Oppo to wind down and cease manufacturing

[sterling shoote]

That is why I have a DAW. You can record from any source except HDMI. You can record any stream, directly off the Net, plus anything analog, SPDIF or ADAT. I record off the NET live streamed concerts all the time. It is easier than the old reel to reel or cassette. Just a few clicks and you are off to the races. I have a huge digital library of good programming I have archived. Any of these can then be mastered to CD, which I do and give to friends now and again. If a good concert comes up, then I can record it just like the old days. If it is not convenient to listen when broadcast, then I can record it and listen to it later. I do that all the time. There has never been a time I could not grab a radio broadcast or stream once they became available.

I also have a program now that will record an AV stream off the air. I don't use it a lot, as when you add video you need a lot more hard drive space.
..
In case you have not heard me saw it before: - I love my DAW, like I loved the one before. I have 16 years experience of doing this now.

I have no experience with a DAW; but, I see the convenience of it for producing high quality playlists. Now that I have an OPPO 205 I'm going to try to use the usb input to deliver IEC 958 output to my DAT Recorder. This will be much more convenient for me than the process of usb to optical S/PDIF to IEC 958 which I am currently using to get computer audio streams to DAT or Recordable CD.

 

[bikdav]

Wow! Didn't see that one coming.

Same here. I have the old 103.

 

[roadwarrior]

Same here. I have the old 103.

I've never personally owned one but I've heard about their legendary customer service for years. That's something larger businesses just can't seem to get right. I'm on backorder for a 203 from one of their authorized resellers so we'll see what happens and if I get it or not. Already collecting some UHD titles but as yet no player to watch them with.

 

[lovinthehd]

I've never personally owned one but I've heard about their legendary customer service for years. That's something larger businesses just can't seem to get right. I'm on backorder for a 203 from one of their authorized resellers so we'll see what happens and if I get it or not. Already collecting some UHD titles but as yet no player to watch them with.

You know it's showing available on the Oppo site at the moment tho?

 

[roadwarrior]

You know it's showing available on the Oppo site at the moment tho?

Thanks but I know. I started out going there but I wanted to buy from one of their authorized resellers with free lifetime tech support.

First started out they were getting their next shipment by the 16th and now they've been told by OPPO it's the 30th. They are a pretty well respected reseller so I take them at their word but I dont think I'll wait past this second date I've been given. Having Amazon Prime for so long has made me spoiled with not having to wait on my orders so this is a good test of my patience I guess. I'll obviously order direct from OPPO after that though.

 

[lovinthehd]

Didn't realize anyone would actually offer lifetime tech support, but just what is that, does that includes any necessary repairs?

 

[j_garcia]

AFAIK, 205 is out of stock and I don't think there was another run of them coming in. When my friend called me about the order last week, he said there were just 3 205s left. 203 they said there's still a round of them that were manufactured but the next shipment mentioned above is likely to be the last of them.

Got mine in yesterday. Opened the box to take a look, but have not installed.

 

[rnatalli]

Oppo may be winding down production, but they may still OEM to partners like Cambridge Audio so may not be out of the game entirely.

 

[sterling shoote]

AFAIK, 205 is out of stock and I don't think there was another run of them coming in. When my friend called me about the order last week, he said there were just 3 205s left. 203 they said there's still a round of them that were manufactured but the next shipment mentioned above is likely to be the last of them.

Got mine in yesterday. Opened the box to take a look, but have not installed.

I'm hoping you will advise on your network setup, my experience so far is discovery that with DLNA type server, gapless play is not possible. This means that listening to The Firebird or similar is not pleasurable. The rub here is that leaves only front usb port or disc playback for enjoyment of multi-channel/gapless, since usb DAC does not do multi-channel. As i understand it there is another server type which will do gapless from OPPO but I do not know how to set up such type.

 

[j_garcia]

I'm hoping you will advise on your network setup, my experience so far is discovery that with DLNA type server, gapless play is not possible. This means that listening to The Firebird or similar is not pleasurable. The rub here is that leaves only front usb port or disc playback for enjoyment of multi-channel/gapless, since usb DAC does not do multi-channel. As i understand it there is another server type which will do gapless from OPPO but I do not know how to set up such type.

I can run a wire over there, but normally I don't connect mine.

 

[roadwarrior]

Didn't realize anyone would actually offer lifetime tech support, but just what is that, does that includes any necessary repairs?

Crutchfield and they have been doing it forever as far as I'm aware. It involves just what you would expect from the term, " Free lifetime technical support." Similar to contacting the product manufactures TS hotline for troubleshooting tips and walk throughs.
Don't believe it includes repairs.

We had it offered in the auto industry for years as well from certain vendors.

 

[lovinthehd]

Crutchfield and they have been doing it forever as far as I'm aware. It involves just what you would expect from the term, " Free lifetime technical support." Similar to contacting the product manufactures TS hotline for troubleshooting tips and walk throughs.
Don't believe it includes repairs.

We had it offered in the auto industry for years as well from certain vendors.

Never found a customer service tech support that knew as much as I did....wouldn't find that kind of help much to consider. Maybe if you're really green with av gear....

 

[slipperybidness]

Never found a customer service tech support that knew as much as I did....wouldn't find that kind of help much to consider. Maybe if you're really green with av gear....

"Did you try unplugging/replugging the power cord?"

