Oppo BDP-831 or Pioneer BDP-LX71??

[bigboss]

Ok, I know this is a controversial topic, but now that both players are similarly priced, which is the better one, for pure audio & video quality? Comments from Will & gel most welcome (nobody has better experience on this forum on the respective players)..........

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Okay these could be the two best blu ray player's around other than the £1,000 mark.

Because let's face it the other's are not great!

I have not seen the Oppo but it would not be hard to beat others around the price mark.

So I personally would like to know which one is better too.

 

[Andrew Everard]

So that's gel out of the advice race, leaving only Will. Guess what he'll say...

I'd day on pure audio and video quality, the Pioneer and the Denon 2500BT put up a very good showing against the Oppo for the same kind of money - and of course they have the advantage that you can actually buy them, at leat while stocks last.

 

[bigboss]

What do you think, gel? Do you think Pioneer's components are a match to Oppo's famed Anchor bay technology? Any comments Will?

Oh yes, I forgot the Denon in the same price bracket.

 

[The_Lhc]

gel's already admitted he doesn't have any experience of the Oppo.

Why don't you try asking the people who HAVE got experience of both players, unless of course you're just a sock puppet seeking to stir up trouble?

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

the_lhc:

gel's already admitted he doesn't have any experience of the Oppo.

Why don't you try asking the people who HAVE got experience of both players, unless of course you're just a sock puppet seeking to stir up trouble?

Too many people politely holding back and not saying what they feel on this site IMO.

 

[Anonymous]

IMHO, Pioneer BDP LX52 is better than Oppo and LX71

 

[Anonymous]

Will have a look at a Pioneer 52 at the weekend and report back.

I've never played with the 71 but I owned a 51. I still do in fact, though it's in a box awaiting installation at the folks house, if they ever finish building it and by which time I'll probably have told them they should get a streamer and a NAS.

In response to the OP. It really depends what you want it for. If you want a universal player, then it's a bit obvious really, you'd buy the Oppo. But I'd hang on for a bit of clarification as to whether there are differences between the 831 and the 83. It may be better to get the 83 if they 831 has had some of it's features removed, but lets see on that. The Pioneer 51 was a great player. But and it's a big but, it was unbelievably slow to use. Reliable, but slow. Slow to switch on, slow to open it's drawer and slow to load. But once running it worked perfectly well.

If you want to be ahead of the game then the piece of kit to take a look at is the Popcorn Hour C200 which is a streamer you can slot a BluRay PC drive into and also a hard drive. For the same money as the machines you've mentioned this is probably where we'll all be in about 3 years time, so you'd be an early adopter. It's what I'm considering doing and if I didn't already have the Oppo I might well consider a streamer. Especially if it'll stream my SACDs off a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device.

If you are serious about the Pioneer 71, then I think you'd do better to buy a much much cheaper by now, 51 and save your money. As I recall, the difference between the two amounted to a slightly different button format on the front of the player (real buttons on the 51 and a touch sensitive surface on the 71) and a slightly more advanced video chip in the 71 for use with component video connections only. So no difference over HDMI. They both stream everything via HDMI so they're basically the same machine if that's how you'll use it. I would have thought you could get a 51 for about £200 or thereabouts and if that's really the machine that would suit you and you don't need a universal player, then that might be the better bet.

Hope that helps.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Thanks for the input, WH, but I'm not aware of any devices currently able to stream SACDs at full DSD definition - they'll usually only store and stream the CD layer.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Having already seen the pioneer bdp-lx71 against the 52 there is no comparison.

The 71 has a better picture and sound.

Looking at the 52 I could not believe it was a pioneer blu ray player.

If you asked me how much I thought it cost without knowing I would of said £150.00.

It's no surprise that a sony beat it for the awards this year.

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew Everard:Thanks for the input, WH, but I'm not aware of any devices currently able to stream SACDs at full DSD definition - they'll usually only store and stream the CD layer.

Shame. And the worry is that being an almost obsolete format (stress almost) will there be any incentive for the developers to include the capability in future firmware updates? Probably not. So it looks like the Oppo will be staying with me, but the C200 is something I'm keeping a close eye on. Xtreamer too, but they seem a little behind the spec of the C200, as they should be for less than half the price.

Interesting post regarding the 52. Will be interested to see it on Sunday.

 

[bigboss]

the_lhc:

gel's already admitted he doesn't have any experience of the Oppo.

Why don't you try asking the people who HAVE got experience of both players, unless of course you're just a sock puppet seeking to stir up trouble?

That's why I've asked in the forum, & not as a pm to gel & Will!!

May I refer you again to my 1st post..........

