Upgrade to Oppo or something else?

[nm2285]

Hey all. I understand all the glowing reviews of the Oppo. I was wondering, is it really worth the price difference if all I'm using it for is HDMI connection to a receiver to watch blu-rays (mostly) and DVDs (infrequently)? I think if I was to listen to SACDs or DVD-As or watch a lot more DVDs, the benefits of the Oppo would be obvious. What about on purely blu-ray playback? Significant difference compared to capable players like Sony BDP-S5100?

Also, I'd love a quick-loading player. How is the Oppo speed-wise? Anyone have some insight in terms of loading blu-ray discs as well as apps?

Thanks!

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Don't know how it does versus that Sony player. I myself had Samsung BD-F7500 player earlier and upgraded to Marantz UD5007. And I did benefit with this upgrade in every area. Better colors for bluray and clearer sound, same with dvd with much better upscaling. Also clearer sound with CD's. Silence that came with this new player is also luxury compared to those cheaper units. Speed wise, I think it is little faster but not that much I think. Oppo 103 is pretty close to same as my Marantz player what I have read, both being great players. I choose Marantz as it looks better with my receiver.

Cant say how Oppo compares to given Sony unit, but I would imagine there is similar difference on it that I had between Samsung and Marantz. And imo it was worth the upgrade anytime.

 

[jliedeka]

From a speed perspective, I don't think there's a huge difference among more recent players.

The Oppo does a great job with upscaling DVDs. Another plus for the Oppo is they have great support and release firmware updates on their players for a long time. I also like the fact that mine will handle PAL DVDs.

Is that worth $500 to you?

Jim

 

[j_garcia]

103 or 105? Might make a bigger difference, but also a bigger price difference. I probably wouldn't make the jump to just the 103 if it were me. I actually don't like how long the 105 takes to load up its own home menu, because I can't launch a disc during that time. However if the player is already on and I drop in a disc, it starts faster than any other player I've owned. So six of one half dozen of the other, and we're not talking an order of magnitude here, so a second or two savings probably isn't worth it to me. YES, this thing looks pretty amazing with DVDs too. The best quality DVDs achieve near blu-ray appearance; the worst ones still don't look good

 

[JMJVK]

I have both a Sony BDP-S5100 and Oppo BDP-103. The later replaced the former. I will never go back to a "simple" player.

It opens SACD, DVD-A, BD-A and sports a better DAC than many receivers, and can be used with analog transport without problems. I have no hiss, no hum and recommend it to anyone serious about music and sound. It is also better at using digital file on a network, or USB hard-drive even with NTFS. It works on plain network share, avoiding the nasty transcoding often caused by use of DLNA.

 

[PENG]

Hey all. I understand all the glowing reviews of the Oppo. I was wondering, is it really worth the price difference if all I'm using it for is HDMI connection to a receiver to watch blu-rays (mostly) and DVDs (infrequently)? I think if I was to listen to SACDs or DVD-As or watch a lot more DVDs, the benefits of the Oppo would be obvious. What about on purely blu-ray playback? Significant difference compared to capable players like Sony BDP-S5100?

Also, I'd love a quick-loading player. How is the Oppo speed-wise? Anyone have some insight in terms of loading blu-ray discs as well as apps?

Thanks!

I have the BX59, the Costco version of the BDP-S590 and I believe the S5100 is their replacement. Regardless, I just check the specs and found that like my BX59, the BDP-S5100 can still pay SACD and output DSD. I also have an Oppo 105 but I typically use it for music, mostly two channels only because I found the Sony does just about as good on the video side. So assuming the S5100 is as good as the older 590, I would say it is not worth spending $500 if you are not after the better analog section of the Oppo and are okay with SACD only without the DVD-A capability. I do agree the Oppo does much better streaming music from a PC.

 

[JMJVK]

BDP-S5100 can still pay SACD and output DSD

Only if his AVR supports DSD decoding. Which is not a given.

 

[PENG]

Only if his AVR supports DSD decoding. Which is not a given.

true, but the same applies to the oppo.

 

[JMJVK]

the same applies to the oppo.

Not if the receiver has analog inputs; the Oppo has an onboard DAC an analog outputs, so it can decode DSD to an analog feed without prior downsampling.

 

[PENG]

Not if the receiver has analog inputs; the Oppo has an onboard DAC an analog outputs, so it can decode DSD to an analog feed without prior downsampling.

I had the feeling you were going to say this, and yes I agree with you. The Sony could still sound good playing SACD and output in PCM to a receiver that has decent DAC but no DSD capability. I just want the OP to know that the Sony can play SACD, the rest of it really depends on his own expectation and make up his mind after weighing the benefits and the extra $450.

 

[JMJVK]

Of course, whether the extra expense is worth his dollar, that remains his call. Granted, the Sony doesn't do too bad of a job transcoding DSD to a high resolution PCM, but it is still a lesser version of the real deal.

I was merely trying to enumerate why the Oppo is, in my opinion, a good choice. I prefer accessing network files using traditional network shares over DLNA, I insist on a NTFS-capable USB connection, and having access to the best digital sound possible, and on all of that, the Oppo delivers like no other hardware player that I know of.

 

[PENG]

I prefer accessing network files using traditional network shares over DLNA, I insist on a NTFS-capable USB connection, and having access to the best digital sound possible, and on all of that, the Oppo delivers like no other hardware player that I know of.

Same here, and I am a happy owner of the 105 and the HA-1. The points I made were base on the OP's post#1. I am curious to know what he ended up getting.