Oppo to max volume and adjusting the PNYX volume to compensate would be fairer. (I use a phone app Decibel X to ensure same volume). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazzesman Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 Hi Snoopy8, The TT vol introduces some distortion when turned full on. I basically set the TT to what I am guessing is about 50%. (coloured lights, so no digital readout). At that setting, the Pynx was set to just under half way on the dial for listening levels. The Oppo has fixed or variable. Variable when used as a pre. Fixed is just that. The only way to match the vol was to set the Pynx at about 10 o'clock on the dial while listening to the fixed Oppo vol. 10 or 11 is about where it runs for me. When the TT was in use I adjust its digital vol to match what I thought the Oppo was outputting at the same Pynx vol. On a side note, my wife and I recently visited the 'Snoopy Museum' in Roppongi, Tokyo. Great fun. Schulz was a genius. Regards Cazzesman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazzesman Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 2 hours ago, Addicted to music said: Now do it with a stock standard oppo.... I'm thinking the result would be a foregone conclusion. Regards Cazzesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy8 Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 28 minutes ago, cazzesman said: The TT vol introduces some distortion when turned full on. I basically set the TT to what I am guessing is about 50%. (coloured lights, so no digital readout). At that setting, the Pynx was set to just under half way on the dial for listening levels. Interesting to know. My Groß DAC is the opposite in that when set at 100% it bypasses all digital volume circuitry (courtesy of the AKM 4497 DAC chip). Hence, mine set at max when using with preamp. 31 minutes ago, cazzesman said: On a side note, my wife and I recently visited the 'Snoopy Museum' in Roppongi, Tokyo. Great fun. Schulz was a genius. Loved Snoopy and the Red Baron from when I was young. Just like Snoopy, am chasing the elusive Red Baron in Hifi !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudioGeek Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Try using the oppo as a transport or source for the chord dac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to music Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 1 hour ago, cazzesman said: Hi Snoopy8, The TT vol introduces some distortion when turned full on. I basically set the TT to what I am guessing is about 50%. (coloured lights, so no digital readout). At that setting, the Pynx was set to just under half way on the dial for listening levels. Correct me if I’m wrong but the some Chords have 3 output settings, if you set full volume and distorts tells me a higher setting was selected Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazzesman Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 1 hour ago, Addicted to music said: Correct me if I’m wrong but the some Chords have 3 output settings, if you set full volume and distorts tells me a higher setting was selected There is no 3 output setting on the TT it is all adjustable via the line output via the digital vol. Regards Cazzesman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suopermanni Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 This is interesting to me as I've been considering modding my Oppo units with JLiT mods. If they have that level of performance, that would be quite a thing to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomigee2 Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 I find my Hugo TT sounds best when the volume light is on light blue. I think it’s about half volume. When used in “dac mode” the output is set to Max. I have to trim the gain via an offset on my integrated because the output voltage is really high. With the volume on TT at light blue and no offset on the amp, it sounds smoother and more musical. A lot better balanced Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnL Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 (edited) Cazzesman, Enjoyed reading your post!!! Further to Snoopy8's post...........and doomigee's!! I have read where quite a few OPPO 105 owners using a pre have dialled down output volume level from 100 to mid 90's and heard less distortion as they believed at 100 it was too hot and clipping their pre's. You don't HAVE TO set volume to fixed when going through a pre..........why not leave it variable and use BOTH volume controls to find "sweetspot" Worth a try. I had a OPPO 83 JLTI Level 2 which did the job nicely till I replaced it with a 205. FWIW I use my 205 DIRECT via XLR into active ATC's with very decent results after preferring the SQ versus having an ME24 pre in the mix. Why not have a listen to both in "Pre mode" and see what you think of SQ then? Some would say one less box and set of cables may mean less colouring of the sound!!!! Edited June 15, 2018 by JohnL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroozzy Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 @cazzesman Nice review, well done, i can appreciate the time and effort to set it all up, sit and listen and swap cables over, . . . . always a hassle, . . . . and then write the review. Is your 105 modded to the lastest 4.2 + ACB - Analogue Clock Buffer. I have the latest 105 OPPO 4.2 +ACB, not bragging, just getting an insight to your review, though the 4.1 is out of this world amazing to !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazzesman Posted June 17, 2018 Author Share Posted June 17, 2018 Hi Kroozzy, Mine is just the Ver 4.0. Thanks for your thoughts. Regards Cazzesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroozzy Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 On 17/06/2018 at 10:22 PM, cazzesman said: Hi Kroozzy, Mine is just the Ver 4.0. Thanks for your thoughts. Regards Cazzesman Hi cazzesman late reply, i get no notifications to let me know you replied the ver 4.2 with ACB - Analogue Clock Buffer is a huge improvement in sound stage, analogue and separation. Though, i recently received a Bricasti M1 DAC which is another level of awesomeness, very hard to go back to the OPPO now, which is sad because i have an affection with the oppo 4.2 + ACB and thought it was an end gamer for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazzesman Posted July 4, 2018 Author Share Posted July 4, 2018 Hi kroozzy, I know how you feel. I couldn't part with the Hugo TT is sounded so good. So I am now the proud owner thanks to the generosity of the SNA member who first lent it, then agreed to sell it. Some great folk here on SNA. I'm now debating what to do with the Oppo 105 Jlti Modded. Regards Cazzesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroozzy Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 8 minutes ago, cazzesman said: Hi kroozzy, I know how you feel. I couldn't part with the Hugo TT is sounded so good. So I am now the proud owner thanks to the generosity of the SNA member who first lent it, then agreed to sell it. Some great folk here on SNA. I'm now debating what to do with the Oppo 105 Jlti Modded. Regards Cazzesman it is a tough one with questions i have raised to myself: - what can i replace it with for the money - not much really - it plays cd's, blu-ray and everything else i can throw at it - perfect alrounder - balanced outputs and every other connection needed - goes with everything - sound wise, - pretty amazing until you go above the $10k range, but that is subjective to taste - so what can it be used for - a second system You are right, there are some fabulous folk on here, i would never have had anything if it wasn't for a guy who practically let me pay off his unwanted hi-fi trash, which is way above normal quality, so a thank you to him should he ever read this Concluding, if you have a place for the oppo, still have cd's and movie discs, keep it !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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