Oppo BDP-831?

[Anonymous]

ginder do you not let your own eyes and ears decide within your stated price range

ive bought speakers that dont have any stars because theyve never been reviewed but so what

they might get 1 star from whf or 5 from hfnews or one of the others doesnt matter its my ears that tell me what sounds good

same thing with tvs ive bought brands that dont exist outside germany except loewe reviews are a guide thats all

one magazines 1 2 or 3 stars is another magazines 5 stars not to look at something because one magazine didnt like at is silly sorry to be harsh

 

[aliEnRIK]

Another day and this thread is STILL on top of the pile going nowhere fast

I wish people would stop bumping it........oh cr.......

 

[Anonymous]

one off:

ginder do you not let your own eyes and ears decide within your stated price range

ive bought speakers that dont have any stars because theyve never been reviewed but so what

they might get 1 star from whf or 5 from hfnews or one of the others doesnt matter its my ears that tell me what sounds good

same thing with tvs ive bought brands that dont exist outside germany except loewe reviews are a guide thats all

one magazines 1 2 or 3 stars is another magazines 5 stars not to look at something because one magazine didnt like at is silly sorry to be harsh

Isnt that what the expert reviews are there for? To guide you into a sensible purchase? Not everyone one of us knows every technical bit of hifi tech so we rely on reviews to guide us..for all my time on these forums iv never seen anyone discuss buying low rated products..and anticipation of upcoming reviews has always been high.

As for buying by auditioning the products that is not always an option, i for one dont know any place near where i live that offer that service, so therefore have to read up on reviews when considering what to buy.

 

[AndrewH13]

hi,

Can someone please explain to me why readers who want this topic closed keep reading it?

Reminds me of those compliants to the beeb about a program they are watching..... I personally would turn channel over or set off

 

[Andrew Everard]

AndrewH13:Can someone please explain to me why readers who want this topic closed keep reading it?

Nope, not a clue, unless they're worried about the women of the house or the servants catching sight of it...

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi,

Quote from Ginder: The only time i would really compare is when there are two or even three 5 star products in that price range to choose from..why would anyone consider the lower rated products?? lol...

Your phrasing above is not specific to only 3 star products and this is what I was referring to.

Quote from Ginder: Your example of TV sizes doesnt make too much sense to me either, as you said if the 5 star 37inch is too big then obviously your correct in saying that you would go for the next size down even if its 4 star, but in the real world there are 5 star tv's in the next size down and im pretty certain those are the ones that even you would look at first.

I didn't say I would drop a size, I said I would drop a star. The PZ version of my own TV was a further 4 inches wider therefore would not fit the available space.

Quote from Ginder: As for OH, she may even have better eyes and ears than you but thats besides the point because i have not once mentioned spending a greater outlay,

So what does "b) buy another rack" translate to? That's a greater outlay.

My own kit is listed - I chose it seperately over a number of years (believe the sub is 10 years old and don't know if it was ever rated by WHFSV). I used my own judgement and the advice of several hi-fi shops nearby at the time (they're all closed now) and read a few editions of the magazine to shortlist...I was going to buy a Sony but the LCD picture at the time was poor compared to the Panasonic.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[simonlewis]

Well another week gone & still no sign of the elusive oppo.

 

[John Duncan]

slewis:Well another week gone & still no sign of the elusive oppo.

I hear there's been a review though. Any idea how it went?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Not a clue, Val. Chris, what do you and Petra think?

 

[Anonymous]

Woof, woof ****

 

[mjs]

sony bpd s760 available for £299 at stoneaudio

 

[John Duncan]

mjs:sony bpd s760 available for £299 at stoneaudio

Does that make the Oppo more of a 3* product then?

 

[Anonymous]

I think we should just agree to disagree, if you guys are happy not purchasing what the "experts" recommend then thats cool as its your "choice"..we dont all have the luxury to audition every item that we want to consider purchasing.

I for one think alot of people do use the mag as a guide when they purchase something and that is why we have almost 67000 views on this thread alone..and i dont think those are for the little jokes and banter that seems to crop up in the thread

I also recall thousands and thousands of views on a particular thread about the Sony W4500 that i purchased last year..that was product of the year but plagued by clouding for some people, i was luckily not one of them and found the set to be as good as the review suggested. You gotta remember when it comes to highly anticipated products a magazine review can make or break that product imo.

 

[pete321]

I agree with Ginder in so far as a lot of people rely on WHF as a buying guide and it's become increasingly difficult to get demos in one shop (if at all) of the products you may be interested in. This makes WHF reviews essential for most of us. However, in past times when it was just about what CD player, stereo amp and speakers to have to suit your listening tastes, I found the WHF reviews spot on for my purchases. In todays market, equipment is more complicated and is required to carry out a range of tasks, e.g. AV amps and, dare I say it, multi function BD players. Tryng to distinguish whether the review on a piece of equipment means you should or shouldn't buy it is becoming more & more difficult. I've bought products on the strength of some of those more recent reviews and then been disappointed, whereas I've purchased products on the strength of other users reviews (BK sub, Oppo) and been pleased. I think Clare Newsome has already indicated that in recognition of this, the magazine will be considering more rating options other than the one overall rating of 1 to 5 stars. As for taking recommendations from shops, what shop would recommend a product that they don't sell?

