Oppo Digital Folding.

[hjames]

If you can't tell the difference, its obvious - high end gear is not for you!
And sadly, the market seems to think with you ...
Then again, most folks think a Soundbar is great audio for Movies!

^^^
Me thinks so.

$1500 DVD Player.
Plays just like a $79 DVD Player.
But hey.....its Audiophile Quality!

Whooooooosh!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bimasta]

if you're only using the DVD player as a transport and are using an external DAC, then there's even less reason to choose one DVD player over another. Anything that spins the disk and emits a stream of digital data is fine and -- by the very definition of how digital systems work -- essentially identical.

Sorry, this isn't true. Last week I compared 5 DVD players as transports into very good, 'analogue' sounding DAC. Four of them sounded harsh, strident — only one sounded 'musical'. This really surprised me, because I thought as you do. I had to put it to an empirical test to discover it's not so, and it was a big disappointment.

So I'm still looking for a transport. Any suggestions, anyone?

 

[DaveVoorhis]

Sorry, this isn't true. Last week I compared 5 DVD players as transports into very good, 'analogue' sounding DAC. Four of them sounded harsh, strident — only one sounded 'musical'. This really surprised me, because I thought as you do. I had to put it to an empirical test to discover it's not so, and it was a big disappointment.

There are two possibilities.

One is that four of the five transports were flawed, and emitted a data stream with dropouts, errors, or significant jitter.

The other is psychoacoustics -- the sense of hearing is a complex mix of cognition and audio perception; you heard a difference that had no sonic basis.

There's even a third possibility: A combination of the above.

 

[nj pheonix]

I was reading a parallel post here,(AK)
LAST night.
Apparently bad news travels fast too!

 

[N8Nagel]

Could it be there's little to no performance benefit between their high-end gear and cheap Best Buy options?

And people are finally noticing these facts?

Mmmmm....could be.....

I'm not aware of any BDPs that can do what an Oppo does... Any others with multi channel analog outputs and an aux HDMI in? Ability to use as USB DAC?

 

[E-Stat]

There are two possibilities.

Thanks for another dose of your humor.

 

[bimasta]

There are two possibilities ... There's even a third possibility: A combination of the two above.

Only three possibilities? (Two really: the third is ersatz.)

There's another possibility you haven't considered.

You might be wrong.

 

[Condorsat]

IMHO ... it's sadly about physical media ... no business wants an increasing share of a declining market.

 

[E-Stat]

I'm with Condorsat and not surprised. Oppo has made reliable products (a 103 is my second unit spanning well over ten years), but the market for folks spinning shiny disks is rapidly disappearing. I use mine perhaps once a week when a Netflix disc shows up in the mailbox. How many Millennials go out and buy Blu Ray based movies? We already know the answer concerning music CDs. Once in a blue moon, I'll spin one of my 3D movies.

Yes, they support USB flash drives, but that necessarily limits the size of your digital library and the UI is clunky. The glaring fault is the current units do not support the range of streaming services as is the case with my $200 Raspberry Pi based renderer. I don't use mine for audio.

 

[N8Nagel]

I for one don't use my 103 to spin discs, but as a means of getting audio from cable box etc. Into the bedroom stereo. I set it up as 5.1, no center, no sub and feed the audio into the aux in of an old quad receiver. What other product can do that? I know it's a fringe application but I, and likely owners of old high end analog AVRs and pre/pros appreciate it.

 

[Bostown]

There is something funny in the panic where people are now looking for other brands/models and snubbing the thought of buying an oppo just as they were about to pull the trigger, Returning their recently purchased oppo units etc. This isn't the same as the first and rather ridiculous version of DiVX dvd ( remember this crazy rental scheme DVD format ) or HD-DVD, or SAAB yet the sky is falling, "Ohh THE HUMANITY" hahah

It seems like a good time to buy an oppo player to me, not return one. Get one while it lasts. - What's the panic about? It might fail in 5 years , 7 years? 10 years?
Oh what do I do , what do I do...? I wouldn't be surprised if the same people looking to return also own NON repairable gear from companies that are currently active. ( Audio Research immediately comes to mind). Panic over Oppo Digitial shutting down disc player production? Disc based players are on the decline and have been for well over a decade, 4K DVD or whatever it's called will not save the industry. It's Niche at best just like all this crazy 11.2 or whatever absurd ( to me) "Home Theater" spec / tech is out now.

