OPPO Digital Ends Audio Products Production (April 2018)

[quicksrt]

I think that Oppop (top of the line, and the SACD ripper units) will hold their value for 18 months to three years after it's all over. Then prices will drop by 40% on the used market. Lots of folks will be dumping their disc spinners - wanting out of the racket. Technology is moving on and the general public is as well.

Welcome to the cult.

 

[stormchaser]

I think that Oppop (top of the line, and the SACD ripper units) will hold their value for 18 months to three years after it's all over. Then prices will drop by 40% on the used market. Lots of folks will be dumping their disc spinners - wanting out of the racket. Technology is moving on and the general public is as well.

Welcome to the cult.

That is what it feels like, isn't it? The cult of old weirdos holding on to their quaint technologies from the past. Welp, this dude doesn't plan to age gracefully. Where is my dark robe?

 

[jhw59]

I need to keep listening but I noticed a very detectable improvement in both audio and video in my 203 from my previous 103. I watched/listened to a few BRs and played some HR 24/192 files. Very pleased so far and it was truly plug and play. So far my Harmony 700 works with the basic commands for the 203 without replacing the 103 though I will swap it when I have time.

 

[karlkastner]

So how much different is the 205 vs the 105? Should I try to get a 205 before they are gone? My 105 works and sounds great.

 

[sukothai]

The 205 is already gone. They are thinking about doing another batch, though.

 

[humprof]

The 205 is already gone. They are thinking about doing another batch, though.

Let me piggyback on karlkastner's question: how much better is the 203 than the 103--and in what respects? (And how good would your ears and the rest of your system have to be to actually perceive the difference...?)

 

[atrocity]

Let me piggyback on karlkastner's question: how much better is the 203 than the 103--and in what respects? (And how good would your ears and the rest of your system have to be to actually perceive the difference...?)

The big difference for me between the 103 and 203 is that multichannel FLAC played from a networked drive is gapless on the 203 but is not on the 103. Though apparently turning on Pure Audio breaks that.

 

[quattroatl]

I feel like a lemming because I also purchased a 205 when I have two Oppo BDP-93's that play everything under the sun. The only justification was that I do not own a 4K player to play on my Samsung KS8000 4K TV right now. In all actuality, the 205 has shortcomings in comparison to my 93 due to cinevia protection, not being able to play sacd-r, and not being able to play dvd-audio ISO, dvd ISO, and blu-ray ISO files. The step up to the 205 will finally force me to build my music library to a 8TB harddrive to justify the purchase. I plan to convert my music library and sacd library to flac and run them analog to my Denon AVR-4520 from the 205. The dvd-audio ISO's will remain on the 93 because I love having the ability to play the extras that are on those discs.

Shiat, after skimming my own post it's probably not too smart buying the 205! Oh well, better to have than have not!

 

[atrocity]

The step up to the 205 will finally force me to build my music library to a 8TB harddrive to justify the purchase. I plan to convert my music library and sacd library to flac and run them analog to my Denon AVR-4520 from the 205.

One bit of advice I wish I could go back in time and tell myself: If you have even the slightest need for or interest in gapless playback, rip to large single-album files with accompanying cue sheets. While Oppo FINALLY figured out gapless (well, for PCM/FLAC) with the latest players, it still seems to be scary black magic for a lot of other manufacturers and equipment.

The dvd-audio ISO's will remain on the 93 because I love having the ability to play the extras that are on those discs.

You can also rip the contents of VIDEO_TS to MKV, which will contain exactly the same bits and be streamable. Bonus: A lot of the forced garbage (FBI junk, l*wy*r excrement, etc.) will rip to its own MKV file which can then be flushed down the digitoilet, never to waste your time again!

 

[quicksrt]

So how much different is the 205 vs the 105? Should I try to get a 205 before they are gone? My 105 works and sounds great.

Yes, I'd like to know too. The 105D was a nice jump in sq from the 103 that's fer shor.

 

[Mark Anderson]

In all actuality, the 205 has shortcomings in comparison to my 93 due to cinevia protection, not being able to play sacd-r

Thanks for making me aware of that issue, bought a 203 to go with a LG OLED and had an issue last night playing a SACD-R.
Just thru it in the 83 and no problems.
It is frustrating that when upgrading my gear I loose a function I had previously.
I Upgraded my receiver to a Marantz SR 7010 and lost the ability to play 4.0 quad recordings over HDMI that were not mastered with a silent center channel.
I bought the Oppo so I would only have one disc player instead of three separate players for Bluray, SACD, DVD-A.
Now I am back to two.
I would highly recommend the 203 since 4K displays will certainly be in ones future at some time, just don't get rid of the old Oppo.

