Farewell to OPPO Digital

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

  1. jjhunsecker

    jjhunsecker Senior Member

    Location:
    New York city
    I had the Oppo 93, which sounded great as a CD player. Now I have the 203, and the sound is even better. It's almost like an extra octave of bass has been added to most of the CDs I've played. I'm not very technical, so can anyone explain why the difference in sound between the models.
     
  2. The Beave

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

    Go for the Yamaha 1060 Jerry. Like the OPPO y o u can actually use it without the remote after you've set it up ( in my case for two channel Stereo) because, unlike the Sonny, it has all the relevant controls on the front panel.
    Plus it has XLR connections for audio, all for $349 refurbished from Accessories 4Less. When available.
    When I got mine they got in 3 units and it took a week for them to sell out after I bought mine.
    But if your an OPPO owner beware that you WILL have some shock when you unpack the thing, it just isn't even in the same physical league as an OPPO 203.
    But it does most of what that unit does if you don't require 7.1 analogue outputs and it does look kinda nice.
    Beave
     
    Jerry likes this.
  3. The Beave

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

    Me neither, I just bought a 105 from a member here.
    Beave
     
  4. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    My understanding was that the 93 and 103 shared the same DAC, which sounded fine with movie sound of both DVD's and Blu-ray disks. For whatever reason, which I am still at a loss to understand, regular CD's sounded pretty bad when being inputted into the processor through the HDMI interface of the 93 and the processor.

    The issues might have had to do with the DAC in the processor, which was an Emotiva XPA-1, I really could never seem to figure it out.

    I bought the new 203 because it was being discontinued and a 2nd slightly used one for a back up and retired my 93.

    The 203 definitely has a better DAC, but I also have upgraded the Emotiva processor to their new 4k processor which does have a better DAC. Between them, the audio quality of CD's are greatly improved, when using HDMI connections.

    I use the 203, like I did the 93 as a transport only, taking the digital signal into the iNova to use its internal DAC.

    Either with the old or the new 4k gear, the sound still sounds better running through the iNova's older ESS Saber DAC (Which I believe is the same as Oppo used in their 95 back then), then running the CD's output through the HDMI connection to the processor.

    Just some observations.
     
  5. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    As an FYI, the DACs inside the 103 and 203 are completely irrelevant to the sound when you're using the HDMI output. They are not in the circuit at all. The sonic difference is due to the Emotivas.
     
    scobb and SandAndGlass like this.
  6. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    Thank You!

    I should have commented that I have tried them through the analog outs into the analog input's of the iNova and was not all that thrilled with their performance as I otherwise might be. What I did find to be curious, and have never figured out is, why digital movie sound, including music on movie disks sound's excellent, but when I would play CD's back through the processor, they really would sound bad. This never made any sense to me.

    The new processor does sound much better than the older one for CD's, but still, I would not run them through it.

    The 205's DAC is way improved over the one in the 93, but I would still give the edge to continuing to use it as a transport into the iNova. Although, I could live with it's DAC if I needed to. I had thought about getting the 205 for it's latest Saber DAC, but it is two inches taller and would not fit nicely under the TV, so I'm fine to continue to use it as a transport for CD's. I don't play any SACD's, it I did, I would probably opt tof the 105/205 models.

    Thank You, I failed to clarify myself as I should have. I wwas just thinking about the processor not sounding as good while playing CD's.
     
    tmtomh likes this.
  7. ti-triodes

    ti-triodes Senior Member

    Location:
    Paz Chin-in

    Gone already. There must have been a stampede over there when you posted it. :)
     
    Brother_Rael likes this.
  8. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    Ha!

    Nobody stampedes to Teesside... :)
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2018
  9. jeffrey walsh

    jeffrey walsh Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, Pa. USA
    Purchased the Sherwood Newcastle Pre Amp, 7 Channel Amp and the 860 player in 2007. This is my main system and I'm happy to say all is fine with this equipment. Priced very reasonably considering it didn't have HDMI capabilities which I'm still fine with.
     
    mitchius, tmtomh and Audiowannabee like this.
  10. Audiowannabee

    Audiowannabee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    I just bought the sherwood Newcastle dvd / sacd player...glad to see yours is still doing good since 2011...thats 7 years....yeah :edthumbs:
     
    jeffrey walsh and tmtomh like this.
  11. Flaming Torch

    Flaming Torch Forum Resident

    I have the Oppo 103 and will get either the 203 0r 205 if I can find one in the UK. I only use the HDMI output to connect to the tv for viewing the menus. The sound I listen to is via the analogue outs to my Arcam amp. Does that make a difference to the circuits used in the Oppo? I do not see me getting a digital amp anytime soon.
     
    tmtomh likes this.
  12. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    How much of a difference it makes is subjective, but yes - the analogue outputs are where the 05 and 03 Oppos differ - the 205 has a higher-end DAC and upgraded analogue output stage compared to the 203.
     
