Who will replace Oppo?

[Clint Eastwood]

The sad issue here is that the chips are obsoleted on a regular basis, if there are newer versions, they either aren't pin compatible or have different supply voltages, so require extensive modifications. The availability of chips for home goods is at most 5 years often much less, there is an almost insatiable desire to reduce the cost year on year of equipment. Basically this years model is a cost reduced version of last years. There are companies who specialise in stocking obsolete chips, but as the years go by the cost of them tends to go up. So its down to someone getting a good stock of suitable parts. Its why getting old transistor based equipment repaired is easier, suitable devices are available quite readily. I am thinking of buying a 2nd Oppo 203 to keep as a spare!

If the situation in the UK is like it is here in the US you better make a decision on an extra 203 pretty soon....they are becoming hard to find and more expensive every day..on a positive note...if you buy the extra 203 now...the worst that could happen is that you are making a good investment...in case you don't need it..

 

[depeche76]

Indeed it should...a great price point and handles quite a few audio formats...the main issue that I have heard about is that the unit freezes up a lot...of course this is on the video side...but music concerts could be affected...my second concern is that great price point...it's so cheap that I wonder about the quality of the internal components.....here is a thread on AVS about the unit...it's a long thread...but for someone interested...a lot of good information...

I am the proud owner of two

Indeed it should...a great price point and handles quite a few audio formats...the main issue that I have heard about is that the unit freezes up a lot...of course this is on the video side...but music concerts could be affected...my second concern is that great price point...it's so cheap that I wonder about the quality of the internal components.....here is a thread on AVS about the unit...it's a long thread...but for someone interested...a lot of good information...

I am the proud owner of two Sony ubp x800 and i have not encountered any single problem with them......with the exception that the interface for smart player apps is extremely slow (nothing that the roku cant handle better).....i totally recommend these units or the UHP H1 (with the only difference that the latest does not play 4K discs)

 

[4-earredwonder]

I would have to say that this might well be the best alternative to an Oppo at this point in time simply because you would get to keep the DVD-A capability.

As I stated, it's a great unit and some were selling on the internet for $150........a GENUINE STEAL. If you can get one for that price.....GO FOR IT. Additionally, nice build quality [steel case] and it's truly Universal.

 

[DuncanS]

I just had a look at the UPB-X800, seems an OK machine.

Though I was amused by the "DSEE HX Digital Sound Enhancement Engine" which claims to produce uncompressed Hi-Res from mp3. So surely you'll get 24-bit mp3, as mp3 is very lossy and removes in-band audio frequencies, its not like down-sampling to a lower sample rate where you reduce the overall bandwidth. I mp3'ed some CDs onto an SD Card for the car, and wondered why I'd never heard the cowbell so prominently on a track before!

 

[LuvMyQuad]

As Clinty points out.....even downloading with back ups has its issues and we all know that even physical discs are NOT archival as how many have experienced laser rot and refuse to play in multiple players? My advice: Keep buying those discs as long as you possibly can and I'm even beginning to back up those discs......just in case.

I think the issues regarding playing ripped files are not really issues at all. Yes you need to keep a backup. My idea of a first line of defense on this is a RAID backup. Its automatic and transparent and it guards against the most common breakdown possibility ... a broken disk drive. The RAID copy is there for you... ready to go.

Beyond that there is also a need for off site backup. Because RAID wont help you if you are unfortunate enough to run into a disaster ordeal like your house burning down or something else as devastating. Off site backups can also be automated in a few different ways if you want to go that route. Cloud storage is becoming very popular and the cost is dropping quickly. It will become more and more affordable in the future. But I'm cheap and do it the old school way by dubbing a partial backup every month or two and store the backup drive at work. Its a 10 minute job that's done at most, monthly. My maximum risk is a months worth of rips. Lately that's not much.

Then again, if your house does burn down and your storage system is a stockpile of physical disks, there goes your entire music collection anyway. So that offsite backup is an extra level of protection that you don't get by not ripping disks. Ripping guards against the disk rot problem as well.

But lets not dwell on possible disasters happening to us... lets go back to the most common possibility.. a disk crash.. and in the worst case, we have no backup...

