Oppo Dv-980 H

[footman]

Purchased to replace a Pioneer DV 563-A. First impressions :fast delivery from OPPO, well packaged. Upon opening contents complete as verified by manual. six foot HDMI cable, three component cables, remote, batteries, faux velvet carrycase, DV-980H, manual. Five minutes to integrate into system: biamped Yamaha Z1,Axiom M80, presence speakers, center, rear center, two surrounds,two subwoofers, Panasonic TH-42PX600U. My basic concern is audio performance. MP3 , CD-R, CD very satisfying. SACD,DVDAudio, two generations ahead of the Pioneer. I was shocked. It was as if I was hearing the high rez formats properly for the first time. Video: Upconverts DVD's to a wonderful picture. Video audio performance is excellent.

 

[billy p]

Your views simply echo that of all the oppo's owners! Yet there's always those who simply feel they MUST spend more in order to get more! In the end it all comes down to one's individual choice and you made a really good one!

 

[mfabien]

My recent purchase of the Oppo DV-970HD turned out to be a very nice discovery. Glad to see you enjoy yours.

These latest models allow SACD, DVD-A via HDMI connection. Is that what you are using for audio? In my case, I used multichannel analogs switched by a Zektor HDS4.1.

 

[j_garcia]

I've been putting the 980 through the wringer for a few weeks and so far it has performed very well on all fronts.

 

[agarwalro]

I've been putting the 980 through the wringer for a few weeks and so far it has performed very well on all fronts.

Any comments on the macro-blocking bug?

Amazingly, I am getting some on the Denon 3910 mated with the Panny Plasma.

 

[j_garcia]

I have a direct view CRT so no macroblocking that I can see. What I've read says the 970/980 do better with this than the 981 due to Mediatek vs Faroudja deinterlacing.

 

[oldgoalie33]

Thanks for posting your impressions. I've got the same Pioneer and have been considering the Oppo 980 too. Glad to hear that it's a significant improvement over the 563. I think you've helped in my decision to upgrade!

 

[fmw]

Many people don't understand why the Oppos are such a great value. Firstly, they are made in China so production costs are as low as they can be. Secondly, and more importantly, they are sold directly by the importer so there are no dealer and/or distributor margins in the price. The Oppo 980 is the equivalent of a $400 player from most of the major Japanese manufacturers but is better designed than most and has a much, much, much cheaper distribution channel.

Incidentally, I have an Oppo 980 and it is the best standard definition player I've ever enoucountered at any price. It decodes CD's, SACD's and DVD-A's as well anything I've heard at any price. No, I haven't encountered them all.

 

[bigbangtheory]

Glad to hear all the positive buzz about Oppo! I am thinking about Oppo to replace my Sony upconverting dvd player since it has no sacd/dvd audio support, and no multichannel analogue outputs like the Oppo does.

The great value with this player is enough to keep me from going into HD dvd for quite a while.

 

[asindc]

I've had the 970 in my system for 6 months now, and my impressions echo the original poster's. If you are into high-end 2-channel audio, then don't overlook these units! Many people, including myself, have them as the front end of sophisticated 2-channel systems. If you pair an Oppo with a exceptional DAC, then you will get performance at least equal to $2k CD players. No joke. Best bargain in audio today, by far.