Farewell to OPPO Digital

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by SamS, Apr 2, 2018.

  1. hodgo

    hodgo Tea Making Gort (Yorkshire Branch) Staff

    Location:
    East Yorkshire
    All part of the service :laugh:
     
  2. Postercowboy

    Postercowboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nowhereland
    Another aspect I did not buy the Oppo 205 is the price: Oppo charges over 50% more on the European market than they do in the US. Add 19% sales tax in Germany, and you are looking at an additional $1,000 (give or take) compared to the US retail price.

    In the end, the 205 would have cost me over $1,200 more than the Cambridge CXU. Add all the other aspects of the Oppo I didn‘t like or need, at the end of the day it was an easy decision.

    Unfortunately, this is a very common practice with many global players: Yamaha for example is charging about twice the price to US buyers as they do in Europe.

    Marantz on the other hand is a positive example, their prices appear to be very similar all over the world.
     
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  3. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    Managed to snag a 205 after all. The Magnolia Design Center in my area called me yesterday and told me that because I was first on the waiting list and they'd definitively determined that they couldn't get any more units from Oppo, they were offering me their display model.

    No outer box, but came with manual, all accessories and accessory box, fully warrantied by Oppo (or whatever arrangement they use going forward), and had been stored in a closed display case the entire time. So not a spec of dust on it, and just a few total hours of use, demo'ing one of their TVs. Never even hooked up to a network - the firmware likely was original; the unit prompted me to do two successive FW updates, one after the other (something ending in 34 and then one ending in 35, after which it reported that it's up to date).

    Tried to get a discount for lack of a box but they weren't having it because there are so many eager buyers out there. But I grabbed it anyway, as I'd rather not deal with the aggravation of the likely mad rush in June for the final run.

    Just starting to use it and listen now, but initial impressions are quite positive compared to my beloved 105:
    • The CPU in the new Mediatek board must pretty beefy: Firmware update, initial boot-up, disc loading all are speedier than on the 105, ranging from somewhat faster to ridiculously faster, depending on the function
    • I also would guess networking has been upgraded from the 105, as it took literally about 8 seconds to download the firmware updates.
    • I was prepared to hear zero sonic improvement given that my system, while revealing, is fairly modest. Yet I'm immediately hearing a cleaner, crisper sound with a bit more depth to the sound stage. The difference is by no means night-and-day, but to my ears it's also by no means subtle. It's immediately apparent without having to listen actively for it.
    • Someone earlier in the thread said they felt the main improvement was in the treble. I feel like I'm hearing a slightly improved tautness in the bass, but I do agree with that person that the most obvious sonic improvement with the 205 seems to be a slightly cleaner, more crystalline upper midrange and treble.
    Have to say, I'm quite pleased so far.

    Two questions for anyone who might know:
    1. In what situations am I supposed to be hearing the notorious 205 relay clicking?
    2. Does the 205 come with built-in wireless, or does it still require a USB dongle? The Magnolia folks gave me a dongle they had lying around with the unit, but they seemed to think the 205 might not need one like the 100 series does. (I have it connected via ethernet; just curious about the wireless.)
    Thanks!
     
  4. John D.

    John D. Senior Member

    The 203 has built in wireless, so I would expect the 205 has it also.
     
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  5. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    205 has built in wireless. Just did a firmware update via it and was pretty fast.
     
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  6. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    Thank you both!
     
  7. mongo

    mongo Senior Member

    Nice review, tmtomh.
    Someone else may have said so but I post that to me the upper end on the 205 was most noticeable to me.
    I think you'll also hear other things and have a better impression of the 205 v 105 the more you listen to it with various music genres.
    Very glad you got one.
     
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  8. Coricama

    Coricama Classic Rocker

    Location:
    Marietta, GA
    Hard to believe these wonderful players are going away. I wonder if another company might by the rights to continue making them.
     
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  9. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Great to hear you got a 205! I might be the initial cause for concern about the relay clicking with the 205. When I had the 205 in my system back in May 2017 there was relay clicking when playing SACDs with the DSD setting using HDMI. Now with the current 205 and the latest FW there is very little relay clicking mainly when the 205 is powered up and occasionally when starting and stopping playback. The issue is minimized to the point that it doesn't even bother me. Enjoy the 205 :agree:!

    Below is a link to post #771 with some detail about the issue I was having at the time.