We are still talking about ripping disks right now, not downloading files as the sole method of keeping our music (but that conversation gets closer every year). As Clint said. there would be little to choose from if we had to rely on downloads for multichannel rock. What we would actually loose by not backing up would only be the time and effort put into ripping the disks we purchased. Because the ultimate backup in this scenario is still the stockpile of disks that we ripped the files from originally.

Like I said, I don't consider any of this as "issues" . For much less than the cost of a new Oppo 205 you can get a pretty sweet media player with NAS. So why buy another optical disk player like an Oppo?

sorry for derailing the thread... and now back to our scheduled programming...

 

[4-earredwonder]

I think the issues regarding playing ripped files are not really issues at all. Yes you need to keep a backup. My idea of a first line of defense on this is a RAID backup. Its automatic and transparent and it guards against the most common breakdown possibility ... a broken disk drive. The RAID copy is there for you... ready to go.

Beyond that there is also a need for off site backup. Because RAID wont help you if you are unfortunate enough to run into a disaster ordeal like your house burning down or something else as devastating. Off site backups can also be automated in a few different ways if you want to go that route. Cloud storage is becoming very popular and the cost is dropping quickly. It will become more and more affordable in the future. But I'm cheap and do it the old school way by dubbing a partial backup every month or two and store the backup drive at work. Its a 10 minute job that's done at most, monthly. My maximum risk is a months worth of rips. Lately that's not much.

Then again, if your house does burn down and your storage system is a stockpile of physical disks, there goes your entire music collection anyway. So that offsite backup is an extra level of protection that you don't get by not ripping disks. Ripping guards against the disk rot problem as well.

But lets not dwell on possible disasters happening to us... lets go back to the most common possibility.. a disk crash.. and in the worst case, we have no backup...

We are still talking about ripping disks right now, not downloading files as the sole method of keeping our music (but that conversation gets closer every year). As Clint said. there would be little to choose from if we had to rely on downloads for multichannel rock. What we would actually loose by not backing up would only be the time and effort put into ripping the disks we purchased. Because the ultimate backup in this scenario is still the stockpile of disks that we ripped the files from originally.

Like I said, I don't consider any of this as "issues" . For much less than the cost of a new Oppo 205 you can get a pretty sweet media player with NAS. So why buy another optical disk player like an Oppo?

sorry for derailing the thread... and now back to our scheduled programming...

VERY important to me, at least is the playback and quality upsampling of the over 3~4 thousand DVDs, BD~Vs and now UH 4K discs in my collection. Something NO hard drive, at present is capable of storing. Having a workable Universal player will always be tantamount to me. And lest we forget, a majority of QQers do have VALUABLE [and irreplaceable] DVD and BD~V MUSIC video/concert discs in their collection.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

VERY important to me, at least is the playback and quality upsampling of the over 3~4 thousand DVDs, BD~Vs and now UH 4K discs in my collection. Something NO hard drive, at present is capable of storing. Having a workable Universal player will always be tantamount to me. And lest we forget, a majority of QQers do have VALUABLE [and irreplaceable] DVD and BD~V MUSIC video/concert discs in their collection.

Yes, of course. But we were talking about audio, or so I thought.

For DVDs and BRDs pretty much any blue ray player gets the job done as long as it meets your standards for features and audio/video quality. You only need a universal player like an Oppo for playing SACD and DVD-A and other dead or dying formats.

Also, you can easily rip video from DVD and BRD. I have no experience with 4K, maybe someone else can tell us. I believe you can also get software that upsamples as well. Why can't this all be stored on HDDs? If its on an optical disk and the encryption isn't a problem, nothing stops you from storing it to a drive,

 

[4-earredwonder]

Yes, of course. But we were talking about audio, or so I thought.

For DVDs and BRDs pretty much any blue ray player gets the job done as long as it meets your standards for features and audio/video quality. You only need a universal player like an Oppo for playing SACD and DVD-A and other dead or dying formats.

Also, you can easily rip video from DVD and BRD. I have no experience with 4K, maybe someone else can tell us. I believe you can also get software that upsamples as well. Why can't this all be stored on HDDs? If its on an optical disk and the encryption isn't a problem, nothing stops you from storing it to a drive,

In my case, I'm talking thousands of discs and UHD 4K would present a real challenge at this juncture.

