Blu-ray/4K player with 7.1. Analogue out AND volume control?

sten

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Currently I am using an Oppo 105 to do the DVD/Blu-ray decoding and volume control. Since it’s getting old I would like to prepare for a replacement. What Blu-ray/4K players with analogue outputs AND volume control can you recommend? I don’t seem to be able an find any? Panasonic DP-UB9000 seems great, but is there volume control for straight feed to power amps? My setup is built around Wyred4Sound pre-amp and Power amps, so decoding and volume control has to come out of the player. Thanks for any suggestions!
 
Welcome to the Forum.

I think that with the much lamented demise of Oppo then 7.1 analogue with pre-amp abilities are a thing of the past. Panasonics will give you an analogue out but you would need to factor in a pre-amp or perhaps a processor.

Pioneer have taken the plaudits for audio presentation with the LX500/800 but analogue out is limited to a stereo feed. Multi channel is by HDMI only and multi channel SACD playback is extremely good. The Panasonics also lack SACD playback.

I think a good processor will sound just as good, if not better than the Oppo. All depends on how deep your pockets are. Whilst on the subject of budget I should point out that this is a UK based Forum.
 
Welcome to the Forum.

I think that with the much lamented demise of Oppo then 7.1 analogue with pre-amp abilities are a thing of the past. Panasonics will give you an analogue out but you would need to factor in a pre-amp or perhaps a processor.

Pioneer have taken the plaudits for audio presentation with the LX500/800 but analogue out is limited to a stereo feed. Multi channel is by HDMI only and multi channel SACD playback is extremely good. The Panasonics also lack SACD playback.

I think a good processor will sound just as good, if not better than the Oppo. All depends on how deep your pockets are. Whilst on the subject of budget I should point out that this is a UK based Forum.

Thanks for your quick and detailed response! Yup, you are probably right a processor is probably the extra stage that will be required, I assume that would be fed by the 7.1 analogue outputs from the Blu-ray? Having done a quick search it seems hard not to go overkill (I have a simple 5.1 setup, built for stereo sound primarily but with added power amps for Blu-ray/4K (I have a need for both European and US Blu-ray so I even process my Panasonic 820, doing the US region blu-ray/4k, through the Oppo!)) I took the liberty of including schematics of my setup, I thought you might find that interesting! I have always been a big fan of UK Hi-Fi so, I am happy to have joined! Thanks again!
 

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The main thing I notice in your wiring diagram is that the Panasonic player is only passing SD audio to the Oppo which is basically acting as a hub for your audio. The Panasonic and the Oppo are both capable of bitstreaming HD audio in the form of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA which is certainly superior to lossy Dolby Digital and DTS. Why no HDMI connection between the Panny and the Oppo for HD audio.

There are plenty of processors available that would easily take the place of the Oppo and would fit in with your wiring. You'll not lose any audio performance by having a Panasonic 9000 using HDMI to transport HD audio. The Pioneer LX800 would be the ultimate player for such a set up but because of Covid they are very hard to get hold of. The LX500 would also make a better audio proposition than the Panasonics.

You have a lot of boxes but I think the Oppo or any player with pre-amp capabilities is the weak link and you would be far better off with a good processor. You have a pretty amazing set up.
 
The main thing I notice in your wiring diagram is that the Panasonic player is only passing SD audio to the Oppo which is basically acting as a hub for your audio. The Panasonic and the Oppo are both capable of bitstreaming HD audio in the form of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA which is certainly superior to lossy Dolby Digital and DTS. Why no HDMI connection between the Panny and the Oppo for HD audio.

There are plenty of processors available that would easily take the place of the Oppo and would fit in with your wiring. You'll not lose any audio performance by having a Panasonic 9000 using HDMI to transport HD audio. The Pioneer LX800 would be the ultimate player for such a set up but because of Covid they are very hard to get hold of. The LX500 would also make a better audio proposition than the Panasonics.

You have a lot of boxes but I think the Oppo or any player with pre-amp capabilities is the weak link and you would be far better off with a good processor. You have a pretty amazing set up.
Absolutely correct, I totally forgot about the limitations of an optical connection! Will be replaced immediately. Thanks again for taking the time to review and comment on my setup. Yes, it is a lot of boxes but I do love the sound of of the W4S pre and power amp! Maybe even something like the Nuforce avp-18 could be a good solution, don't really need a box with a lot of legacy connectors just the HDMI. Cheers, sten
 
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Panasonic DP-UB9000 seems great, but is there volume control for straight feed to power amps? My setup is built around Wyred4Sound pre-amp and Power amps, so decoding and volume control has to come out of the player. Thanks for any suggestions!
No, read above. I have same setup. You'll need a pre-processor like the Nuforce I suggested. Cheers.
 
The main thing I notice in your wiring diagram is that the Panasonic player is only passing SD audio to the Oppo which is basically acting as a hub for your audio. The Panasonic and the Oppo are both capable of bitstreaming HD audio in the form of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA which is certainly superior to lossy Dolby Digital and DTS. Why no HDMI connection between the Panny and the Oppo for HD audio.

There are plenty of processors available that would easily take the place of the Oppo and would fit in with your wiring. You'll not lose any audio performance by having a Panasonic 9000 using HDMI to transport HD audio. The Pioneer LX800 would be the ultimate player for such a set up but because of Covid they are very hard to get hold of. The LX500 would also make a better audio proposition than the Panasonics.

You have a lot of boxes but I think the Oppo or any player with pre-amp capabilities is the weak link and you would be far better off with a good processor. You have a pretty amazing set up.

Thanks again for your feedback! I finally decided on the (discontinued) Emotive XMC-1. Great reviews and didn't have a bunch of analogue video connectors or 11 channels of audio. Made the whole setup cleaner with this as the switching hub with mostly XLR connections! Arrives next week!
 

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