Oppo 103 Blu-ray Player Gets 3 Stars!

[CnoEvil]

I hope Cno does not see this post about as Linn Streaming has quite a following

It's all in the name!

 

[jcshutts]

If I am looking for an HD decoder and DAC for playing music to feed into my Yamaha Z9 AV amp, would it be better to opt for a dedicated sound processor such as Audiolab 8200AP or combine the Blu ray and processing within the Oppo 105?

 

[GSB]

:rofl:

I hope Cno does not see this post about as Linn Streaming has quite a following

It's all in the name!

:rofl:

 

[WishTree]

I hope Cno does not see this post about as Linn Streaming has quite a following

It's all in the name!

I beg mercy!

 

[WishTree]

If I am looking for an HD decoder and DAC for playing music to feed into my Yamaha Z9 AV amp, would it be better to opt for a dedicated sound processor such as Audiolab 8200AP or combine the Blu ray and processing within the Oppo 105?

I have not really compared to the two but what I heard from Oppo 105, it is a no brainer... UNLESS.. you have more than 2 HDMI Sources and I guess it is a bit of bargain when compared to the Audiolab 8200AP.

Though I must tell you that the Z9 might redigitalize the 7.1 inputs for supporting all the audio processing (like room correction) and so if that is the case, then I am not too sure what happens May be there is an analog mode on 7.1 inputs and if so the room correction might not be available.

 

[jcshutts]

umm. had n't considered that. Although having 7.1 analogue inputs would surely suggest that it is allowing something else to do the decoding - doesn't it? :?

 

[Frank Harvey]

I am never a big fan of Room Calibration (especially when a generic mass produced mic, 'whose specific individual response curves are not fed into the software of the specific AVR' measures the room and judges things - as is case with most of the current crop of AVRs. It is at best a hit or miss, IMO. My Classe SSP-800 had no Room Calibration and still it was the best sound I ever heard for HT)

Agreed. Since leaving full range room EQ behind (only using it for the sub now), I have to say I've never enjoyed my system so much. Also, the best systems we put together at the store tend to be without EQ too - usually based around the Audiolab 8200AP or the Bryston SP3. Although I have to say there's more to it than just not using the onboard setup on an AV receiver, with the quality of the pre-amp being if high importance.

I would not know much about the reference status of the DACs but ESS Sabre DACs in Oppo and their Stereo implementation along with the Output stage Op-amps is quite a VFM from high end audio perspective.

One of our regulars recently took the 105 home to test various aspects out, and he found it to sound like the Audiolab 8200CD. For a £1k Bluray player to sound like a £1k CD player is pretty good really. He also mentioned that the headphone amp was rather good too.

 

[Ian986]

Well I bit the bullet today and ordered a 103 being delivered Thursday if get time will try and set up Thursday night and I will let you know what I think!

The reasons I purchased it are as follows

DVD audio playback at hi res

SACD play back

Blu ray play back should be better than my BD60

Onkyo app o remote which is fantasic works with oppo too so can control Onkyo TV OPPO all from iPad

gracenote is pretty cool when playing cd

Oh yes and I got a deal on the oppo too, So brought the price down too ! So not a £500 player any more better value for money

 

[jcshutts]

is there a good place to negotiate a deal?

 

[Ian986]

I think there is a price fixing going on with oppo dealers

I called about 10 of them this afternoon from dealer list. Most of them would not give a penny off ,! But a couple did and 1 had stock so ordered

I am not going to name them here, as I am sure someone from oppo or another dealer will moan and that is not fair on them.

 

[duaplex]

Thanks guys for the feedback. David that simply adds more plus points for the Oppo.

I need to take the 105 home for testing then I can report back.

 

[bigboss]

I think there is a price fixing going on with oppo dealers

I called about 10 of them this afternoon from dealer list. Most of them would not give a penny off ,! But a couple did and 1 had stock so ordered

I am not going to name them here, as I am sure someone from oppo or another dealer will moan and that is not fair on them.

It's a simple case of demand & supply. If you have less dealers for a product, competition will be less & so price tends to stay up. Have you ever seen Cambridge Audio blu ray players discounted, except when a newer model is imminently arriving?