 

[soundboy]

In terms of just being able to produce a machine that can rival an Oppo, I think both Pioneer and Yamaha can do it. Sony can do it as well if the company can just commit itself.

If Panasonic would just let go of the format war it had with SACD, it can also do it. And I read about a possible high-end CD/SACD player for its Technics line.

But no one will be able to duplicate Oppo's customer service. NO ONE!

 

[milt]

Cambridge Audio is an obvious choice as many people have contended that under the Cambridge "shell" was basically an Oppo….it does do many of the needed functions HERE I think some of our members have Cambridge players...maybe they can provide some input on their experiences with Cambridge.

I thought Cambridge gear used Wolfson DACs?

 

[milt]

In terms of just being able to produce a machine that can rival an Oppo, I think both Pioneer and Yamaha can do it. Sony can do it as well if the company can just commit itself.

If Panasonic would just let go of the format war it had with SACD, it can also do it. And I read about a possible high-end CD/SACD player for its Technics line.

But no one will be able to duplicate Oppo's customer service. NO ONE!

Anyone of those companies you name along with a bunch of others can or could make a player as good or way better than Oppo, hell Oppo could have made a better player than they did but it's not cost effective for the current market.
Unless some kamikazee comes from out of left field it would be hard to imagine anyone taking that leap.
The numbers are the numbers and Oppo's parent couldn't make them pencil out.
I'm confidently guessing that the days of real statement universal disc players is over.

 

[soundboy]

Anyone of those companies you name along with a bunch of others can or could make a player as good or way better than Oppo, hell Oppo could have made a better player than they did but it's not cost effective for the current market.

But Pioneer is the only one marketing a replacement for its previous $2,000 player, which to me means that there's still a market for expensive universal players.

Btw, the below machine is the new Pioneer UDP-LX500. Not sure if Pioneer will bring this new player to the US. The former top-of-the-line $2,000 Pioneer Elite BDP-88 can still be seen on US Pioneer's website but it is no longer offered.

 

[4-earredwonder]

In terms of just being able to produce a machine that can rival an Oppo, I think both Pioneer and Yamaha can do it. Sony can do it as well if the company can just commit itself.

If Panasonic would just let go of the format war it had with SACD, it can also do it. And I read about a possible high-end CD/SACD player for its Technics line.

But no one will be able to duplicate Oppo's customer service. NO ONE!

When one thinks of a UNIVERSAL player.......I think of the proverbial Swiss Army Knife. But when all is said and done, the screwdriver on a SAK is NO substitute for a dedicated one, nor the spoon, fork, can opener and/or knife. The Swiss Army Knife is an invaluable tool...in a pinch.......just like the Receiver is a handy pre/pro with multiple amps built in but does it sound better than separate pre/pros and dedicated more powerful amplifiers? Frankly, NO!

My point...what we pay for in convenience doesn't necessarily translate into a better product.

For what it IS, the Universal Player is a fabulous convenience, saving valuable space and doing what it's advertised to do.....but to expect it to replace separate dedicated reference SACD, DVD~A and RBCD players and then be tasked to do DVD, BD~V, BD~A, UHD 4K and stream in multiple resolutions and accept USB sticks, etc. is REALLY asking for a helluva lot.

That the Oppos do WHAT THEY DO, for such a small sum [compared to high end separates of yesteryear costing tens of thousands of dollars, which CAN and DO perform better], I will eternally grant it HIGH marks and whether any other hardware manufacturer will take up the OPPO banner, and do it as well or BETTER ..... is anyone's guess.......

 

[filper]

As I stated, it's a great unit and some were selling on the internet for $150........a GENUINE STEAL. If you can get one for that price.....GO FOR IT. Additionally, nice build quality [steel case] and it's truly Universal.

I picked up two X800's for close to that USD price equivalent. I have no complaints about either one. One I use connected to the 4K in the living room for mostly video and 4K streaming. The other I use as a transport in the cave for all commercial discs. DVD-A burns and HDCD's I play on my OPPO-80.

A solid machine. I have not had an issue with the reported video freezing.

