Oppo 105 - Is it going to make a difference?

[Frank Harvey]

Currently listening to a the DVD-A disc of the Dual Disc version of the Foo Fighters' In Your Honour - sounding pretty stunning!

 

[GSB]

Be interesting to read your opinion of the 105 in relation to sound quality compared to the 103

 

[duaplex]

David what is the oppo connected to? AV or Hifi Amp? Is this the 105 Or 103?

 

[Frank Harvey]

David what is the oppo connected to? AV or Hifi Amp? Is this the 105 Or 103?

It is connected to my Audiolab 8200AP processor - I'm trying out e 103 - the 105 will be with us during the week.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Be interesting to read your opinion of the 105 in relation to sound quality compared to the 103

For movies, I'll only be comparing the HDMI feed, which won't be any different - the main benefit is any onboard decoding down on the 105, as it uses the Sabre DAC and also has balanced outputs (which my processor doesn't have). So, I'll only be able to comment on the straight CD playback.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Just tried an MKV Bluray rip over the network to the 103 and that played fine without any issues at all, as did a straight BD rip of The Dark Knight Rises - no judder/panning issues. My brother commented that he now wants one of these so he can get rid of his media server and associated gubbins!

The Oppo connected to the network straight away, and the iPad app found the 103 straight away too - this is how everything should work!

Now watching the Foo Fighters' live album recording of Wasting Light (Live from 606) via the YouTube app on the Oppo - a must for any Foo Fighters fans, if you've not seen it. Other than an audio sync issue (video is a bit ahead of the audio, which I can't do anything about, I think), its running fine, with only minor jumps on faster panning shots.

 

[GSB]

Be interesting to read your opinion of the 105 in relation to sound quality compared to the 103

For movies, I'll only be comparing the HDMI feed, which won't be any different - the main benefit is any onboard decoding down on the 105, as it uses the Sabre DAC and also has balanced outputs (which my processor doesn't have). So, I'll only be able to comment on the straight CD playback.

:cheers:

 

[Son_of_SJ]

David what is the oppo connected to? AV or Hifi Amp? Is this the 105 Or 103?

Funny thing, duaplex, I was going to ask you the same thing about exactly which Oppo machine you demo'd your existing Pioneer Blu-ray player against! You give a thorough demonstration report, but without saying (I think you maybe had said much earlier in the thread) which Oppo machine you saw / heard.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Be interesting to read your opinion of the 105 in relation to sound quality compared to the 103

For movies, I'll only be comparing the HDMI feed, which won't be any different - the main benefit is any onboard decoding down on the 105, as it uses the Sabre DAC and also has balanced outputs (which my processor doesn't have). So, I'll only be able to comment on the straight CD playback.

:cheers:

Hopefully, if I get chance, I'll try the internal decoding of the 105 when I get it home, but with Christmas on the doorstep, its touch and go as to whether I'll get a chance to. It is something I will be interested in though, as the new Lexicon processors are just round the corner, and if they bring out an entry level one along the lines of the 8200AP, I'll be interested in trying this aspect.

 

[duaplex]

It's the 103 I had a demo on.

David the Oppo 105 should be superior for music, if current reviews are to go by. All remains to be seen I guess. But im loving your report on the 103, wish i could have taken it home too.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Watched a few DVD's tonight. Unfortunately, there aren't really any DVD's that I'd say I'm familiar enough with anymore to say that they're better or not, but I know what I'm looking for for DVD playback, and the 103 passed.

I popped in a CD tonight. It was a little late for playing it at my level, so it was only low level. Even though I've not heard it for a while, I tried the newly remastered Final Cut by Pink Floyd (all the CD's I use for demo are at work). It sounded really good and I think I'm quite lucky that there isn't a single item in my system that doesn't let the music side of the system down. So yes, an AV system can sound good with music, and a sub can blend well and disappear for 2-channel duties too.

Once I get a 105 in my system (which ill more than likely end up with), I'll start a free month's trial for Netflix and see how that performs.

 

[duaplex]

I have a free 1 month trial with Netflix and I find it quite limited, loads of my favourite films in the 80's and 90's are missing.

Some films upscale beautifully, i.e The good the bad and the ugly, others like red scorpion look terrible. I wonder whether the Oppo would be better. David you are giving me more reasons to keep my 55 inch and divert the 1k cash into an oppo instead of getting the 65 inch.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I'd be looking to put my money into a projector...

Anyway, TV's change every year - get the 105, and if means saving a bit longer for a TV, you'll be buying the next, better model

 

[duaplex]

What size projector screen at 10ft viewing distance would you recommend.... I was actually looking at them just now!

 

[Frank Harvey]

I'm 9 ft away from mine and I use a 7 ft wide screen. If you're 10 ft away, you could use up to an 8 feet, maybe even a 9 ft if you're feeling adventurous.