 

[roadwarrior]

I'm far from green on anything AV related just as I was far from the same related to my chosen profession. One thing I will tell you from 22 years in the auto industry is that kind of arrogance of knowledge was always fertile grounds for eventually screwing up your paperwork on a car deal(I.e. obtaining reimbursement from a govt. agency) or troubleshooting our KeyTrak software/hardware or obtaining specific lease/smartbuy buyout and or turn in instructions without some kind of support.

Yeah, I've dealt with some knuckleheads/knuckledraggers on the other end of a support line over the years where I knew more than they did but I've also dealt with others who knew their stuff and gave me some good information to help me better do my job for my customers.

Less so nowadays since companies are routinely shipping most of these jobs overseas but CF doesn't do that and has received numerous awards for their support staff since 1974:


(In 2007, Bill Crutchfield was inducted into the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame alongside Paul Allen and Amar Bose.The company's website, Crutchfield.com, was the first vendor-authorized audio/video retailer on the Internet. In addition, as of September 2017, Crutchfield was the only internet retailer to have won BizRate's Platinum Circle of Excellence Award seventeen years in a row. Crutchfield Corp.'s call center has been certified by J. D. Power and Associates' Call Center Certification Program for "meeting key expectations"and "outstanding customer service experience.")


Free
(adverb)

1)without cost or payment.

Also 60 day returns for any reason. Double that of OPPO directly which will be winding down operations and eventually support as well as that obviously can't go on forever from them.

Can we please move on to something else because I've got the whole, "Who best to do retail business with" thing pretty much covered after 51 years of living and dealing with manufactures/vendors/suppliers/contractors and the general public for a little more than 22 of them.

Ordering direct from OPPO is also a good idea for those wanting to do so. I'm not endorsing one over the other. Just picked up a few added perks going my way and I'm in no hurry to get the player. Good talk.

 

[j_garcia]

Normally for a physical product, I want support from the manufacturer if possible. Oppo has stated they will continue to support the products, they will just not be producing any more after the current ones.

CF may have "lifetime" support, but if it is something that requires a repair, that won't be free and they will ultimately defer to the manufacturer or a service center. They aren't going to fix things themselves AFAIK.

 

[lovinthehd]

I can't imagine needing "tech support" from the likes of Crutchfield vs that of Oppo, and probably won't need Oppo's either. I'm more interested in hardware support down the line for this price. I'm still on the fence about keeping the unit....

In any case @roadwarrior it wasn't about your finding that valuable, more that I wouldn't find it valuable. I've used Crutchfield a long time ago but haven't seen a need for them in many years, their pricing isn't often competitive (and am on the opposite coast if B&M stores are an option with them, don't know).

 

[roadwarrior]

I can't imagine needing "tech support" from the likes of Crutchfield vs that of Oppo

Me neither which is why I never intimidated using CF's support "over" OPPO's. I'll use OPPO's until their gone and afterwards if I still have the player and need some over the phone assistance I'll use CF's.

and probably won't need Oppo's either. I'm more interested in hardware support down the line for this price. I'm still on the fence about keeping the unit....

That's going to be a crapshoot. You're lucky to get hardware support from any electronics manufacture long term let alone one who is shuttering production. The cost is definitely a factor but I haven't broken a disc spinner going back to my Pioneer LD Elite(still have it) so I'm hoping to keep the streak going. If it doesn't work out short term I'm confident I can flip it and look at something else without too much financial exposure. Thank God for OPPO fans I guess.

In any case @roadwarrior it wasn't about your finding that valuable, more that I wouldn't find it valuable. I've used Crutchfield a long time ago but haven't seen a need for them in many years, their pricing isn't often competitive (and am on the opposite coast if B&M stores are an option with them, don't know).

Fair enough but value can always change over time and the cost difference currently is 10 bucks for a 30 day longer trial period so for a non OPPO owner like myself that's a no brainer.

Also their pricing reflects most other authorized dealers constrained by MPA's. You just have to call or PM them(or any other authorized electronics reseller) directly for price drops or wait on their annual sales. Acoustic Sound Design is another example of this for speakers/AV receivers and better direct over advertised pricing.

I'm in Texas currently so I'm not sure where or if they have any B&M's. From what I've read OPPO's B&M location is pretty much a ghost town so YMMV with that physical location long term.

I do recommend dealing with only either any manufacture directly like OPPO or one of their authorized resellers as many times there are warranty implications with some electronics when dealing with any unauthorized grey market resellers.

 

[Andrein]

What are the pros and cons 103d vs 203 apart from 4k? Is 203 really really faster? Will i loose netflix and tidal?

 

[slipperybidness]

I can't imagine needing "tech support" from the likes of Crutchfield vs that of Oppo, and probably won't need Oppo's either. I'm more interested in hardware support down the line for this price. I'm still on the fence about keeping the unit....

In any case @roadwarrior it wasn't about your finding that valuable, more that I wouldn't find it valuable. I've used Crutchfield a long time ago but haven't seen a need for them in many years, their pricing isn't often competitive (and am on the opposite coast if B&M stores are an option with them, don't know).

I could see using some CF support for car audio, what harness I need, stuff like that.

But for home AV stuff, likely not very useful in the long run.

CF tends to be over-priced, or right at MSRP......but I have seen some smoking deals on there from time to time too!

And, I do always like to at least flip through their catalog when I get it in the mail.

 

[KEW]

What are the pros and cons 103d vs 203 apart from 4k? Is 203 really really faster? Will i loose netflix and tidal?

I can only answer the second part - you would need to buy a separate streaming device such as a Fire stick or Roku to access streaming services. Many AVR's have streaming built-in.