 

[Ian986]

Well with the discount it is a bit closer to the budget players maybe it will get a extra star lol

 

[jj123]

I don't have a problem with WHF, so I don't know what my rant is all about. I enjoy the site and certainly appreciate the high quality components (as well as the great music) that regularly comes out of the UK (I used to live in Oxford). At the same time, I do believe there are bias tendencies in the reporting (which is to be expected, and probably at play a bit here), but it's not like it really matters anyways. I mean, you're a third world country now so you want to focus on selling home-grown products. :dance: Just kidding

My take, all of these types of source components are a bit of a waste of money since there's really no reason to put a disc in a tray anymore. Choose your favorite Media Center and purchase a great DAC. Feed the chain with streaming 1080p movies, or high resolution audio files. DSD files can soundflawlessly analog (like putting a needle down on a horn phonograph). 96/24, 48/16....even 320 kbps sound quite nice in even the most revealing systems.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Thanks guys for the feedback. David that simply adds more plus points for the Oppo.

I need to take the 105 home for testing then I can report back.

Where do you take them home from for testing?

 

[The_Lhc]

I don't have a problem with WHF, so I don't know what my rant is all about. I enjoy the site and certainly appreciate the high quality components (as well as the great music) that regularly comes out of the UK (I used to live in Oxford). At the same time, I do believe there are bias tendencies in the reporting (which is to be expected, and probably at play a bit here), but it's not like it really matters anyways. I mean, you're a third world country now so you want to focus on selling home-grown products. :dance: Just kidding

Yeah whatever, I'm guessing you live in the US, in which case you got far more problems than just the economy...

Feed the chain with streaming 1080p movies

But they look like shite, appalling quality compared to blu-ray.

 

[duaplex]

Thanks guys for the feedback. David that simply adds more plus points for the Oppo.

I need to take the 105 home for testing then I can report back.

Where do you take them home from for testing?

If you pay for the item online you have the right to return it within 14 days if you are not happy. They wont let you take it home otherwise, no matter how much of a charming devil you are :rofl:

Thats all I meant

I will probably get it off Hifix, I owe David a purchase for all the advice given to me down the years.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Thanks guys for the feedback. David that simply adds more plus points for the Oppo.

I need to take the 105 home for testing then I can report back.

Where do you take them home from for testing?

If you pay for the item online you have the right to return it within 14 days if you are not happy. They wont let you take it home otherwise, no matter how much of a charming devil you are :rofl:

Thats all I meant

I will probably get it off Hifix, I owe David a purchase for all the advice given to me down the years.

Oh I see.

I still owe David a purchase myself, last time we spoke I think I said I would buy the Pioneer 55 Blu-ray player but it did not quite work out for various reasons! Oops.

 

[duaplex]

Thanks guys for the feedback. David that simply adds more plus points for the Oppo.

I need to take the 105 home for testing then I can report back.

Where do you take them home from for testing?

If you pay for the item online you have the right to return it within 14 days if you are not happy. They wont let you take it home otherwise, no matter how much of a charming devil you are :rofl:

Thats all I meant

I will probably get it off Hifix, I owe David a purchase for all the advice given to me down the years.

Oh I see.

I still owe David a purchase myself, last time we spoke I think I said I would buy the Pioneer 55 Blu-ray player but it did not quite work out for various reasons! Oops.

LOL, Don't I feel bad everytime that happens. I know how you feel )

 

[Ian986]

Well my Oppo103 arrived this afternoon I have been messing around with DVD AUDIO and SACD this afternoon mainly and seems pretty good I am not blown away but not disappointed either I think it needs some fine tuning of the settings

on a SACD which is better DSD or PCM ?

just going to watch a film now so will report back later !

 

[Deleted member 2457]

http://www.whathifi.com/review/bdp-103eu

 

[duaplex]

Yep pretty damning. I wonder what they will give the 105?

 

[bigboss]

It is a strange review. The fact that this player does a lot more than the rest, & also has analogue outs, has been completely ignored while giving the verdict. Blu ray picture quality is equal in all players IME. DVD upscaling comment is interesting. Have to check some cheaper decks now. Looks like competition is catching up on this front.

 

[duaplex]

I had a demo of this, on smaller screens the difference is subtle and barely noticeable, but put it on a projector and it will blow you away. The cheaper decks are good but there is a difference. For example the Sony s790 looked blurred in comparison when watching transformers, motion was awful and judder evident. Mind you this was only apparent on CGI. The BDT500 provided the best contest for me, but again I could still see a little difference

If you judge this on bluray playback and on a 50inch or smaller tv, then dare I say the review is fair! Perhaps a 4 star IMO.

 

[chebby]

The fact that this player does a lot more than the rest, & also has analogue outs, has been completely ignored...

The analogue outputs were not ignored...

"Even older amps which are completely devoid of HDMI inputs are catered for, as the Oppo can decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio onboard and output a signal from its set of multichannel analogue outputs."