    Flaming Torch likes this.
  13. The Beave

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

    Well just an update, around a week or two ago there was 47 205's for sale on ebay, with around 8 of them used, today its down to 20 combined!!! :bigeek: And normal prices are now around $3499.00 and there are two new up there now over $4 and $5000.00!
    Now whether they sell is another thing but there are recent sales over $3200.00 in the past weeks.
    And the 203's have hit a new listing high, $2532.00! With two going for the $1300 mark around Oct 5/7th.
    The majority though going around the $900 mark.

    Funny thing is the Cambridge Audio CXU HD has seem to have quietly slipped through the OPPO mania. Even in the Cambridge threads here and over at AVS, nary more than a few posts about it's demise......
    Funny how these things play out!
    Beave
     
  14. I don’t think the CXU has a DAC, and therefore it has no intrinsic sound quality of its own (or extremely little, anyway), hence it is not in great demand.
     
    The Beave likes this.
  15. The Beave

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

    Amazing.........
    But it still sold out quickly after the word got out that it was an OPPO. Going to be interesting to see this all play out in the next year. Cause Cambridge has nothing to follow the CXU HD. Are there any competing products, disc spinners, that emulate the CXU HD? If not then this puts the Cambridge and OPPO models in a unique realm....really unique........
    Beave
     
  16. David P. Hill

    David P. Hill Forum Resident

    Location:
    Irving, Tx
    Ca...ching! Ca....ching!! Oppo on Ebay!!! Glad I got my "205"!
     
    The Beave and Tullman like this.
  17. The Beave

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

    Hey Brothers, if anyone is interested Cambridge got a few more CXU HD'S in stock only on their website still for $699!!
    I don't know exactly how many are there but they were out for the longest time up until a few days ago........

    CXUHD

    So if you want a 203 without a dac, get it while they last.
    Beave
     
    ti-triodes and superstar19 like this.
  18. freesole

    freesole Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Still have and love my 105D. CD's and SACD's sound incredible (better than I have heard from any previous setup that I have had).
     
    tmtomh and chaz like this.
  19. IGD Positive

    IGD Positive Forum Resident

    Location:
    Inner groove
    Edit: Never mind. I should have read more on the Cambridge site before posting.
     
  20. townsend

    townsend Senior Member

    Location:
    Ridgway, CO
    About 5 months ago, I bought an OPPO 203 when the company announced it was going out of business. This weekend I ordered a "modification" kit to make it truly a universal player -- from the video perspective (all region DVD and blu-ray). There are a number of choices in terms of hardware hacks.

    I went with this one: Region Free Oppo UDP-203 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray Player Modification Kit

    It is an American company located in Elk Grove Village, IL. They have already sent me a shipping notice, and separately, they sent me an e-mail with an attached document clearly discussing and "picturing" how to install the hack. This hack requires that the top cover of the player be removed. I am excited to watch a couple of movies that are region B blu-ray, as well as one PAL DVD from overseas. You may think there is no difference, but I can clearly see the difference between PAL at 576 lines vs. NTSC at 480.
     
  21. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Just clicked on the CXUHD link and the price is now $799. If one needs a player with a DAC the Pioneer LX500 with the Massdrop coupon at $699 shipped is the best deal out there right now. Or search out a 203 for $700-$800 which is a better player than the CXUHD IMO.

    Edit: just clicked on the CA CXUHD link again and it doesn't show a price or that any are available.
     
    tmtomh likes this.
  22. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    Nobody's interested in transport only audio visual players. CD only, maybe, but they fluffed it with the CXU HD.
     
    tmtomh and The Beave like this.
  23. The Beave

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

    It does now, at 1:51 pm, but they did up the price to $799. OPPO must have done a !last run for them using up parts.
    Beave
     
  24. On the contrary, that’s what most Blu-Ray and UHD players are. Most do not have analog outputs. But yeah, for many audio aficionados, a transport-only solution is not attractive.
     
  25. Matt Richardson likes this.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine