Farewell to OPPO Digital

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

  1. sublemon

    sublemon Forum Resident

    i dunno, I didn't see the post about that being removed until after. no worries, carry on...
     
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  2. David P. Hill

    David P. Hill Forum Resident

    Location:
    Irving, Tx
    I see this one, handles the HDCD. Any others? Wished I could find a list of specs on the older models. Also I would like to be able to rip my sacds, dvd-audio, and blu-ray audio for back ups. What's the Darbee edition, is this a modded player?
    OPPO BDP-103D Universal 3D Blu-ray Player (Darbee Edition)
     
  3. Night Version

    Night Version Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas
    I’m guessing Billy knew nothing of BBK. And a chunk of his taste for the brand being wrapped in a perception of Oppo counter to its mega-corporate reality.

    Love the “oh wow didn’t know about BBK thanks for the info” response.
     
  4. gammarayson

    gammarayson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denmark
    Me too...
     
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  5. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    I did a firmware upgrade yesterday, a few days after receiving mine. I'm sure the switch on and off relay with discs has gone or been reduced. I am using a retired 19" PC monitor for dvda, which is now pretty small by current standards, but had to reduce the players video resolution. BTW if you mess resolution and can't get a monitor display hold down the RC resolution button until auto appears on the player display.
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2018
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  6. Postercowboy

    Postercowboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nowhereland
    Both the 103 and the 105 decode HDCD. At this point, I‘m not so sure if I would want to invest in an older player. The Darbee chip is supposed to improve picture quality. These are simply alternative models.
    I had the 103D, and was not overly impressed with the Darbee thing. Then again, I‘m not much of a videophile either.
     
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  7. Postercowboy

    Postercowboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nowhereland
    I must admit, I am a bit surprised about the ongoing statements on panic buys and even scoring up old OPPO machines.

    It sometimes feels like everybody is afraid that their existing unit will break down the day OPPO stops selling new ones.

    If the past is any indication, your existing OPPO player is most likely going to last you for a long time to come.

    And all this nonsense about the name of the parent company aside, OPPO is a pretty big enterprise. Wherever you live in the US, there is most likely a retailer in driving distance that stocks their products. That‘s BIG in my book.

    OPPO obviously sees no perspective for mass market sales on another multiplayer, and they are probably right. By global standards, multiplayers were always a limited special market.

    But, if the past is any indication at all: If there is a demand, somebody will step up and offer a supply. The Mediatek platform is not OPPO exclusive, so that could be used for a start.

    And with all the love the 205 gets here, there are several points that would allow improvement. For starters, how many people really need a highend headphone amp? I say skip it. Unless you‘re stuck in the 1980s, the design of the 205 leaves a lot to be desired. Also, it produces a lot of heat, which simply means a high power consumption. I for one care about these things, so there‘s room for improvement here. Last not least, as the available mods have shown, the SQ can be improved quite a bit as well.

    While the 205 audio section is easily ‚best in league‘, on an absolute scale, they are mid-range, and easily bested by true highend players.

    These days, you can put a $10K system together, that sounds easily as good as a $100K system did twenty years ago. Take Cabasse speakers for example: Even their entry-level highend speakers now profit from the technology that was developed for their $150K flagship models. Which is a wonderful thing.

    Do you really think this development will stop, simply because a single company is leaving the market? I don‘t.

    The market for HiRes physical media is still strong, and while the next player may not be a stock item at your local Magnolia, I have no doubt that we will see it coming, and that it will be BETTER than the OPPO 205.

    Of course, I have been known to be wrong before... :nauga:
     
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  8. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Of course there are better sounding players if you pay more. Usually 4 times as much. Some of them have used same internals as Oppo in the past maybe with improved analogue section. Problem is that apart from the cheaply built Sony (also being phased out I believe) there is nothing equivalent at this time and no guarantee there will be. Trend is for universal transports that need an AV receiver to do digital t0 analogue conversion. As for heat, I can't feel anything excessive. Unusually the player is vented on top but it does use a toroidal transformer which generates more heat than switch modes that will likely impact on sound. The 205 is likely the pinnacle of development at this price level unless new and better platforms become available. The end of Oppo digital in US may not mean the end of the brand other than phones. Parent company could at some stage continue developing new product in China. Perhaps the US operation was proving too expensive with falling sales.
     
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  9. SamS

    SamS Forum Legend Thread Starter

    Location:
    Texas
    Well my "spare" UDP-203 showed up on Saturday.

    Currently in use: UDP-205, UDP-203, BDP-103D. In boxes/backup: UDP-203, BDP-105D, BDP-95, BDP-93. Yes I have a problem! At least that's what Mrs. SamS says :)
     
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  10. The headphone amp is a big plus to me, but I agree that I'm probably in the minority of users.
     
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  11. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I'm not the least bit concerned that any of my Oppo players will suddenly fail. As far as "panic buys" that doesn't apply here as it's only an A/V component and not something to lose any sleep over :).

    I probably will never use the 205's headphone amp but it's there if I want to. I have no problem with the looks of the 205 as long as my components are black that's my biggest concern.

    The 205 does get warm but not hot and with plenty of clearance there's no need for concern IMO. As far as power consumption being an indication of heat output that I'm not sure. I'm very careful with power consumption around my house but when it comes to A/V gear it's not a concern of mine in the least. The heat generated by the 205 (right rear) is I believe due to video processing (guessing here) and not the toroidal transformer. The toroidal transformer is located at the left front of the 205 and that part of the top is cool to the touch. It's too bad Oppo didn't consult with you when designing the 205. I'm sure you have a vast knowledge of minimizing A/V component heat far superior to Oppo's design team :laugh:.