The rule used to be that you should sit about 1.5-2 times the screen width away, but high definition has allowed the user to use higher screens at the same distance. Plus, projectors have got better. The bigger the screen, the more iffy standard definition looks, but when you're watching HD, its so much more immersive, and more suitable to the size of the soundfield that some systems can create.

 

[Ian986]

Hi all

I am seriously considering a new oppo 103 but looking also the 105 seems to have some interesting features so was wondering if I will notice the difference and or is it worth the extra money

I mainly use for watching blu rays however I will use for a sacd and DVD audio and maybe a cd

I mainly listen to my I phone via USB into the reciever so my main question would be will i see a benefit with the 105 with dac as I don't use one at the moment also how good is MHL can you control the iPod from the remote ?

I have a Onkyo 809 and MA apex 5.1 for reference

Thanks

 

[Frank Harvey]

The video element of both players is the same, so no difference will be had between the two visually. The 105 uses Sabre DACs, so will sound better than the 103 if you're going to use the analogue outputs. The USB inputs of the 105 are also asynchronous, so you'll get the best out of music digitally stored on hard drives or thumb sticks.

 

[duaplex]

There is no difference in quality when it comes to bluray playback between the two. However musically the 105 is far better. The BDP-105 has two ESS Sabre32 Reference DACs, a newly designed Toroidal linear power supply, dedicated stereo outputs with both RCA and XLR balanced connections, and a headphone amplifier connected directly to the DAC. The Oppo BDP-105 can also be used as an external DAC with two HDMI inputs (rare on a DAC) and an asynchronous USB input as well.

Now the 103 is a great CD player too! The 105 is just that much better

 

[duaplex]

Ah shucks beaten to it

 

[Ian986]

Thanks guys

I know this is hard to say and I have never used dac before so in a percentage wise how much better would it be I know this is really hard to say but I am trying to gauge how much better for 105 will be over the 103

Thanks

 

[duaplex]

It all depends on your ears and your wallet, I would demo both. Is it worth the extra £500? Probably not if primary usage is bluray. For an avid music listener who wants to replace his CD player too then it's worth every penny as the 105 is very capable CD player. Personally, I cannot justify it, but you may. Everyone has different needs and tastes.

Bottom line. Yes it's better, by 30% to me. However I could live with the 103

 

[super]

I too am showing a lot of intrest in the oppo 105 beacuse of the analogue outputs to an old, but good processor (naim AV2) which doesn't have hdmi. At the moment i am using a Denon BD3800 with analogue outs. I'm wondering if the oppo 105 will sound a lot better than the Denon, i must admit i am getting the itch.

 

[gar1975]

have read through this conversation about the oppo players... i'm looking to change my bluray player (pioneer LX71) and have heard a lot about these players. it will only be used for bluray's, so for me its' about the picture & sound quality from blurays.

i will be connecting it into a yamaha z-11. could someone take pity on me and suggest what would be a good replacement for my lx71. have only looked at the hifix website so far, but they don't say anything about multi region bluray, which is a feature i would like, but having said that, it wouldnt be a deal breaker if it wasn't...

cheers

 

[Frank Harvey]

have read through this conversation about the oppo players... i'm looking to change my bluray player (pioneer LX71) and have heard a lot about these players. it will only be used for bluray's, so for me its' about the picture & sound quality from blurays.

As your player is a good few years old now, I'm sure you will find them an improvement, especially regarding loading times. I've never found the sharpness control to be very effective with Bluray players, but nothing up the sharpness one notch on these really sharpness up the picture - to the point that the default setting looks quite soft! There's also Contrast Enhancement, which has really improved the preceived black level on my 4 year old PJ, so along with the extra sharpness its almost like I've got a new PJ

Im now also enjoying SACD - well, the only disc I own that is SACD! Pretty impressed though, and its ability to stream ripped Blurays faultlessly and smoothly is pretty impressive too.

i will be connecting it into a yamaha z-11. could someone take pity on me and suggest what would be a good replacement for my lx71. have only looked at the hifix website so far, but they don't say anything about multi region bluray, which is a feature i would like, but having said that, it wouldnt be a deal breaker if it wasn't...

When we looked to take on Oppo last year, the only option for multi-region was a "solder job" board, which is something that most people would want the dealer to do. The multi-region upgrade for the new models is just a plug in module that anyone can fit, and with this upgrade being pretty cheap, it probably isn't really worth a dealer supplying and fitting - I think most people will just order the module directly and fit it themselves. So, there is unlikely to be any mention of this on our website.

 

[bigboss]

Just to add that since you've got the brilliant Z11 to decode audio, you can save cash by going for 103 instead of 105.