 

[ar surround]

I picked up two X800's for close to that USD price equivalent. I have no complaints about either one. One I use connected to the 4K in the living room for mostly video and 4K streaming. The other I use as a transport in the cave for all commercial discs. DVD-A burns and HDCD's I play on my OPPO-80.

A solid machine. I have not had an issue with the reported video freezing.

Does this Sony UBP-X800 have the Mediatec chip that allows one to rip SACD? (I just learned about this Mediatec chip yesterday, so don't assume I actually am sure of what I'm talking about.)

 

[filper]

ar surround I do not know. I have no idea how to rip an SA-CD. I wish I did though.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Does this Sony UBP-X800 have the Mediatec chip that allows one to rip SACD? (I just learned about this Mediatec chip yesterday, so don't assume I actually am sure of what I'm talking about.)

All the info you need is in this thread. As far as I know, the X800 will not rip SACD, but there are other Sonys mentioned in the thread that supposedly do. I am not positive of this, but I don't believe any of the units that can rip SACD are still available as new stock except for the Pioneer Elite FD-80, which is the unit I use. There may be NOS out there though.

 

[jimfisheye]

I don't know... Sometimes these companies are really truly genuine idiots that piss away good things they made with nothing to replace them. New models are a downgrade. Like how Apple stopped making pro computers after 2012. Because of the SACD ripping function (and because the parent company Sony botched delivering ripping functionality with their products) these machines are going to stay in demand on the used market because we have so much music released in the awful DSD format. (Awful for reinventing the digital "wheel". The quality is every bit as pristine as PCM.)

I imagine some marketing type would explain the math and why closing shop makes sense. I think these will command a high price on the used market for a long time which kind of supports the theory they had something special going on.

I predict someone will make an after market backwards spinning capable optical drive to both replace failing drives in these kind of machines and possibly for a computer accessory solution for directly ripping DSD discs.

 

[bluelightning]

When one thinks of a UNIVERSAL player.......I think of the proverbial Swiss Army Knife. But when all is said and done, the screwdriver on a SAK is NO substitute for a dedicated one, nor the spoon, fork, can opener and/or knife. The Swiss Army Knife is an invaluable tool...in a pinch.......just like the Receiver is a handy pre/pro with multiple amps built in but does it sound better than separate pre/pros and dedicated more powerful amplifiers? Frankly, NO!

My point...what we pay for in convenience doesn't necessarily translate into a better product.

For what it IS, the Universal Player is a fabulous convenience, saving valuable space and doing what it's advertised to do.....but to expect it to replace separate dedicated reference SACD, DVD~A and RBCD players and then be tasked to do DVD, BD~V, BD~A, UHD 4K and stream in multiple resolutions and accept USB sticks, etc. is REALLY asking for a helluva lot.

That the Oppos do WHAT THEY DO, for such a small sum [compared to high end separates of yesteryear costing tens of thousands of dollars, which CAN and DO perform better], I will eternally grant it HIGH marks and whether any other hardware manufacturer will take up the OPPO banner, and do it as well or BETTER ..... is anyone's guess.......

I agree with you to some extent and respectfully disagree in some other aspects. To me, there appears to be no perfect Universal streaming solution. It seems every option has some or the other function it doesn't do well. The Oppo players managed to do a lot really well. Sure, there will always be separates (DACs, AMPs) that can produce better SNR, cross talk isolation etc. I enjoy looking at their performance specs (when honest and believable) and marveling at some of the engineering that goes in to some of these products. However once you start talking about overall system SNRs (upto Power amp) of 80 +dB , I have a hard time believing these differences are really audible, but to each his own on this. I can't forget my experience with a "golden eared audiophile" who claimed to have more than $50k worth of 2 channel stereo equipment, yet couldn't hear the 12KHz hiss from a power supply at work.

 

[ubertrout]

I don't think there's going to be another Oppo, and I don't think it's a coincidence that Sony isn't supporting Dolby Vision on the X800/X1000 and newer models like the X700 drop DVD-Audio support. Sony used the X800 to undercut the Oppo 203 and there just wasn't really the demand for a $500 4k disc transport, and Sony has had trouble keeping prices up on the X800 anyway.

File streaming is going to keep getting better, but I suspect there won't be another 4k Universal Player. If there is, it will probably come from Sony, but it won't be at the level we expect from Oppo.