    Oppo UDP-205 Announced
     
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  10. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Does anyone know if Magnolia still has the 203 available? I checked with the local Magnolia and they are checking. Just curious if anyone ordered or received one recently. Thanks :).
     
  11. I think OPPO still has them.
     
  12. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    True. I was inquiring about Magnolia as I have discount coupon that can be applied if the item is in stock. I inquired about whether it could be applied to the 205 purchase from last week. The salesman said that it could not be applied to previous purchases. It was worth a shot ;).
     
  13. Edmoney

    Edmoney Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Is this by chance a 10% discount coupon for in-store purchases with a Best Buy Credit Card that was issued today? If so, it doesn't apply to Magnolia products in general and Oppo in particular, unfortunately.
     
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  14. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Yes. You are 100 % correct as I just read the fine print. Oh well it was worth a shot :).
     
    Edmoney likes this.
  15. d3adf1sh

    d3adf1sh Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chesapeake,VA
    uh, quit while you're ahead??? maybe?
     
  16. d3adf1sh

    d3adf1sh Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chesapeake,VA
    well i know that a lot of dead heads were picking up there gear because of continued hdcd support and last gen they dropped it so...
     
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  17. Hymie the Robot

    Hymie the Robot Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    HDCD of audience recordings?
     
  18. The Beave

    The Beave My Wife Is My Life! And don’t I forget it!

    Hard to say, but the only Two Companies that have this business model, ie: Engineering done in America, Quality manufactured in China to Overkill Standards, that I know of is EMOTIVA and OPPO US.
    I just got my new EMOTIVA CD Player/Transport, CD-100 four days ago and again, this is the equivalent to a $1500 Marantz unit, absolutely stunning build quality and sound,......for $299! o_O:D
    I'm so impressed that I'm keeping an eye on sent back units to buy another one......the point being that there might NOT BE another company that fills OPPO'S shoes, the big guys don't want the competition, why do you think Emotiva isn't a household name in audio electronics???? What YAMAHA sells for $2100 I just got for $299, and seriously, I'll put this CD-100 up against their $2k player, it might not best it, but I guarantee it will come Damned close, seriously, it's that good.

    So, I'm scarfing up used OPPO units as $ allows, I got a 83 and 93 so that's a great start......
    As Ozzy would say........
    "I LOVE YOU ALL"
    BEAVE
     
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  19. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    Thanks for that info, Bill. I have the 205's HDMI Main output connected, to a small monitor I turn on only when I need to navigate Blu-Ray or DVD-A menus. So far I haven't noticed any problems (and I went into the settings and turned HDMI audio off anyway, since I don't need it for my purposes).

    I have noticed that the on/off relay on the 205 sounds markedly quieter than the one in my 105. It doesn't really matter, but it's a nice side bonus that the 205's entire interface seems faster, quieter, and more polished-looking than the 105's.
     
    Bill Mac likes this.
  20. TheSixthBeatle

    TheSixthBeatle Quae nocent, saepe docent

    Oppo just accepted my order for a 203. Not the Rolls Royce but I shall make due with a Cadillac.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2018
    klockwerk, The Beave, tmtomh and 3 others like this.
  21. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Sounds like a great plan :). I find the opposite in that the relay clicking on my 205 is much louder than the 105D.
     
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  22. fluffskul

    fluffskul Would rather be at a concert

    Location:
    albany, ny
    No. Pretty much every Grateful Dead release, if not every Grateful Dead release, has been in HDCD going back to the Golden Road boxset. I believe most of if not all of the live recordings have been soundboard, or soundboard/audience blends. I actually like the blended sound, as sometimes straight soundboard recordings don't feel "live."

    But that aside, I'm not certain if they all use peak extend.

    Seems silly to buy a disc player just because it decodes HDCD in 2018.
     
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  23. sublemon

    sublemon Forum Resident

    some records are pretty quiet, but there is always some noise. just needlerop a record and look at the bits in the beginning and between tracks, it is impossible not to have some noise.
     
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  24. David P. Hill

    David P. Hill Forum Resident

    Location:
    Irving, Tx
    Of all the past Oppo models that decoded HDCD, which models where they? I plan on buying the 205, but I'd like one of the older models to play my HDCD cds.
     
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  25. NorthNY Mark

    NorthNY Mark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canton, NY, USA
    I'm not sure how you found that post to reply, as I thought that whole discussion was rightfully erased by the Gorts for being off-topic. If you'd like to carry on the conversation privately, that's fine. But I won't respond further in the thread, unless it is actually something about Oppo.
     
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