oppo bdp93 vs bdp95. is there such great difference?

[inkubuzz]

Is there a real difference between both players or at least a difference worth $500?

[DKA]

Is there a real difference between both players or at least a difference worth $500?

Ah, the crux of why I bought the 93.

IIRC, the differences would be present for a real high-end system.

[proufo]

Apparently, the only difference is the high-quality stereo output.

If you have you two-channel digital disc playback sorted out (my case), you can go for the 93.

Planning to get a 93 in the coming months.

[LizardKing]

Apparently, the only difference is the high-quality stereo output.

If you have you two-channel digital disc playback sorted out (my case), you can go for the 93.

Planning to get a 93 in the coming months.

Also - the 95 also has better DACs for the 7.1 analog outs...

If you use analog outs (for surround) - its better, but if you use HDMI for audio, then there is not much point in getting a 95..

Here's a comparison (from the Oppo site):
http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-b...5-Compare.aspx

[leevitalone1]

Apparently, the only difference is the high-quality stereo output.

If you have you two-channel digital disc playback sorted out (my case), you can go for the 93.

Planning to get a 93 in the coming months.

the 95 has balanced stereo out ports. the 93 is otherwise identical video wise w/o the dacs for analog. The 93 also has a upgrade dac from nuforce, approved by oppo, there are 2 versions.for analog 7.1 out put only on both

[jhw59]

good discussion as one of these units will probably be my next player. I use HDMI so it appears I can save the $$$ with no real loss of performance.

[inkubuzz]

sorry for this newbie question, but, If I have a good receiver, wouldnt the receiver process the digital signal, or with an oppo I wold not need a receiver? (for a medium sized room)

[Quadzilla]

sorry for this newbie question, but, If I have a good receiver, wouldnt the receiver process the digital signal, or with an oppo I wold not need a receiver? (for a medium sized room)

That depends on a couple of things ... if the receiver has the correct surround sound decoders, and if the HDMI connections are compatible, then it is possible that it will work. HDMI can be tempermental, and there have been a few different version upgrades since it was introduced.

[scolumbo]

The improved analog outputs of the 95 are for those that have high-end analog systems, and that have a room that would not benefit from Audyssey or other ARC. Quite frankly, very few rooms are so perfect in size, dimensions, furnishings, treatments, etc. that room correction is not beneficial, especially for multichannel.

There are some that use the 95's analog outputs for stereo (where room correction is not as critical) and for headphones (where room correction has even less effect, lol), and then use the HDMI outputs to their receiver/processor's ARC for surround music and movies. Also keep in mind that most modern receivers have more advanced bass management than you will get in the 93 or 95 using the analog outs.

[fredblue]

the Cambridge Audio 751BD (clone of the Oppo BDP-95, with some enhancements) has an upsampling feature (which I've heard in action -- and it is incredible) & its' DAC also has a choice of digital filters (linear phase, minimum phase and steep).

I don't think either of those features are in the Oppo!?

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=CA751BD

[inkubuzz]

that is very nice indeed... competition for the oppo sounds great in terms on prices... wonder if they have a bdp-93 competitor

[inkubuzz]

it seems the 651 is very good too... but US$799... it doesnt seem to play flac or other type of files.

[leevitalone1]

the Cambridge Audio 751BD (clone of the Oppo BDP-95, with some enhancements) has an upsampling feature (which I've heard in action -- and it is incredible) & its' DAC also has a choice of digital filters (linear phase, minimum phase and steep).

I don't think either of those features are in the Oppo!?

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=CA751BD

correct! The cambridge has a much better output stage, but looking at prices, the best amount of features for the money.
but again, there are upgrades avail. for the 93. If money is not a concern, then I say go for the cambridge

[fredblue]

that is very nice indeed... competition for the oppo sounds great in terms on prices... wonder if they have a bdp-93 competitor

yes, i own it and it's fabulous!

the Cambridge Audio Azur 651BD.

http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=887

its a clone of the BDP-93, with some casing tweaks (lower resonance, better acoustically damped chassis over the Oppo, apparently) plus some other techno-wizard jiggery-pokery! CA explain the jargon a lot better in the link above!

[fredblue]

it seems the 651 is very good too... but US$799... it doesnt seem to play flac or other type of files.