Streaming , hate it or love it, is the crack cocaine of media consumption. Yeah yeah I know. Vinyl sounds best blah blah blah. Hand churned butter and home-nade Ice cream is frickin delicious too but hell if I have the time ( or funds) to make it regularly. Oppo has done well by me. Panic? Nope , Celebrate! It is what it is.

So... Raise up your glass .. To OPPO Digital ! Thanks for extending the videophile/audiophile enthusiast Tradition.. God Speed to the team and staff!

 

[baco99]

Do what? oppo sets the curve my good man . . . their units are the de facto references in every sense of the word, always have been.

It's a CD/DVD player. At their price points, there is no way they can sustain a business in this market making CD/DVD players. CD sales dropped nearly 90% since 2001. 90%. DVD sales are down about 50% over the same time period. It doesn't matter how good the machine sounds. The market has disappeared. People want convenience, flexibility AND quality-relative-to-price. Why buy a $1000 DVD player when one can get a $100 AppleTV and stream movies on a whim, not have to worry about what format they are in, nor the sampling rate, nor the audio configuration, nor some DVD DOS-based selection menu. Just put in a code and start watching. Oppo's players don't stream, they don't download, they don't rip, they don't support hi-res online sources. They are a black box that sits in one place and serves one purpose. That's a thing of the past for mass-market products. Boutique, expensive, hi-end...Yes, there's a market there for that, but it's much smaller and company would have to drop their sales expectations by another 90% and increase prices 10x to make the numbers work.


Now, THIS ->>>> http://www.thebrennan.com <<<<- is a compelling product.

 

[baco99]

It is a glorified PC - the Brennan. It looks like it uses LMS - awful expensive for more than likely an Android based system.

But for someone like myself who is not a computer programmer, it's a plug-and-play solution, it has a high level of functionality, it's small and portable, it has a built in amplifier, and it's priced lower than an Oppo, it can talk to Alexa and Sonos, it's Mac compatible, it's expandable, and acts as a music server.

For the vast majority of people who are even willing to explore higher fidelity audio than a typical streaming solution, this is a better option than most. I haven't seen anything else out there that has this level of no-nonsense functionality.

Also, it's a Raspberry Pi logic board.

 

[baco99]

It is a glorified PC - the Brennan. It looks like it uses LMS - awful expensive for more than likely an Android based system.

Furthermore, my point is, Oppo should have seized the opportunity to lead the growth segment of the market instead of remaining entrenched in the failing segment of the market. With their budget, they could have developed a product better than the B2, and probably better than Sonos, but they didn't.

 

[nedseg]

I for one don't use my 103 to spin discs, but as a means of getting audio from cable box etc. Into the bedroom stereo. I set it up as 5.1, no center, no sub and feed the audio into the aux in of an old quad receiver. What other product can do that? I know it's a fringe application but I, and likely owners of old high end analog AVRs and pre/pros appreciate it.

Me too. Was even able to change from wifi streaming from PC/Files to hardwired LAN with the 103. Will be comparing the analog outputs to hdmi soon. (I use 7.1 outputs, my pre/pro accepts both.)
I searched recently, and could not find an 'affordable' multi-channel DAC, so there aren't many alternatives.
(Just ordered a D50 - which seems to be getting to the pinnacle of DAC tech already - and will be curious to compare that.)

Granted bluray audio is probably on the way out (vs. DSD files), and I only occasionally play CDs on it (SACD and Blurays).
I've tried (admittedly inexpensive) Sony and Panasonic bluray machines, and neither comes close, either in usability (the Panasonic frequently just stops working- apparently normal for it!) or features.
TheBrennan (above), looks very interesting, but doesn't do multi-channel decoding, so the loss of Oppo is a step back in my opinion.