 

[Anonymous]

might be herecy to say it but dont forget theres more than one av mag on the market and they all do reviews too you dont have to rely on one mag

you can find lots of reviews on the internet too

ive bought stuff recommended by several mags including whathifi and not seen what the fuss was about

usually always buy in shops which have a returns policy which is what makes me wonder about the oppo

 

[pete321]

one off: might be herecy to say it but dont forget theres more than one av mag on the market and they all do reviews too you dont have to rely on one mag

There's only one magazine's reviews which most retailers take notice of when they decide what products to sell!

one off:usually always buy in shops which have a returns policy which is what makes me wonder about the oppo

The Oppo BDP-83 multi region is available from a UK shop with a returns policy. You won't find too many shops selling the WHF award winning Beresford Caimen DAC, doesn't mean it isn't good quality, but usually means it's better value.

 

[AndrewH13]

Andrew Everard:

AndrewH13:Can someone please explain to me why readers who want this topic closed keep reading it?

Nope, not a clue, unless they're worried about the women of the house or the servants catching sight of it...

Much preferable to some sites that might sneak up on one's PC, accidently...

 

[Anonymous]

Question to Andrew Everard:

I booked this OPPO 831 driven by your pre review where you wrote:

In each case, the Oppo has delighted, delivering rock-solid, clear and beautifully sharp pictures, whether from Blu-ray or - using its Anchor Bay VRS video processing - from DVDs. There's excellent shadow detail, bags of resolution and a smooth, natural look to pictures without any signs of obvious video nasties.

But - and this is the big but - even more impressive is the sound of the BDP-831, whether used for Blu-ray or DVD soundtracks, or as a pure audio player.

I've tried it both streaming soundtracks from Blu-ray in native form to the receiver and outputting them as LPCM, but this is also an exceptional machine via its multichannel analogue outputs, which is a tribute to the quality of the onboard audio conversion.

What is Sony S760 doing much better than this? Anything my normal human being eyes and ears can preceive?

BR,

Alessio

 

[aliEnRIK]

I really dont understand what the confusion is

No 2 players are exactly the same. No player is as yet what could be classed as 'perfect'

Even cd players costing 10k are not 'perrfect' so why the OPPO at 450 quid would be considered as such is a touch baffling

Clearly its a VERY good source, and does what it does VERY well (Especially considering the price). Hell, im going to buy one when I can.

But its NOT perfect. Even the upscaler isnt classed as the 'very ' best around (And if anyone had done their research would know about it). The sony and the Pioneer beat it for both sound and vision, but only by a small margin (Which most people wouldnt be bothered about). So either buy the OPPO knowing youve got the best multi media player around, or buy the Sony or Pioneer knowing youve got the best blu ray players around (For the money). Next year the prices will be lowered and something else will come out that 'slightly' betters them. Until eventually no one can actually perceive any differences (But we're NOT quite there yet)

People seem to think the OPPO is some sort of 'holy grail'

It isnt, its a bluray player

 

[Andrew Everard]

Alessio, I'm afraid I haven't spent much time with the Sony, so really can't answer. I will ask the review team to reply if you wish, but I think if you read the two reviews it's quite clear where the magazine stands.

 

[Anonymous]

aliEnRIK:

I really dont understand what the confusion is

No 2 players are exactly the same. No player is as yet what could be classed as 'perfect'

Even cd players costing 10k are not 'perrfect' so why the OPPO at 450 quid would be considered as such is a touch baffling

Clearly its a VERY good source, and does what it does VERY well (Especially considering the price). Hell, im going to buy one when I can.

But its NOT perfect. Even the upscaler isnt classed as the 'very ' best around (And if anyone had done their research would know about it). The sony and the Pioneer beat it for both sound and vision, but only by a small margin (Which most people wouldnt be bothered about). So either buy the OPPO knowing youve got the best multi media player around, or buy the Sony or Pioneer knowing youve got the best blu ray players around (For the money). Next year the prices will be lowered and something else will come out that 'slightly' betters them. Until eventually no one can actually perceive any differences (But we're NOT quite there yet)

People seem to think the OPPO is some sort of 'holy grail'

It isnt, its a bluray player

It may just be a blu ray player but as this thread shows nearly 67000 are apparently interested in it.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Or 67 people have read all 1000+ posts...

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew, many thanks. I'd really appreciate to have some information on why Sony is better. I'm particularly interested on the analog outs. I have an "old" receiver w/o HDMI so I need to feed it through the analogs.

I could maybe withdraw the reservation on the Oppo and consider the Sony if it makes a difference. As I said I'm just a normal human being: maybe I cannot see the difference, in this case I'd stay on the Oppo because of SACD.

 

[bigboss]

Where did you reserve the Oppo BDP-831 from? Their UK website is not online yet, & the European website does not sell the player.

 

[hammill]

bigboss:Where did you reserve the Oppo BDP-831 from? Their UK website is not online yet, & the European website does not sell the player.

You can't