I think in that regard it is more limited than the Oppo, although I believe the Oppo can't play FLAC gapless-ly.. which seems a bit of a bummer!

[fredblue]

correct! The cambridge has a much better output stage, but looking at prices, the best amount of features for the money.
but again, there are upgrades avail. for the 93. If money is not a concern, then I say go for the cambridge

I was SO tempted to get the 751 when I bought my 651..

the salesman demo'd the 751 for me (it was their BDP of choice in their little demo room).. and it was just AMAZING.. wonderful, wonderful sound..

but as I'm HDMI all the way now (no more spaghetti cables! I don't care how much better-sounding/jitter free analogue is than HDMI, its such a hassle running BD with 8 phono cables..!!) I just couldn't justify the extra outlay on something I'd probably never use, so compromised on the 651.

the 651's still a lovely machine - solid build, easy to use, great picture & sound, fast load times on BD movies, CD text (even on SACDs that have it, nothing new but a 1st for me), HDCD (fwiw!?).. it does everything I need to do. I've not explored the .iso route yet etc so can't confirm if it can do all the file business of the Oppo but so far, so good! it's already lasted a month longer than the Yamaha BDS1067 that I got last year & returned 3 days later (what a complete P.O.S..!).

[scolumbo]

I think in that regard it is more limited than the Oppo, although I believe the Oppo can't play FLAC gapless-ly.. which seems a bit of a bummer!

This is true, which one of the biggest drawbacks of the Oppo for digital playback. It does help that with the proper firmware, you can play DVD-A and BD ISO's and get gapless playback that way. Otherwise, it requires ripping a single per-disc FLAC file, but then you lose track info and navigation.

[cupboy]

Regarding the Cambridge machines they've dts HD Master Audio Essential. Pretty screwy if you care about sound. How much did that save them? $5?

[leevitalone1]

the salesman demo'd the 751 for me (it was their BDP of choice in their little demo room).. and it was just AMAZING.. wonderful, wonderful sound..

You had the advantage of a preview listen of both? In that case, no wonder you went for that machine. Me I'm not so particular about certain things, I like things that are simple, and straightforward. Plus being up there a bit in age, I still have trouble sorting stuff out. You guys who are computer savvy make my head spin. I know some, but still trying to pick up on the rest. I have received an education at this site thats for sure.

[leevitalone1]

Regarding the Cambridge machines they've dts HD Master Audio Essential. Pretty screwy if you care about sound. How much did that save them? $5?

what is MA essential?

[cupboy]

what is MA essential?

It doesn't decode certain types of dts, for example dts 24/96, etc.

Here's an article: http://www.hometheater.com/news/012109dtsessential/

[leevitalone1]

It doesn't decode certain types of dts, for example dts 24/96, etc.

Here's an article: http://www.hometheater.com/news/012109dtsessential/

looks like I can do without it.

[Dixie4]

I was SO tempted to get the 751 when I bought my 651..

the salesman demo'd the 751 for me (it was their BDP of choice in their little demo room).. and it was just AMAZING.. wonderful, wonderful sound..

but as I'm HDMI all the way now (no more spaghetti cables! I don't care how much better-sounding/jitter free analogue is than HDMI, its such a hassle running BD with 8 phono cables..!!) I just couldn't justify the extra outlay on something I'd probably never use, so compromised on the 651.

the 651's still a lovely machine - solid build, easy to use, great picture & sound, fast load times on BD movies, CD text (even on SACDs that have it, nothing new but a 1st for me), HDCD (fwiw!?).. it does everything I need to do. I've not explored the .iso route yet etc so can't confirm if it can do all the file business of the Oppo but so far, so good! it's already lasted a month longer than the Yamaha BDS1067 that I got last year & returned 3 days later (what a complete P.O.S..!).