Did Oppo commit the ultimate manufacture's sin of building a machine so well that they don't get many replacement sales??

I guess I'll finally get around to adding a small fan to the cabinet the Oppo is in now to assure that it never overheats!!!

 

[Bostown]

Now, THIS ->>>> http://www.thebrennan.com <<<<- is a compelling product.

Essentially all the stuff that OPPO could have and should have done - Now of course that wouldn't have saved them but it would have offered some much greater functionality than it offered I think they were smart to ditch streaming. Smart TVs and all these devices that play HULU, Netflix , amazon prime seem to be way behind on software and UI updates. The Nvdia stealth has been my streamer for the past year or so and has been great.

I still don't understand why there is no master CD RIP repository, where a player connects to a server that Identifies that you inserted the PHYSICAL disc and gives you access to a HI RES copy that you can stream and/or store locally if you want , instead of needing to rip a copy yourself ( at a nominal cost). Maybe it exists , there are so many services out there I can't keep track ( still trying to figure out what the hell ROON is)

The very first "streaming" services actually worked as I described above. You had to physically insert your CD and if they had it in their library, you can play it on any computer in your home without the need to play or rip the physical media .

Logitech could release their media server software to the public so that the coding community could update it and keep it more relevant.

You can do some of the things that the B2 offers with a cheap "net top" computer running Vortex box ( or whatever else is out there like Vortex box) , and play back via any device that connects and plays back files stored on a Logitech media server , including a raspberry pi outfitted with a decent DAC etc.

I don't consider the Oppo 103 / 105 203/205 one trick ponies. we all knew that 3d Video was Silly and wouldn't last more than a few releases. but the DAC, Transport, Headphone amp functionality, HDMI input , network capability ( if they could have done a better job with the interface) and other functions are viable . Sadly Audio folks don't appreciate MULTI FUNCTION DEVICES. Many are like kids who don't want their food touching on the same plate. once a single technology in a multi function unit gets an update that theirs no longer supports the whole thing is ancient tech in their eyes. What? NO HDMI on that former top of line processor or receiver .. Junk it! forget the fact that it still has an amazing DAC, a nice HD tuner, Multichannel Analog inputs, A solid Amplifier, etc etc.. It's garbage .. On to the next thing.

 

[baco99]

Like I said, OPPO is owned by a big conglomerate that makes phones and other electronics. If OPPO was one of their minor brands, then that is why they are folding.

exactly. good news is it leaves room for smaller companies to fill the void. but with manufacturing costs rising globally, our hobby will get more and more expensive as these large companies continue to drop product lines.

 

[E-Stat]

... our hobby will get more and more expensive as these large companies continue to drop product lines.

Gee, that's not at all what I observe. Digital players of any ilk are essentially computers where the cost/performance ratio continues to plummet on an exponential curve.

I use an existing desktop computer to house my digital library of both music and video feeding renderers around the house. You can get a nicely outfitted Raspberry Pi based player that can stream from internet radio, subscription services or your server for $200. A Roku video player runs $50 (have two)

The disappearance of physical media players is inevitable.

 

[swechsler]

(BTW, I did a search and didn't find any other threads on this subject) *

Why don't they just say they're going out of business? If they're not developing new products, once their supply of current products dries up, that's pretty much it. From their FAQ:

From now on, OPPO Digital will focus our main effort on organizing and ensuring long term support for the existing generation of products. As such, we will not have the resources to develop and release new generations of products.

Obviously there's no money in that...


*Oops, never mind, here it is.

 

[N8Nagel]

Did Oppo commit the ultimate manufacture's sin of building a machine so well that they don't get many replacement sales??

I guess I'll finally get around to adding a small fan to the cabinet the Oppo is in now to assure that it never overheats!!!

I don't even think so. The only thing keeping me from buying a 205 was the price.

I wonder if anyone will ever release a universal media drive for PC? One that will read CD, DVD, BD, and SACD? We'd still need an affordable 7.1 DAC to replicate the functionality in a HTPC though.