OPPO BDP-103 and BDP-105 Networking Universal 3D Blu-ray Players (part2)

Yes. Unless somebody else happens to go by the handle of "John Curl" on the DIY audio forum (and has a whole sub-forum named after him as well)... And I'm pretty sure that they would not allow that. The comment is buried deep within the Oppo BDP-105 modders thread. He appears to be trying to learn from some of the Oppo Mod master's such as Joe from Analog Design/VSE. I really don't feel like searching for this right now, but somebody could certainly do so, and confirm what I have said is true if they wanted...

 

Pretty weak rumor to hold off a purchase, I see nothing on DIY Audio that suggests more than he "talked to them" about the analog design.

Do whatever makes sense for your situation!

 

I searched all of John Curl's post from the past 10 months on the 105 thread, and only information related to that topic is that he said:

^^ That was from November 14, 2012!

In May 2013, he references that he met with OPPO six months prior. So, one meeting/discussion almost a year ago seems like quite the far stretch to "hiring John Curl to consult on the redesign of analog audio outputs on that player"

 

Do you have a link to the post from John Curl that states he is currently working with Oppo on their players analog sections?

Bill

 

Sam,

I just did a search that showed the same posts. No recent posts that I could find that indicated that John Curl is working with Oppo.

Bill

 

Waiting makes sense for my situation regardless. This rumour, if we can even call it that, is just another reason.

Need to try and get my Denon fixed first and decide whether or not keep my recently refurbished speakers.

 

Ok, to all of you who appear to be calling BS on my claim, please read the below post in the thread which I referenced earlier:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digi...iscussions-upgrading-mods-51.html#post3502236

Now it is possible that I am reading too much into his participation in this thread. But I don't think so.

 

That post indicates that John Curl was asked by Oppo to "look at" their audio output. It doesn't indicate in my opinion that John Curl is working with Oppo to redesign the audio output of their current players. Maybe in future players Oppo will implement Curl's suggestions. I do not think that Oppo is going to change the audio output in it's current players. I'm far from an expert on Oppo players but I do not recall a major component redesign in their players other than the 83 to 83SE upgrade. That upgrade was one where 83 owners could send their players into Oppo to be upgraded for a set price. So I see no need for people to think that audio output on current Oppo players will be changed without at least an option to have their players upgraded. But that's just my opinion.

The other factor is now Oppo offers the 105 as an upgrade over the 103 which wasn't an option when the 83 was introduced. So why would Oppo redesign the audio output of the 103 which would in effect compete with the 105? Also why would Oppo upgrade the 105 in the middle it's product cycle which would likely upset those that recently bought the 105. Oppo doesn't seem like that type of company to do that. But I could be totally wrong with my thoughts on this.

There are a number of Oppo beta testers on AVS and I believe Sam is one as well. These beta testers can not divulge any specific information about up coming players or future FW revisions of current players. So I would think that if John Curl was currently working with Oppo he would be under the same type of NDA. I would imagine there are a number of other knowledgeable people in the industry that Oppo has also asked to "look at" their players.

Below is a portion of the posted link above.

"About 6 mo ago, I was asked by OPPO to look at their audio output, and I have studied the schematics, and did listening tests on both the normal and the headphone outputs. These designs are MADE TO A PRICE and while they are trying their best, OPPO also needs feedback as to how to make a better product."

Here is an article from Audioholics where Nathaniel Plain (Manager of Technical Services) of Oppo Digital was interviewed. In the interview Nathaniel is quoted as saying "For the BDP-103, we hired the designer of one of the popular BDP-93 aftermarket modifications to help us improve its analog audio. The new design has a warmer, more open and lively sound comparing to the BDP-93. This is achieved by a novel configuration of the DAC chip and a new analog buffer and filter stage following the DAC output. The same designer also contributed to the BDP-105’s analog audio section."

I'm assuming that the "designer" is NuForce who offered an upgrade board for the analog section of the 93. So after all that work why would Oppo then upgrade the audio output of the 103 in mid product cycle?

Bill

 

Ok your right. Now wait. I'll enjoy mine while you do.

 

How are you able to stream DSD? My understanding is that the Oppo only plays DSDs from a local storage drive attached via USB.

 

I haven't tried it but other are streaming through SMB.

 

My Modwright 105 is the best piece of audio equipment I've owned. People looking to get the most out of their Oppo's should look into modification by some of the well known modders that have a proven track record. The 105 is an amazing player at its stock price point, and can be made to sound much better with mods.

 

I stream from my Synology NAS through SMB. I like this method because it removes the need to for a music player on the computer. The Oppo sees the NAS residing within my local area network, and I used the new iPad app to control everything. I will be putting my PS Audio Perfectwave DAC on Audiogon this weekend because the Oppo works so well as a streaming solution.

