I perhaps should have included the entire quote, where Kristofa said "I have the Oppo UDP-205 and use it every day. Mostly as a DAC being fed by a Roon Nucleus+. It is such a versatile endpoint, I dread the day it no longer works." Mechanical systems like tray and laser drives, and lasers, are the likeliest to fail first, if under constant / continuous use, but if used occasionally... not so much. (Note that occasional use = good. No use = bad. Those parts need to be moved occasionally to avoid "shelf rot." And that's why, in that case, I wondered why the dread. Sony is notorious for not supporting its products much past when all the warranties for a given product have expired. When I said "almost in no cases" I probably should have said "with the exception of Sony." I've had to trash two Sony products that were only a couple of years past warranty due to lack of replacement parts. Luckily I now use both of my X800s for streaming purposes only - except for the occasional disc to keep moving parts moving every so often. (I would note that my decades-old LD players still work whenever called upon every couple of years or so.) Jeff
Roughly how long a period of inactivity does it take for shelf rot to potentially set in? Are we talking weeks or months? I have a spare Oppo boxed up and wondering how frequently I need to rotate it into my system (and for how long I need to be using it before boxing it up again) to avoid this from happening.
Ive no idea...but i wouldn't leave it just sit in box for years...like the sherwood sacd player i bought old/new stock which took a dump shortly after my purchase
I honestly don't know that there is an answer to that. On average I try not to let a piece of gear with moving parts stay at rest for more than a year. But that's only because I have a lot of gear with moving parts. In principle that would include switches, knobs, etc. as well. If I go past a piece and realize it's been a long time I take a second to turn it on and use it for a minute or two. Just today I played both of my cassette decks since it had been a few months. (I tend to operate them preventively more frequently; disc players less so. A repair tech told me that cassette decks can be the worst for shelf rot which is why I'm more diligent with mine.) A player packed away in a box? I don't know. I've got some older Sony BD players that have not been played since I bought my X800s a couple of years, or more, ago. I'm not rushing to unbox them any time soon. I have a Pioneer turntable that had sat in its box for probably twenty years, but was perfectly ok when I used it a couple of years ago. Since Oppo's service wing is still operational, if I had a unit in a box that I was concerned about I'd probably contact Oppo directly and ask them what they think. Please post what they say if you do. Jeff
I have the same issue and just wrote Oppo Support. What is your recommendation on shelf life? By that I mean I bought the 205 for future use and it is still unopened in its original box. 2 years now. Is that ok or should it be hooked up and turned on? Any insight would be greatly appreciated! I'm currently using a 105 without any issues and had hoped to keep the 205 for that unforeseen day down the road when the 105 might fail. Their response - "Shouldn't be a problem if it's kept in a box."
Belts can dry out if left for, say, 20 years in the box (for the drawer mechanism, etc.). Otherwise, you should be OK.
I don’t think there’s any belts in these OPPO units, just gears for the drawer mechanism. I also have a unit in a box for backup, haven’t given too much thought to cracking it open.
I have a 103 and 205 in regular use. Have a 105 in a bedroom system that doesn't get much use. Stored away is a 83, 93 and 203 that I'm not really concerned about as far as lack of use. They're stored in temperature controlled area so when needed will play without any issues (hopefully ).
I sold my Modwright tubed OPPO 105D not long after their announcement. I did not want to end up with such an expensive boat anchor, and found ways around it and covered everything that mattered to me.
Just stumbled over this old thread, as it was still in my watch list. When the Oppo 205 came out, I had to decide between that one and the Cambridge Audio CXU. I reviewed both and, for a number of reasons, I eventually chose the CXU. I‘m using it every day, mostly for SACD playback, and I am extremely happy with this machine. For curiosity‘s sake, I just looked up both on ebay: The 205 is still widely available and has recently sold between $2,500 and $6,000. The CXU on the other hand is a lot harder to find, but has sold between $550 and $900. Both units are beyond warranty, of course. Yet, for anyone still looking for a top-end multiplayer at a reasonable price, the CXU might be an option. There‘s no 4K with the CXU, of course.
The transport I believe was used in Cambridge machines so likely will be available for some years. Only thing that can go wrong really.
You are right, the Cambridge CXU used the same transport as the Oppos. CA is still in business, but I have no clue about their spare parts policy. They abandoned multiplayers as well, so I personally don‘t hang my hopes too high for a replacement transport. On the other hand, the CXU is a very solid built in every aspect. The only problem I ever encountered was a software hiccup that killed the multi-region setting. CA sent me a restore disc and that was that. And while the Oppo can be modified for multi-region Blu-Ray, the CXU comes region-free for DVD only, but can‘t be modified for BR. Fortunately, we have a cheap Sony BR-player for that.
Which cheap Sony Blu-ray player plays region-free Blu-ray’s and DVD’s? I’d be very interested for a few concert DVDs I have. And a couple of Blu-ray movies not released in the US. Thanks.
My Cambridge 752BD is still in fine fettle 6 years on from buying it. Still gets regular use, still love it. Hoping to get a good ten years out of that one!
I've had all my SACD's, DVD-A's & Blu-rays converted to digital files by Golden Ear Digital. Everything is now on a 5TB hard drive I have plugged into my 205. Now that I hardly ever play a disc on it, is there any reason to believe my OPPO won't last me for another 20 years?
The mechanical disc transports on these types of machines usually are the first thing to go. So it does stand to reason that these machines will work just fine as DACs, streamers, and digital preamps for many years to come. Barring some as-yet unknown design flaw or component weakness, I'd say they could easily last for 20 years.
Question what's the difference in Sound quality between a 203 & 103 using analogs. @Bill Mac n any one else.
I've never done a direct comparison between the 103 and 203. Never had both players in the rack at the same time IIRC. I'd say they'd be very similar with maybe and edge to the 203. But that would be a total guess on my part. Both are excellent players without a doubt. Unless you need 4k playback then the 103 would be the way to go with the crazy prices the 203 is going for these days.
Got a 203...was thinking about getting 103 for another player...backup n maybe learn how to RIP discs with it
