There are six or seven speculations here and on other internet forums as to why this happened. I think there is at least some validity in most of them. However, unless one of us was in the boardroom at BBK when the decision was taken, they are exactly that: speculations. It is what it is.
You do know that the loud and distorted download will likely be equally loud and distorted on the silver disc too? I keep writing here the day isn't that far off when new releases gradually -- and then suddenly -- are not released at all on physical digital disc, but many don't want to believe it.
We already have that. In the music space, sometimes the highest resolution (best mastering too) is only released digitally. Same with movie content. If you want 4K with HDR/Dolby Vision, you may only get that via streaming. The disc is "stuck" at 1080p Blu-ray.
Just repeating what I’ve been told by people in the industry. DACs havenot turned out to be the panacea they were anticipated to become. Headphone amp/USB DAC combos are probably doing better as the enthusiast headphone market, although a relatively small niche, has had growing traction with millennials.
Sadly I know that you are right and shame on the music companies for allowing that to happen to us fans of physical media. In all honesty at my age, I probably have more music surrounding me right now than I will ever need, so I should just be happy and call it a day.
It's not the music companies that control this. They were subverted just like the rest of us by the digital age, proliferation of handheld digital devices, and the colossal success of FAMGA companies that think there is no such thing as private property other than what's on their servers. In the new paradigm, books, movies and music are just content: an opportunity for Google and the like to sign you up, charge you a monthly fee and then track your habits so they can sell that info to the enterprise. And of course the government can have access as long as the legislative lets FAMGA lobbyists write all the laws. Ain't plutocracy grand?
DACs generally, and even music servers. For example, the Sony HAPZ1ES has severely underperformed in the market. Ever wonder why Sony has been selling it for five years without any changes?
I don't know for Led Zeppelin but is the opposite with Bowie where the hi rez and what is available to stream/download (legally) is not as good as legacy LP or CD issues. Seeing as the Bowie masters are so new I don't see this changing for some time to come.
I didn't know how the market as a whole was doing for DACs and digital server/streamers. I get a warped view of the market by hanging out in audiophile forums and reading audiophile reviews and articles. DACs are a niche market selling to audiophile believers who hear and understand that better DACs do make an important difference in an audio system.
Yes, I understand the whole Napster and forward since loss to these music companies, but Jesus if THIS forum doesn't daily give those companies a clear path to some sort of survival. There are music fans on THIS forum that clearly have unlimited bank accounts of money and they more often than not are ready to pay ridiculous prices for "special" or "limited" pressings of vinyl, box sets, SACD, BluRay Audio. I know that Steve Hoffman has said it time and time again that this group of big $$$ buyers is too small for most record companies to be bothered with, but if everyone else that these companies "used" to rely on to buy physical media are now history, then why not go for who is still left? NOTE: I'm not rich myself, so I'm speaking mostly for the guys who used to have a regular subscription to the likes of Audio Fidelity or buy all or most Mobile Fidelity releases. I'm also speaking to the guys, like myself, who loved OPPO and are now sad that we might have to one day step foot back into a Best Buy, when our OPPO's have finally bit the dust.
Yeah one would think that someone with deep pockets who has the $$$ and business connections would set up shop and takeover where oppo left off. An elliot shriner a steve wilson a steve hoffman....someone who just loves the music and willing to invest for the good of the world. I doubt Oppo was losing $...maybe they just thought internet/streaming is the future....why continue to bother.
That would be a big and expensive step for anyone to step up to do an "audiophile worthy" company like OPPO, but it could be done, depending on which country your parts and labor come from? I have to believe that "you know who" and his goofy tariffs did OPPO any favors, as if they needed any help. NO company or investor is going to (legally) invest in something like this, with so much chaos with all of that going on. Oh well, twenty minutes ago I literally set up my brand new OPPO 205, which has been sitting, still sealed, in my office since it showed up in late June. My own Christmas gift to myself and today just felt like the right day, with some rare sunshine coming perfectly through the windows to provide just the right light to see all of the disconnects and new connections, as I pull my OPPO 95 off the shelf!
I'm surprised it's still for sale. I never thought that it would appeal to more than a very narrow group.
Yup. Of all the people that I know, family, friends, co-workers etc., I'm probably the only one who even knows what a DAC is or does. Folks on this forum are by far the exception, not the rule - hence OPPO pulling out of the player market.
Yeah. The only things that seem to be selling well in this space are the upmarket Bluetooth/WiFi speakers, mostly Sonos. B&W, Focal, and many of the mid/upper tier speaker manufacturers have also gotten into the game with decent results. Bose, Denon, Yamaha, etc., all have their own Sonos competitors (as does Oppo Digital with its Sonica series, still being sold) but they don’t quite have the same market traction. Other systems like Blusound (NAD) are making a go at it, too.
Digital Audio Converter. It takes whatever digital input you have (USB, coax, optical, sometimes Ethernet, WiFi, and/or Bluetooth) and converts it into analog so that it can be fed into an amplifier.
I doubt Oppo would sell its IP but I bet someone could get a reference platform from Mediatek and get a jump start on developing their own universal player. By someone, I mean a group of investors, audio engineers, and product marketing specialists. I doubt one person could do it alone.