 

Keep in mind that the '103 is about a year old and the '105 is almost a year old, so for Oppo to release upgraded models in the near future wouldn't be unheard of.

 

All,

I just took delivery of a new BDP-105 and I wanted to pick your brain a bit on how best to connect this beast to our media room. Currently - we the following gear in play:

Sources

1. Custom built HTPC running J.River Media Center (Music, Movies and Images)
2. Oppo BDP-83 (All disc based Movies)
3. Pace 758D Set top box (TV/Cable)

AV/Switching

1. Pioneer Elite VSX-23THX AVR for all HDMI Sources above
2. Creek EVO 5350 Integrated (For 2 channel analog listening)

Displays:

1. 42 inch Samsung LCD TV
2. Epson 3020 Home Cinema Projector.

Source Material

1. 75000+ FLAC audio tracks
2. 250+ MKV Movies (Ripped)
3. 250+ Disc based movies (BR/DVD)

Software

1. J.River Media Center v18
2. JRemote (Via iPad)
3. Soon to be Oppo media app (Via iPad)

With the myriad of connection options with the Oppo - I am having a hard time wrapping my mind on exactly how to best get the new Oppo to tie this all together. We have two basic needs - Big screen loud ass multichannel Movies and highest quality music via analog (TT), digital (FLAC) and disc based media.

Firstly - music - It's obvious that I would take the dedicated stereo analog pair out of the Oppo and into the Creek. (CD Input).

Q1: So this takes care of playing audio via normal disc based media. But what of my digital collection (Networked) via J.River. How best to use J.River/J.Remote to select my album and have the PC route that selection to the Oppo and then to the Creek? I am assuming J.River via DNLA to the Oppo?

Q2: Would one even bother to connect the actual HTPC to the Oppo to use it's USB/DAC in for music? I am thinking the DNLA route would be way more flexible.

Movies - we have had some issues with HDMI handshaking and so on when connecting the HTPC to the Pioneer - and then having the Pioneer correct route the video to the Epson PJ via it's own HDMI Outs.

Q3: I am wondering what would happen if I connected the HTPC to the Oppo via it's HDMI In. AND then ran the Oppo HDMI Out 1 to the Projector? Since we use J.River Theater View to select movies - would Theater View appear on my Projector going right thru the Oppo? This way I could remove the AVR from the chain entirely and let the Oppo process both the video AND audio content of all movies coming from the PC.

Q3a: Do I even need a HTPC at all if the Oppo can simply read the FLAC/MKV files from the network? While I am assuming it can - I would lose the options/flexibility of the J.River engine and all it's goodness.

Finally - audio out. With the dedicated stereo outs going to Creek - 2 channel is cased. But I really want to stop bitstreaming to the AVR via HDMI and use the Oppo multichannel analog outs (To take full advantage of the Sabre ESS) to connect to the Pioneer Elite analog ins.

Appreciate anything to get me started...very excited to get this going this weekend.

Cheers!

VP

 

Got my invitation to buy on October 10, 2012.

 

Still holding off myself, they only get better anyway, right?

 

I agree with you, and that was exactly what I had meant to communicate. My apologies if I was unclear about this.

FWIW: This takes nothing away from the current Oppos which are still great players (especially for the money). But its nice to know that they are at least investigating improving the players even further in their future product-line.

 

Sorry I am late to the party here, but I am very strongly considering the BDP-103 (to replace both a Pioneer Elite BDP-05FD Blu-ray and a Denon DVD-2900 Universal). Am I better off holding for a few months for a potential new model?

 

That's a good question. I don't recall what the 83 and the 93 had for a production run timeline. Was it one year or more than that? I believe the 103 was released about a year ago in late September or early October.

Bill

 

Exactly.

 

I looked over at AVS in the Oppo 93 thread and it indicates that the 93 was officially released on 12/19/10. Although there was no official release date of the 83 in the 83 owners thread it looks like 3/09 was about the timeframe that it was released. So looking at both the 83 and the 93 it appears the production run was close to two years for both players. So with the 103 being released about a year ago I would think a replacement for the 103 is a ways off. That is if Oppo stays consistent with the production run of their players.

Bill

 

That depends on one's perspective. You may or may not prefer the feature-set on a new player. For example: The 105 dropped all analog video outputs. Some people don't like that. And the more recent firmware will no longer play so-called "SACD-Rs", which some people care about. Also newer player tend to have more copyright-related restrictions built-in in general, which you may or may not care about.

But I haven't even heard any rumors of a possible release date for a new player. It could happen in 16 months, or two years. I have no idea. And perhaps John Curl might even decide that he can't make it any better for the same amount of money, in which case they potentially could just reject his input. Who knows....

 

Either way, I'll live.

 

Thanks for the analysis. I realize no guarantees, but this is helpful.