Oppo UDP-205 Announced

Oppo Digital UDP-205 Multi-Format Disc Player and DAC

OPPO UDP-205 Hi-Res Music & 4k Ultra HD Audiophile Blu-ray Disc Player A truly outstanding high-end audio and video player at real-world pricing. Review By Leonard Norwitz

Music in the Round #87: Oppo UDP-205

 

You know.... I had to do this last night when I tried to play an SACD in 2-channel. I figured it was the settings, as I had the priority to play them in 5.1. I'll check in the next few days. But it didn't used to do this. So maybe a firmware update mucked things up.

 

Thanks I couldn't be bothered to post the links. You just proved the point. Not one of these reviews compares the analogue output of a 205 and 105. Yeah, one says something vague in one sentence about about the headphone output but that's not what we are talking about here.

 

Yeah. it's tough finding exactly which reviews I read earlier. I know there were several that compared the differences in the Analog out. Those that did preferred the 205, and usually it was quite obvious. Between the chip upgrade and better attention to Jitter etc, the 205 was preferred. As others have pointed out, your results will vary as everything is system dependent.

 

I am genuinely interested. If you find them I would really like to read them. I couldn't even find anyone commenting on the stock comparison over in the Modwright thread. I do believe Dan though that his mods on the 205 are his best yet!

 

Thanks for taking the time to find and posts these reviews! The reviews share one thing and that is that the 205 is an excellent universal player. But as already pointed out there is no mention of comparisons between the 105 and the 205 in regard to analog performance.

I could be totally wrong but my understanding is that the attention to jitter reduction is on one of the 205's HDMI (Audio Only) output.

Below is from the 205 product page:

HDMI Audio Jitter Reduction
The UDP-205 features a high-stability, high-precision HDMI clock and a special HDMI audio jitter reduction circuit. This unique design significantly reduces jitter and eliminates timing errors, allowing you to enjoy your music with increased accuracy when you use the audio-only HDMI output port for connecting the audio signal.

 

I've done some searching, but still not finding a good comparison in a reputable location. Some blog's and various Forums, but that's about it. Those sources generally prefer the 205, but methodology is lacking.

Yup. Important for some in their setups, but not for me in my setup.

 

This review has audio comparisons:
Oppo UDP-205 vs Oppo BDP-105D Audio comparison | Gavin's Gadgets

Says this:

So what do I think of the Oppo UDP-205 and how does it compare to the older Oppo BDP-105D. In its day the Oppo BDP-105D was magnificent. But time moves on, and the Oppo UDP-205 just rises to a whole new level. I can tell you now, you haven’t heard your CD collection properly until you play the discs on this player.

 

And this review also made a direct audio comparison:

SoundStage! Access | SoundStageAccess.com (GoodSound.com) | SoundStage! Access | SoundStageAccess.com (GoodSound.com) - Oppo Digital UDP-205 4K Ultra HD Universal BD Player

Even when the other components in the system have been far more expensive, I’ve often used the BDP-105 as a budget reference DAC-preamp, for its exemplary sound quality. However, the UDP-205’s sound was even better in nearly every respect. I still enjoy listening to two-channel recordings through the BDP-105, but I enjoyed them even more with the UDP-205 -- so much that critical-listening sessions often turned into prolonged bouts of listening for enjoyment alone -- I didn’t want to stop listening to the new Oppo’s even more refined, even more effortless sound.

 

Two excellent reviews, thanks for finding and posting them !

 

I bought a UDP-205 and use it in my main audio system. I had a BDP-105, but have now placed it in service with my TV as the Blu-ray player. I'll also keep the 105 because it has the advantage of being able to extract DSD files from SACDs to store on and playback from computer hard disk.

 

Cool. I don't do audio files, mobile audio etc. so that ripping ability would go unused in my case. In fact if this were just a dedicated Blu-ray player I'd be happy as I'm not going to use it for cd and SACD playback. . . but doesn't hurt if it sounds great for those formats.

 

The 20x Oppo players do not rip SACDS. The chip that does that isn't present in the latest generation.

 

Depends on what you define as "cheap".
There are several DACs well under $3k that I know of that have I2S inputs. Holo Audio has 3 DACs from $1500 to $2500 that have an I2S input.
A very real limitation with this interface is that you must have as short an interconnect cable as possible.
I2S was designed as an interface between PCB chips. IOW trace circuits on a PCB board.

