Good to know. I don't see any point in buying a 105 (assuming one already has a 95) in that case. Hopefully 205's will get reasonably priced eventually. Or I'll start haunting pawn shops again if Covid ever goes away.
If Onkyo (or whoever imports Pioneer electronics to the USA today) ever decides to bring in the 500 and 800 universal players that could be a more cost-effective option (and with better video quality if that is a consideration)
The sound is comparable to an Oppo? I have an older Pioneer (region free DVD, SACD) DV-578A & while it's always worked perfectly, the sound is mediocre.
I thought the sound quality of my Pioneer (I think their first universal player, the 47A) was lacking as well. I was surprised how much better the much less expensive Sony CE595 carousel CD/SACD player sounded when playing SACDs, despite the Sony having a list price around 25% of the Pioneer. The Denon 2910 also bested the Pioneer.
The Pioneer Elite line is a few steps up from the normal Pioneer stuff. The UDP LX500 and LX800 are excellent if you can get one. AFAIK there are only a handful of 500's in the US, and fewer if any 800's (a dealer near me has one he is not parting with). No current Sony's are even close for sound quality (and probably not picture quality either). Panasonic may have a competitor, I haven't heard one, and it doesn't play DVD-A.
The 47A was from Pioneer's Elite line. As for Panasonic, their players that play any high-resolution discs play DVD-Audio discs. It's SACD playback compatibility that Panasonic always lacks.
I'm not sure what part of your post is true, if any, but you have not been keeping up with the times. Although it is counterintuitive, Panasonic BDP's no longer play DVD-A but Sony's do (although they don't play all DVD-A's, for some reason)
Well, then Panasonic's players don't play any high resolution discs apart from blu-ray audio. Not really worth including in a discussion about alternatives to Oppo since one of Oppo's main draws was the ability to play everything.
Agree. The unique thing about the higher-end, 05 series of Oppo players is the combination of SACD/DVD-A capability, high-quality built-in DAC with analogue outputs, and asynchronous USB DAC input. This combination allows several helpful use cases, including: SACDs playable in pure DSD (not PCM conversion) because the SACD disc transport and the DAC are inside the same box, so there are no copy protection issues or device-compatibility issues that force PCM conversion of SACDs. USB DAC functionality allows one to use the DAC and analogue output circuitry inside the Oppo unit with pretty much any digital source device (like streamers), making the Oppo not only a disc player and digital source, but also a digital preamp providing input-switching and a single high-quality volume control for all your digital sources. These features are certainly not needed by everyone, but for those of us who value them, they made the Oppo '05 units distinctive (not unique, but almost unique) in the marketplace.
Agreed. Plus the best looking video I have ever experienced. I so wish they would have tried doubling the price to $2500 before throwing in the towel. They had a market share all to themselves. A dealer told me the entire issue was the units were under priced to be profitable for the manufacturer.
The thing that made OPPOs special was the software engineering, and the close relationship those OPPO engineers had with the Mediatek engineers. Given the way the market is today, it seems unlikely anyone can devote those kind of resources in the future.
Hi guys – I'm thinking of replacing my (very) old Pioneer BPD-LX91, a flagship in its day. My emphases will be DVD and Blue-Ray, and, if possible, region-free, at least for DVD. I don't care about extreme high-definition, nor is CD playback an important consideration. So, I have been thinking about a used Oppo, along the lines of a used 103D. Would that be a sensible choice given my preferences, or are there other models that I should put into the mix? Thanks in advance for any insights!
It appears it lacks DVD-A capability, and I think it also lacks the kind of digital input that would allow it to be used as an external DAC. I could be mistaken about the latter.
There is little (probably no) doubt that the current generation of hi-end BD players, in particular the Panasonic BD-UP9000 (at $1000 MSRP), surpass the video quality of the 4+ year old BDP-203/205. That doesn't mean they are replacements for the Oppo 205, they certainly are not. What it does potentially mean is that it is possible to design and build a true universal player that would be better than the Oppo 205 at a not outrageous (e.g., under $2k for sure) price. I have no idea what it might take to have that happen, but here is something that comes close (lacking multi-channel analog audio outputs, lower line Sabre DAC) with better video quality (not the highest priority in this thread) Specification | UDP-LX800 | Blu-ray Disc Players/DVD Players | Products | Pioneer Home Audio Visual UDP-LX800 | Blu-ray Disc Players/DVD Players | Products | Pioneer Home Audio Visual
Yes, very similar - but still no Async USB DAC input like the Oppo 105 and 205 had. Otherwise, though, it seems almost identical functionally to the Oppo 05 series - and you can still use the Reavons as an external DAC, I believe, by making use of the coax and optical inputs.
Not sure which device you're referring to, but the McIntosh MVP901 Audio Video Player appears to support SACD, DVD-Audio, and Blu-Ray. And the photo of the back of the device appears to have coaxial, optical, and USB inputs for using it as a DAC.
As it happens, their BD84 handles DSD. And it's a £60 supermarket affair. Specs - DMP-BD84 Blu-ray - Panasonic Caribbean
I think when I Googled it the first results that came up muse have been the MCD350, which also is $5500 but is an SACD/CD player. My bad - sorry!
