New Oppo player for late 2012

[jdkJake]

So, not sure about ya'all, but color me impressed.

So far, it has played all the shiny disks I have thrown at it with great effect. This as well as accommodating the optical out of my squeezebox for Internet radio and the HDMI output of my appleTV for streaming audio from my computers and IOS devices. Again, all to great effect. I personally like the sound quite a bit, even at this early stage of getting aquainted.

With the right amp/speaker combo, this unit can certainly act as both source and pre-amp. Sort of like a nice all-in-one combo. A least, that is how I am currently employing it. Source => Amp => Speaker. Looking forward to using it to access a NAS as a dedicated music server. If that works as I would hope, then I think I will be quite happy with the purchase, at least for the price/value ratio, which, seems quite high at the moment.

Note, I have yet to try out any of the video or surround capabilities. Also have not plugged any headphones into it either.

[Dusty Chalk]

Which one did you get, the 105 or the 103?

[TMoney]

If he is talking about using it as a DAC for his squeezebox and about having not yet tried the headphone amplifier I'd wager he is talking about the 105.

[jdkJake]

Yes, I purchased the 105.

I found the digital input section attractive as it opens up the DAC to numerous external transport solutions.

[TMoney]

http://www.oppo-bluray.co.uk/UserFiles/Docs/PDF/HFN_Oppo%20BDP-105EU.pdf

 

The reviewer is a nitwit, but I noticed this in the sidebar:

 

"However, SACD is now downsampled to 88.2kHz LPCM regardless of whether the Audio Format > SACD Output mode is set to DSD or LPCM (also unaffected by HDMI Audio or Coaxial/Optical output setting)."

 

Not that you would ever hear a difference, but its interesting none the less.

 

 

EDIT:

 

 

Wow, those guys are quick over there (avs). Their comments:

 

"That statement represents a profound misunderstanding of what's going on with SACD DSD audio.

There is no down-sampling for DSD-Direct-to-Analog Conversion nor for DSD output via HDMI. The concept doesn't exist for DSD. There is, however, the required 50Khz filter in the DAC.

For conversion to LPCM, use of 88.2KHz is also not "down-sampling". It is "correct sampling" as it also imposes the equivalent of that 50KHz filter.

DSD encoding is subject to quantization noise in the audible frequencies. SACD counters this by "noise shaping" which pushes the noise up above 20Khz at the expense of making it substantially worse up there. This noise is not due to the quality of the recording or the quality of the playback. It is, rather, simply an artifact of using DSD with noise shaping which has to be dealt with. You keep it from getting to the output via the 50KHz filter as part of converting SACD DSD to Analog.

However, when you convert to LPCM, whatever is downstream of the player no longer knows the signal contains that DSD quantization noise -- it has no way of knowing the signal came off an SACD disc. So no filtering gets applied. By using an LPCM sampling rate below 100KHz the math accomplishes the same thing -- those high frequency noise components get discarded.

Simply put, it is not always the case that a higher sampling rate is better, and converting SACD DSD to LPCM is just such a case."

 

 

This answer makes a lot of sense given the points raised in that XIPH article regarding distortion issues.

Edited December 5, 2012 by TMoney

[cutestory]

Just got an email from Oppo saying I can buy a Roku stick from them to enable Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, and HBO Go for $49.99 (50% off), because I bought a 103 from them. Doesn't come with a Roku remote—it just plugs in to the MHL port.

 

And now they're available bundled with the players when you purchase them.

 

Holy shitsnacks!

[crappyjones123]

I had absolutely no interest in this player until the last post. Damn you Jeff.

[recstar24]

Heads up to iPhone oppo users - there is a nice remote app that works really well and is super easy to use, very intuitive and simple.

[blessingx]

As the Roku stick was mentioned above, if anyone is interested, but doesn't qualify through Oppo, it's on sale at the moment.

http://dealmac.com/Roku-Streaming-Stick-from-59-6-s-h/657503.html

[bhjazz]

Roku stick for Amazon video...well, that was the last of my gripes.  I'll have to go take a listen.  

[eggil]

I could not find if the 105 allows for DSD from USB sources. 

[emelius]

^I read somewhere that they were working on it & hoping to have a firmware update sometime this year...

 

so...no now...maybe in the future...

[TMoney]

I contacted Oppo customer support last week to check in on the status of a Windows 8 USB driver. They had no updates and said they are still waiting on XMOS to deliver it to them.

 

That (lack of) news after all these months makes me a sad panda.

 

[fierce_freak]

Anyone heard the 105 against the NAD m51?

[shellylh]

^Interested in this myself

[cutestory]

^Moi aussi.

[blessingx]

DSD Firmware Update for Oppo 103 & 105 Universal Disc Players

http://audaud.com/2013/03/free-dsd-firmware-update-for-oppo-103-105-universal-disc-players/

[recstar24]

Yup. Love my oppo. I believe you can stream DSD wirelessly to the oppo as well. Just started to mess around with the oppo and its network streaming, with oshare its stupid easy.

[Dusty Chalk]

So what's the difference between the 103 and the 105 again?  What's upgraded about the 105?

[blessingx]

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/transports/high-definition-dvd-players-hd-dvd-blu-ray/oppo-blu-ray-q-a

[recstar24]

So what's the difference between the 103 and the 105 again? What's upgraded about the 105?

Audio.

[PFKMan23]

I have no use for it, but I think I really want the 105...

[morphsci]

Now that they can play DSD from connected USB devices my interest in them has peaked again.

[Dusty Chalk]

My interest, on the other hand, has piqued, due to the USB DAC thing -- I had forgotten that was exclusive to the 105.

 

Audio.

Pfff.  After reading the description, they seem to be shooting for two different sound signatures -- "warm" on the 103 and "accurate" on the 105.

[recstar24]

I would say analog audio the 103 is normal and the 106 is much better I have the 103 as a transport to an ecp dac and it works fantastic. I have a set of audioengine a2's connected to the analog out of the 103 which serves as a decent preamp of sorts, the downmix to stereo is excellent.