Oppo UDP 203 vs. Yamaha BD A1060 Universal Players

I just picked up a BD-A1060 today and just want to chime in on DVD-A capabilities.

I already have a BD-A1040 and am very happy with it. It does play DVD-A and I only bought the 1060 to get balanced outputs (and I got a brand new unit for half price at a local 2nd hand store).

So I was expecting the 1060 to also play DVD-A discs. It does NOT. I have the King Crimson DVD discs, these have a DVD-A sector and a DVD-V sector. The 1060 recognises the DVD-V sector only.

I have the Talking Heads DVD discs and same deal. The 1060 will only recognise and play the DVD-V sector.

Its a bit strange that Yamaha would drop this feature when the 1060 is an upgrade in every other way. In truth I don't have a lot of DVD-A so its not the end of the world but I was confident based on other reviews that it would play these discs. But Yamaha themselves make no claims for DVD-A capability so I can't complain about anything except my own stupidity.

Congratulation on a 1060 for $250. I surely wouldn't hesitate either. The BD-A1060 is at the top of my bluray player list because of the balanced output in a $500 player.
Does the 1060 sound the same or better than the 1040? And are you using the balanced outputs.
 
Don't feel bad about your 103

All you're giving up is 4K, the ability to use it directly as a USB DAC, and the 12V trigger

103 will decode HDCD, 203/205 will not

I'm proudly rocking a 103 in the bedroom and a 95 in the back room on the good system...
Got the 981HD on the 2ch tube system, the 103-D in the 7.1 room ..
(tho HDCDs are 2 ch discs and usually played in the 2ch system)
Both of them happily do HDCDs - and, you say the 203s do NOT do HDCD??
Sad ... so I guess no upgrade for me!
 
yes HDCD support was quietly dropped for the 20x series

as I understand it the 105 had the ability to be used as a USB DAC like the 20x so if I ever upgrade I will probably sell my 103 and get a 105 when prices of latter come down as I'm way more audio centric than I am video centric, then I will have a 95 and a 105
 
What about Customer Service? OPPO responds in less than an hour in most cases and rectifies the issue or sends you a needed part very quickly.

What happens when you call or email Yamaha for help?
 
And both the 203 and 205 are now available as refurbished models (on Opp's website) if you guys are looking for discounts. Same warranty as the new ones. With the discount, maybe you may want to get an extended warranty.

On the other hand, Oppo seems very reliable and their customer care is reportedly first rate.
 
I just picked up a BD-A1060 today and just want to chime in on DVD-A capabilities.

I already have a BD-A1040 and am very happy with it. It does play DVD-A and I only bought the 1060 to get balanced outputs (and I got a brand new unit for half price at a local 2nd hand store).

So I was expecting the 1060 to also play DVD-A discs. It does NOT. I have the King Crimson DVD discs, these have a DVD-A sector and a DVD-V sector. The 1060 recognises the DVD-V sector only.

I have the Talking Heads DVD discs and same deal. The 1060 will only recognise and play the DVD-V sector.

Its a bit strange that Yamaha would drop this feature when the 1060 is an upgrade in every other way. In truth I don't have a lot of DVD-A so its not the end of the world but I was confident based on other reviews that it would play these discs. But Yamaha themselves make no claims for DVD-A capability so I can't complain about anything except my own stupidity.


Yes. I mentioned this in my original post. Professional reviewers from at least two high profile audiophile publications indicated that it played DVD-A, but they are wrong. I think it's criminal when supposedly trusted sources get basic information wrong, but that's why services like Audiokarma are so valuable. In Yamaha's defense, they do not list DVD-A as a supported format in the manual IIRC.
 
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What about Customer Service? OPPO responds in less than an hour in most cases and rectifies the issue or sends you a needed part very quickly.

What happens when you call or email Yamaha for help?

I gave up on customer service years ago. I do, however, purchase from retailers who have at least a 30 day no questions asked replacement or refund policy. Crutchfiled was great about replacing my original 203. They sent an RA via email within an hour of my complaint. I received the replacement exactly 10 days after the I dropped the broken unit off at UPS.
 
I gave up on customer service years ago. I do, however, purchase from retailers who have at least a 30 day no questions asked replacement or refund policy. Crutchfiled was great about replacing my original 203. They sent an RA via email within an hour of my complaint. I received the replacement exactly 10 days after the I dropped the broken unit off at UPS.

Oppo customer service is no joke, they are awesome. My 95 was bought from a pawn shop and was missing the remote and wifi dongle. I got hooked up for $30something and they even threw in some RCA jack caps for free.
 