    As far as improving the SQ of the 205 through modifications is certainly an option. But I'm going to pay $2k-$3k to have the SQ of a $1300 player modified to a level that might be marginally better than it is in stock form. To say the 205 can be bested by "true high end players" is not an earth shattering statement by no means. What's the cost of these high end players? If one wants to pay 3-4 times the cost of the 205 to "best" the SQ is fine with me. I'm quite happy with my $1300 purchase and the excellent SQ of the 205.

    As far as another company coming along that will produce a player on the caliber of Oppo players it's highly doubtful. Maybe you haven't noticed but one of the reasons Oppo and other companies have stopped selling universal players is due to the decline of physical media. So as you predict that a company will produce a player with the capabilities of the 205 and it'll be better will the cost also be the same or cost less? Will that a company provide the level of service that Oppo is well known for? Good luck with that ;).
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2018
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  12. This Heat

    This Heat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    I love the headphone amp on my 205. It is great for late-night listening and not waking the neighbors.
     
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  13. Isaac McHelicopter

    Isaac McHelicopter Possession is a clue but not the game.

    Location:
    Cumbria, UK
    My 205's relay clicks quite loudly before and after playing an SACD, whereas the 105 is silent. I have the latest 205 firmware. It's not really a problem, but I'd be interested to know if others experience the same thing.
     
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  14. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    Blu-ray player sales fell for the first time in 2017. I suspect these players are starting to go the way of the dodo bird. While it's possible high-end multiplayers will continue to be produced for a few more years, they're likely to become far more expensive as they become boutique as opposed to mass-market products.

    Another reason why I think saving the money and spending it on a (currently rare) DAC with HDMI or a high-end A/V receiver might be a better use of money. They're somewhat future proof and there's a much wider array of transports, new and used, that can be deployed with them. So you don't have to worry about repairs and such.
     
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  15. Night Version

    Night Version Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas
    For me, I’m fine streaming video content and going to my 30 yr old CD Player for the odd spin of a disk. And that’s getting less use due to streaming / digital library.

    Strategically, it’s easy to see which way the wind is blowing which is why it makes sense that BBK is cutting bait now.
     
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  16. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Mine did until the upgrade. Just tried an SACD and no click. There was firmware update last month (obviously since my machine was manufactured).
     
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  17. JimW

    JimW In the Process of Becoming

    Location:
    Charlottesville VA
    A little newer, but my 981 is still going strong. Not perfect, as it does crash occasionally when turning it on (just a quick unplug/re=plug easily fixes), but no problems at all otherwise; still plays cd, dvd, dvd-a and sacd perfectly.

    Much better than my much more costly denon 2930, whose laser went after about 5 years. So sorry to see Oppo closing. Even decent customer service is rare these days; their outstanding level of support is almost unheard of today.
     
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  18. Your post will allow me to demonstrate to my wife that my AV addiction could be worse. Much worse. :)
     
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  19. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    @Postercowboy there's definitely panic buying going on now - you're right about that. Some people are buying machines they likely could do without, or buying spares that they might not end up using - for example their primary machines might last for 15 years or more, and even though right now they think they'll spin discs forever, no one can say for sure how new tech and future life changes might alter that habit in the future.

    And of course there also appear to be hoarders and aspiring scalpers out there, which further constrained the supply of 205s and probably heightened the panic buying.

    But at the same time, plenty of folks are just enthusiasts who didn't panic buy, but rather quickly accelerated upgrade plans they'd already been thinking about. "I was thinking about picking one up and so I grabbed one immediately when the news broke" - that's a very common comment in this thread (along with the related, "I had been considering it and I should have grabbed one because now they're gone").

    The 205 in particular was available for far less time than the 203 - I think the first 205 reviews didn't even pop up until about 11 months ago, yes? Given that the 100 series were available for 4 years before being phased out, lots of potential 200 series buyers were in no particular rush to get them, and it looks like only about 1/4 of the anticipated eventual total supply was produced before Oppo announced its shut-down.

    My point is that what we're seeing is just supply and demand. Panic buying definitely was a component of the situation, but keep in mind that there just couldn't have been that many 205s out there to begin with: Oppo ran out just 2 or 3 days after their announcement, and the Magnolia Centers ran out just a couple of days after that. If panic buying really were this hugely widespread phenomenon, then I think we'd see it continuing now, with a lot of sales of 205s at the insane $2200-$4000 prices being asked at various online outlets right now.
     
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  20. Edmoney

    Edmoney Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I know the 93 handles HDCD (I own one). I assume the 95 does also.
     
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  21. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Richer Sounds sold out of Oppo UDP205 and Sony X1000ES. I think the manufacturers may have missed out on a chunk of revenue by discontinuing at this stage.
     
  22. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    I'm not so sure about this...
     
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  23. Isaac McHelicopter

    Isaac McHelicopter Possession is a clue but not the game.

    Location:
    Cumbria, UK
    Just checked the 205 again and found that if SACD Output is set to Auto or PCM, there's no click, but if set to DSD, there is. My 105 is click-free, even when set to DSD. As I say, not a big problem, but very slightly irritating.
     
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  24. thxphotog

    thxphotog Camera Nerd Cycling Nerd Guitar Nerd Dietary Nerd

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    This was my concern and the chief reason for me ordering a 203. (out for delivery as I type) I've got a number of players that handle SACD/DVD-A, and I'm getting more and more satisfied with digital delivery of both 1080p & 4k movies by the day, but I needed a reliable player to handle the shelves of concert Blu-Ray discs I have. Jeff Beck's Rock & Roll party is going to be available on VUDU anytime soon.
     
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  25. Bachtoven

    Bachtoven Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    I was pleased to discover that the latest 205 firmware update supports MQA file playback.
     
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