Hi Adam, hope you're ok ? I came online to ask questions about the Oppo ( i have e mailed a Oppo seller ) and seen more of your info on the Cambridge models, and i don't know which to order now ! LOL ( intended to order a Oppo in the next two hrs, for delivery tomorrow. So decision time is fast approaching !! )
I was looking into info about FLAC files ( like every other technical issue, it baffled me ! ) I downloaded a FLAC programme, and i quite frankly i didn't have a clue ! ( it seemed very poorly explained, nothing really ) Then i downloaded Winamp ( which i think you need to upgrade / pay for to enable FLAC files ? )
Can someone ( in the simplest of terms ! ) please explain FLAC files and how you go about the process of creating them and ultimately playing them on a Oppo player ?
I know i've got WAV files stored on my laptop, so am i right in assuming that i could play these files on the Oppo ?...and if so do you need Windows 7 or Vista ? ( my laptops 8 years old. Windows XP )
One other thing i thought about was connectivity to USB ports, i.e. can you connect a portable audio device, such as a Hi MD player ?
Any feedback would be very much appreciated !! ( i've really got to make a decision ! )

[scolumbo]

I'll give this a stab. FLAC is just a lossless compression container for audio in PCM format, think of it like a zip file. You can convert your WAV files to FLAC using a number of different programs, I typically use Foobar2000, but there are many others. You can also rip CD's directly to FLAC, I typically use Exact Audio Copy (EAC), but there are many, many other fine programs. You can also rip DVD-A's to FLAC, either stereo or multichannel, using a program such as DVD Audio Extractor. FLAC is nice in that the files are typically smaller and you can add metadata (track info, artwork, etc.) to the files. However, you can also play WAV files on the Oppo without converting them to FLAC first. One of the advantages of the Oppo is it plays many different audio and video codecs, in addition to being an excellent disc player that has support for DVD-A and SACD.

Regarding playing them on the Oppo, you can either store the FLAC (or WAV) files on a hard drive (USB or eSata) and attach the hard drive directly to the Oppo and play the FLAC files from the hard drive, or you can stream them from files stored on a pc or a network (NAS) using a DLNA server. I believe Windows XP will work as an operating system, but you will need to add a program that acts as a media (DLNA) server. Windows Media Center is a media server but it is very limiting, and doesn't support multichannel FLAC files, for instance. Foobar2000 also has media server capabilities, but is probably not the easiest to use and setup. I like Twonky, but there are many other fine programs out there that will do the same and are relatively easy to set up. DLNA can be tricky sometimes, and your router, network configuration, and whether you have a wired or wireless network can affect how well it works. However, streaming from a DLNA server gives you a lot of capabilities, including setting up playlists, and organizing and indexing files which are nice when you have a large audio collection.

[Dixie4]

I'll give this a stab. FLAC is just a lossless compression container for audio in PCM format, think of it like a zip file. You can convert your WAV files to FLAC using a number of different programs, I typically use Foobar2000, but there are many others. You can also rip CD's directly to FLAC, I typically use Exact Audio Copy (EAC), but there are many, many other fine programs. You can also rip DVD-A's to FLAC, either stereo or multichannel, using a program such as DVD Audio Extractor. FLAC is nice in that the files are typically smaller and you can add metadata (track info, artwork, etc.) to the files. However, you can also play WAV files on the Oppo without converting them to FLAC first. One of the advantages of the Oppo is it plays many different audio and video codecs, in addition to being an excellent disc player that has support for DVD-A and SACD.

Regarding playing them on the Oppo, you can either store the FLAC (or WAV) files on a hard drive (USB or eSata) and attach the hard drive directly to the Oppo and play the FLAC files from the hard drive, or you can stream them from files stored on a pc or a network (NAS) using a DLNA server. I believe Windows XP will work as an operating system, but you will need to add a program that acts as a media (DLNA) server. Windows Media Center is a media server but it is very limiting, and doesn't support multichannel FLAC files, for instance. Foobar2000 also has media server capabilities, but is probably not the easiest to use and setup. I like Twonky, but there are many other fine programs out there that will do the same and are relatively easy to set up. DLNA can be tricky sometimes, and your router, network configuration, and whether you have a wired or wireless network can affect how well it works. However, streaming from a DLNA server gives you a lot of capabilities, including setting up playlists, and organizing and indexing files which are nice when you have a large audio collection.

Thank you very much for your reply. I'll have to look into the programmes you mentioned. For some reason, i've actually lost Windows Media player ( tried to reinstall, but it asks for a validation code ? ) Any WAV files i have at present are stored in my Sonicstage softwear. My laptop is wireless connection.
I guess the first step is to see if the Oppo will recognise my laptop, and take it from there. ( well i didn't order the player today, did have an intial response from Oppo, and they will get back to me further....WILL I EVER ORDER A OPPO ! ? LOL