 

[bigboss]

So there's not really much point in getting the LX71 when BDP-51FD is almost as good for a lot less. My dealer is offering me the Pioneer BDP-LX08 player for £499. Any experience of this player?

Will, the Popcorn Hour C200 seems like an interesting product! However, I'm not clear about its advantages over a PS3, apart from the fact that I can connect ANY blu-ray player to it for a better performance.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Bigboss keep with the pioneer bdp-lx71 and look around if you are serious for the best deal.

Load times for the 71 1 minute and 10 seconds for gone in 60 seconds. Personally I don't think it's slow for the performance you get.

 

[Anonymous]

The 71 is the same inside for HDMI use as the 51. So you're basically wasting your money if you buy a 71 and connect via HDMI. That's my view. There are plenty of reviews that state this. They look very alike too.

The PS3 is brilliant but will not stream .iso BluRay files or a host of other file formats. That's the only downside with the PS3 or I'd get one in a flash. No coaxial digital output and I must say I've had better experiences with coax than optical. But that could have something to do with using the cheapest most rubbish optical ever and bending it a lot. Or the input output circuitry on one not being a match for the other.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Good post the_lhc.

 

[bigboss]

Will Harris:The 71 is the same inside for HDMI use as the 51. So you're basically wasting your money if you buy a 71 and connect via HDMI. That's my view. There are plenty of reviews that state this. They look very alike too. The PS3 is brilliant but will not stream .iso BluRay files or a host of other file formats. That's the only downside with the PS3 or I'd get one in a flash. No coaxial digital output and I must say I've had better experiences with coax than optical. But that could have something to do with using the cheapest most rubbish optical ever and bending it a lot. Or the input output circuitry on one not being a match for the other.

Thanks Will. Yes, I will be using HDMI. I've also heard that the LX08 is same as the LX71 but with a different body. Is that true? In that case there's no point in buying the LX71 or LX08 (as I won't be using the analogues at all).

I couldn't go the Sound and Vision show in Manchester, was keen on checking the Sony S760.

I'll check Popcorn Hour out.

Thanks for all your input guys!

 

[Anonymous]

bigboss:
So there's not really much point in getting the LX71 when BDP-51FD is almost as good for a lot less. My dealer is offering me the Pioneer BDP-LX08 player for £499. Any experience of this player?

Yes the LX08 is identical to the LX71 but in a smaller slimmer more attractive case (it looks like the media box that come with the kuro TV's)

 

[The_Lhc]

bigboss:the_lhc:

gel's already admitted he doesn't have any experience of the Oppo.

Why don't you try asking the people who HAVE got experience of both players, unless of course you're just a sock puppet seeking to stir up trouble?

That's why I've asked in the forum, & not as a pm to gel & Will!!

May I refer you again to my 1st post..........

Yes but both times you singled out gel and Will as the people you really want a reply from. You don't think that might alienate the rest of the readers who might then think their opinion isn't good enough for you?

 

[Anonymous]

the_lhc:bigboss:the_lhc:

gel's already admitted he doesn't have any experience of the Oppo.

Why don't you try asking the people who HAVE got experience of both players, unless of course you're just a sock puppet seeking to stir up trouble?

That's why I've asked in the forum, & not as a pm to gel & Will!!

May I refer you again to my 1st post..........

Yes but both times you singled out gel and Will as the people you really want a reply from. You don't think that might alienate the rest of the readers who might then think their opinion isn't good enough for you?

Don't pick on the guy LHC, he's in my cool crew gang

LOL.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Will,

With your experience (no need for SACD playback) I have seen a Pioneer BDP-51FD used for about £180. Do you think the Oppo is that much better on Picture/Sound via Analogues than the Pioneer to justify the outlay.

My other alternative is to get the Arcam DV139 for DVD/CD playback and keep my Sammy for Bluray.

Thanks.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Play nicely, please...

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Given the Oppo only got 4 stars in the Awards issue does not say much for the Oppo.

Especially when on the same page you have the pioneer bdp-lx52 with 5 stars at £550.00 and the sony bdp-s760 with 5 stars at £400.00.

But I have not seen the Oppo only the pioneer bdp-lx52 but if the pioneer bdp-lx52 has out done it at £550.00 then it's laughable to say the Oppo can touch the pioneer bdp-lx71.

 

[Anonymous]

No. If you don't need the universal player, then I'd stick with what you've got actually and spend your money on upgrading your amp to either the Arcam AVR500 or 600. In my view, though it's a hell of a large upgrade, it's worth more than upgrading the source - IF you stream digitally via HDMI. I can't see any advantage in replacing your sources. I think the amp is the weak link.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Although, of course, no-one's actually heard the AVR500, and our AVR600 is still misbehaving when it comes to switching between sources and with various BD players.