 

[GOS]

Thanks for making me aware of that issue, bought a 203 to go with a LG OLED and had an issue last night playing a SACD-R.
Just thru it in the 83 and no problems.
It is frustrating that when upgrading my gear I loose a function I had previously.
I Upgraded my receiver to a Marantz SR 7010 and lost the ability to play 4.0 quad recordings over HDMI that were not mastered with a silent center channel.
I bought the Oppo so I would only have one disc player instead of three separate players for Bluray, SACD, DVD-A.
Now I am back to two.
I would highly recommend the 203 since 4K displays will certainly be in ones future at some time, just don't get rid of the old Oppo.

Exactly what I'm doing. Keeping my old Oppo, have a 203 coming Saturday.

 

[milt]

The 203 has a much better DAC than the 103.
One thing to remember about Oppo players is that each generation improved upon the last.
Too bad we won't see a 303-305.
The 205 is a very nice step up from the 105 as well.
I'm talking about SQ only.

 

[Barbazul]

I need to keep listening but I noticed a very detectable improvement in both audio and video in my 203 from my previous 103. I watched/listened to a few BRs and played some HR 24/192 files. Very pleased so far and it was truly plug and play. So far my Harmony 700 works with the basic commands for the 203 without replacing the 103 though I will swap it when I have time.

Hi jhw59,
When you state that audio has a very detectable improvement between those models, are you using analogue outputs or HDMI? Or are you talking of playing back music files?
Thanks!

 

[weekendtoy]

Hi jhw59,
When you state that audio has a very detectable improvement between those models, are you using analogue outputs or HDMI? Or are you talking of playing back music files?
Thanks!

There would be no difference with HDMI. In that situation your using the Oppo as a transport and your AVR is doing the decoding with it's DACs.

I sold my 105 this winter and bought a 203. I went to an ATMOS and 4k system, the former which requires HDMI. At that point the 105 became both overkill and inadequate at the same time.

 

[jhw59]

Hi jhw59,
When you state that audio has a very detectable improvement between those models, are you using analogue outputs or HDMI? Or are you talking of playing back music files?
Thanks!

HDMI. I played discs and files. This was a future proof as I don't have a 4K TV (yet) but the improvement in SQ makes me a happy camper regardless.

 

[ssully]

I too read the announcement and allowed my heart to drop as if a friend had just decided to take their own life.

Um...really?

 

[Barbazul]

HDMI. I played discs and files. This was a future proof as I don't have a 4K TV (yet) but the improvement in SQ makes me a happy camper regardless.

Thank you jhw59! I asked you because the answer to a similar question I made to the oppo guys some weeks ago was the following:

“When using HDMI the player is a transport, so two players with HDMI should sound identical. So there is no reason to purchase the UDP-205 if you will be using HDMI primarily for audio as the UDP-203 will sound just as good.

The BDP-95 and the UDP-205 sound better because of analog audio output circuitry.

When comparing the audio formats supported by the BPD-95 and the UDP-203, yes, the UDP-203 has an advantage in that it can playback audio formats that your BDP-95 can't, but for the formats that both support, there is no difference in HDMI audio performance.”

So, in the reign of HDMI 0s are 0s and 1s are 1s. The statement above should apply to the 103 also.

Just for the file.

 

[humprof]

Thank you jhw59! I asked you because the answer to a similar question I made to the oppo guys some weeks ago was the following:

“When using HDMI the player is a transport, so two players with HDMI should sound identical. So there is no reason to purchase the UDP-205 if you will be using HDMI primarily for audio as the UDP-203 will sound just as good.

The BDP-95 and the UDP-205 sound better because of analog audio output circuitry.

When comparing the audio formats supported by the BPD-95 and the UDP-203, yes, the UDP-203 has an advantage in that it can playback audio formats that your BDP-95 can't, but for the formats that both support, there is no difference in HDMI audio performance.”

So, in the reign of HDMI 0s are 0s and 1s are 1s. The statement above should apply to the 103 also.

Just for the file.

I needed that reminder/clarification, too, Barbazul. My latest AVR has no analog inputs, which means that no matter how much better a new Oppo's DAC might be than my old Oppo's DAC, I'd never hear the difference. (And to be honest, even with my old AVR, which does have analog inputs, I'm not sure I'd hear the difference, either. The rest of my equipment is good enough for me, and my ears are sensitive, too, even if they're not what they used to be. But neither the one nor the other is that good.) The only reasons I can see to upgrade from a 103 to a 203--and again, a 205 is just too rich for my blood--are that the transport would be 2 to 3 years newer, the chassis might be even more solid, and I'd own a piece of history.

 

[EHughes]

My 203 is scheduled for delivery today.