You also mentioned a box that would convert an input to I2S output.
There are several such devices. The Singxer SU-1 DDC will take a USB input, among others, and output I2S.

FWIW, I've been researching a replacement for my Oppo-105 for the last few months with the goal of going exclusively HD-based playback and management instead of just connecting a USB HD to the 105.
There are truly a mind-boggling array of DACS at all price points combined with NAS, music servers, music streamers, music renderers(players\PC), connection options and on and on and on.

So far in my research, the Oppo-205 is by far the most value\performance\functionality packed piece of gear available at anywhere near its price-point.
When you total up all of the gear it takes to support HD-based playback, a $3k plus DAC only is just the start.
I fully understand that there are a lot of folks that prefer other players but you really cannot reasonably argue against the Oppos on a price\performance\value proposition.

 

I'm aware. SoundQMan was mentioning that the 105D does and the 205D doesn't and I was saying it's a moot point for me.

 

Up to 1 meter is fine at least with the PS Audio protocol via HDMI. I have used 12" and 1 meter cables of identical make and could hear no difference.

I came to this conclusion too. The dedicated balanced analog output made it the choice for me.

 

First of all, thanks so much for identifying the Singxer unit. I didn't know it existed. I wonder whether it's HDMI output is compatible with the DirectStream DAC? That could ge great for computer audiophiles! However, even if it as compatible with the DirectStream, it doesn't have an HDMI input so I couldn't use a universal player as a transport.

Secondly, I was mistaken. I am not to worried about IS2 over HDMI. I am still a shiny disc guy, so I am hoping to see more good sounding DACs like the Bryston BDA-3 that have HDMI inputs that will accept and process DSD and PCM natively. There are quite a few cheap players that will output both DSD and PCM on HDMI so this seems like the way to go for me.

Finally, I know the OPPO 205 is a screaming value. I just sold a 105 that was in my system for three years based on this rationale. At the end of the day though, I didn't like the sound of it in my current system so I'm thinking about going a different direction. I wonder what would happen to OPPO's 2 channel audiophile market if some of the big boys like Marantz starting putting out $1K DACs with HDMI inputs.

FWIW, I spent a bit of time today at my dealer listening to a 205. He too is running Martin Logans with a tubed preamp but he is using PS Audio amp instead of my Modwright. I didn't like the sound of the 205 on that system either.

 

I’m contemplating purchasing a UDP-205 to be part of a 2.1 music only listening system. It’s my understanding that many of the settings to optimize audio quality are fairly deep in a menu that can only be accessed when the unit is connected to a TV. Unfortunately, there’s no TV in my listening room.

If I were to connect the 205 to the TV in the family room just long enough to optimize the audio output settings, would those settings be retained once the unit was unplugged from mains power and moved into the listening room?

 

Apologies if this is posted elsewhere, but it's a review that's new to me and has a comparison of the analog audio performance of the 105 and 205...

http://download.oppodigital.com/UDP205/audioXpress-112017-OPPO Digital.pdf

 

Yes, it should. My 105D is retains settings when all power is removed.

 

Reading these reviews on the last two pages I think Steve M and SoCal's remarks about the professional reviews favoring the audio of the UDP-205 to the BDP-105D are vindicated. . . .

 

Thanks, RnRmf.

 

I haven't had issues after the first set up. I just change volume when using headphones

 

Excellent, in-depth review.
Thanks for sharing.

 

Just for the record, it's I^2S as in I squared S
Lots of people love the PSAudio DirectStream DACs.
No doubt about that.
I just wonder what's so magical about converting everything to DSD.
Quantitatively, it's inferior to PCM but I have tons of DSD recordings that sounds loverly

The Schiit Yggdrasil has a dedicated following as well.
R2R DAC.
Another small company like Oppo-Digital.
Read lots of praises for R2R v. Delta-Sigma DACs.

Not going to respond to the Marantz portion as far as their product marketing v Oppo's.
Marantz can make anything in any number, in any configuration they chose and they do exactly that.
FWR, they've limited themselves to CD\SACD 2-channel players only on their nice gear.
To me, it's like Esoteric gear for a ton less.