Oppo customer service is no joke, they are awesome. My 95 was bought from a pawn shop and was missing the remote and wifi dongle. I got hooked up for $30something and they even threw in some RCA jack caps for free.
Thanks a million for that info. I will keep it in mind.
 
Hello all,
I just wanted to add to this forum a couple of important points
1. If there was an album worth putting into DVD-A format, it will no doubt have a Bluray audio format. (This is certainly the case with the King Crimson box sets, of which I own the lot. )
2. Why would you even put the DVD-A discs into your player when the set provides you with Bluray audio discs which provide far superior audio? So forget about trying to get those DVD-A layers and just use the Bluray discs also supplied in the set.

There is one exception and that would be the Frank Zappa Halloween DVD audio disc, however it sounds great in any case and if that doesn't thrill you, you can always get the Halloween 77 box set which makes the DVD-A redunant anyway and gives you 24bit audio, that you can pop into your USB port.

Of greater importance is the audio playback between the Oppo and the Yamaha players. Some people are winging about the mids on the OppoYamaha, while others swear black and blue that the Oppo player opened up the heavens for them. On that note, I'd argue that surely any audiophile could simply EQ a little to there particular taste.

For someone looking into one of these players right now(because all the stores are offering these days are mass seller completely plastic cheapo's guranteed to last your warranty period and then promptly die shortly after. With the Oppo and the Yamaha players, the quality appears to be much greater and Yamaha's audio enhancements appear 2nd to none. (Unless you want to at least double the price by going to Cambridge Audio players etc.)

For me, here's the current pluses and minuses of each player if purchasing right now as of 2020.
1. Availability.
Yamaha: +1 (Although discontinued, many hi-fi stores still have stock of most of there models BRAND NEW. They don't sell like cheap players but they do sell and hold there value, hence specialty stores don't mind keeping the stock around.)
Oppo: -1 (Sadly, despite both Oppo and Yamaha now being out of the Bluray manufacturing business, Yamaha is still available whereas Oppo due to marketing hype and over the top reviews from Audiophiles(questionable in many cases), are completely sold out and you can only purchase a 2nd hand one that someone else hopefully hasn't played thousands of hours worth of discs through the machine(even while swearing they have given it little use, because just look at the pretty case that's hardly been touched and here's all the packaging and accessories complete.) Believe any seller who declares it's hardly been used as much as your local politicians, no one buys a player of this price point to sit like a weird decoration and only ever be used once in a blue moon.

2. Price.
Yamaha: +1 (Price remains around the same as release time.)
Oppo: -1 (Price is governed by perception, marketing hyperbole and now collector status.)

3. Audio Connections.
Yamaha: +1 (Those XLR's will surely not be a negative for any serious audio fan, not to mention the RCA outs)
Oppo: +1 (It can't be denied a separate HDMI audio out is a good idea, which is sadly missing on the Yamaha. It also provides 5.1 and 7.1 surround analog outs which is a rarity.)

4. Picture.
Yamaha: +1 for providing 4k upscaling.
Oppo: +1 for providing 4k standard (That said, this person has no interest in 4K media as they find it actually makes the picture worse(essentially do I want a magnified zoom in of every zit on an actors face??)

5. Design.
Yamaha: +1 (Rock solid build quality especially for the price.)
Oppo: +1 (Also a very nice, solid build that can't be ignored.)

Conclusion:
Yamaha BD-A1060: 5/5 buying criteria satisfied.
Oppo UDP-203: 3/5 buying criteria satisfied. (Even the bonus of 4k doesn't sway me.)

Yamaha wins. Also with a new Yamaha player you will receive the full warranty, whereas Oppo is cross your fingers and hope the previous user hasn't just about worn it out.

Just thought I'd add this as there still 2 of the hottest Bluray players out there for audiophiles like myself who are loving Bluray audio(which I'll argue actually out performs vinyl, now if that doesn't get some people commenting, what will? Ever scratched your head and wondered... Why would I want a vinyl of a digital recording? Vinyl is great for analogue recordings and provides many hifi benefits, but for digital, especially if there's a bluray audio edition available, I'd argue a down grade.)

Thanks to all for sharing,
Sean.
 
To all,
YIKES.

A quick update. Whereas the Yamaha BD-A1060 can be obtained for around $800 AUD, the Oppo UDP-203 is now selling for $2200 - $3700 AUD but that's for any brand new units still in existence.

That should make the choice pretty darn easy,
Sean.
 
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