Oppo BDP-83 with All Region Card

According the Claude...

It can do it either way — you choose in the setup menu, and the choice matters.

Two paths for SACD on the BDP-83:

HDMI, as DSD bitstream — this sends a direct bitstream of the SACD's Direct-Stream Digital format to your receiver, which requires a receiver or processor that can decode DSD. Selecting DSD lets you avoid a DSD-to-PCM conversion happening inside the player, so it's the purest path if your AVR/pre-pro supports DSD over HDMI.


HDMI, as PCM — the player instead converts DSD to PCM internally (24-bit/88.2kHz, no upsampling) and sends that over HDMI. This is useful for AVRs that can't decode DSD directly, and it also lets the Oppo's internal DSP do bass management, downmixing, and channel trim — none of which it can do when set to DSD.

Analog outputs (stereo or 7.1 multichannel) — this works regardless of your HDMI setting, but the setting still affects what happens internally: when the player is set to output DSD for SACD, the analog outputs also get a direct DSD-to-analog conversion, avoiding a DSD-to-PCM step. If you set it to PCM instead, the analog outputs get a DSD-to-PCM-to-analog conversion, which some people feel degrades quality. Worth noting: for multichannel SACDs, using the DSD setting will only give you the front L/R channels out of the dedicated stereo outputs — you need PCM mode to get all channels out of the multichannel analog outputs.

What it can't do: SACD's copy protection blocks it from going out the coaxial/optical digital outputs — those work for CD/DVD but not for SACD content.

Bottom line: it's not "HDMI vs. analog out" — it's really "DSD vs. PCM," and that choice governs both outputs simultaneously. If you're running HDMI into a receiver that decodes DSD, that's the most direct route. If you're using the analog outs and want full multichannel, use the PCM setting.