Lexicon BD-30 Universal Blu-ray Player First Look

[admin]

Lexicon is touting their new BD-30 Blu-ray player as "future-proof." We've heard that claim before from a number of manufacturers. The BD-30 is a true universal player in that it can play CDs, DVDs, SACDs, DVD-As, and Blu-rays. At $3500, it's everything you could ask for... except for a bargain. One thing that is clear is that Lexicon is not really marketing this player to the common man (or woman). If you didn't get that from the price, then you will from the language of the release. There are constant references to custom installers specifically in relation to the RS-232 support but also in general. It it obvious that Lexicon expects this product to be marketed to those with the money to afford a home theater installation specialist.

Discuss "Lexicon BD-30 Universal Blu-ray Player First Look" here. Read the article.

 

[Seth=L]

Ewww, they put the usb port on the front without a cover, yuck.

 

[bandphan]

And no DiVx support

 

[Seth=L]

And no DiVx support

lol

 

[AccessGuy]

Wretched Excess of Marketing

How could anyone justify the price of this player when for $499 you can purchase the OPPO BDP-83 universal Blu-Ray with the same Anchor Bay upscaling technology for SDs and the fastest loading times to boot! Perhaps for the exclusivity of the label? There is Home Theater and then there is the theater of conspicuous consumption to display in your home!

 

[FirstReflection]

What's funny is that this IS the Oppo BDP-83 (with the optional RS-232 port upgrade). So if you buy this, you are literally paying $3500 for the EXACT same player that you can buy from Oppo for under $600 (just with a fancier case).

Oppo acts as an OEM in this case. It's a common practice. The best ever was a Theta branded DVD player that was literally a Pioneer DVD player stuffed inside of an outer case - as in, if you unscrewed the Theta case, there was an off-the-shelf Pioneer DVD player (case and all!) inside with little plug extensions jammed into all of its outputs! I'm not saying this Lexicon player is necessarily as ridiculous as that Theta was, but it's literally the same parts as the BDP-83, taken from a BDP-83 and put into a different case! If that's worth about $2900 to you - have at it!

 

[allargon]

This Lexicon's still a better deal than that $3k Marantz SACD player!

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/transports/cd-players/marantz-sa-ki-pearl-sacd

 

[gene]

What's funny is that this IS the Oppo BDP-83 (with the optional RS-232 port upgrade). So if you buy this, you are literally paying $3500 for the EXACT same player that you can buy from Oppo for under $600 (just with a fancier case).

Oppo acts as an OEM in this case. It's a common practice. The best ever was a Theta branded DVD player that was literally a Pioneer DVD player stuffed inside of an outer case - as in, if you unscrewed the Theta case, there was an off-the-shelf Pioneer DVD player (case and all!) inside with little plug extensions jammed into all of its outputs! I'm not saying this Lexicon player is necessarily as ridiculous as that Theta was, but it's literally the same parts as the BDP-83, taken from a BDP-83 and put into a different case! If that's worth about $2900 to you - have at it!

You know I looked at this player and immediately thought it was the Oppo. Maybe its time for an "Attack of the Clone Blu-ray player" article

 

[iso9001]

For that cost should look way classier. I could never sell the wife on that.

 

[j_garcia]

Yep, you can tell from the pics, even if they are just digital images, that it is a BDP-83. I'd guess they are adding additional circuitry inside and possibly beefing up some aspects, otherwise I don't think it is going to sell too well

 

[walter duque]

I am going for the OPPO once I sell my Sony. I got suckered into the Camelot Round Table DVD Player years ago. It was special order cost me 4K and when I first turned it on the screen said Panasonic. I was not aware of that and since it was special order I was stuck with it. I'll wait for my OPPO. Besides that's alot of money for a Harman Kardon.

 

[Seth=L]

You know I looked at this player and immediately thought it was the Oppo. Maybe its time for an "Attack of the Clone Blu-ray player" article

This is about as disproportional as that $750 Denon that was a rebadge of a $200 Funai based Blu-ray player that acted as a template for Magnavox, Sylvania, and Insignia Blu-ray players.

 

[Seth=L]

Harman International - Being obviously strange since 1953

 

[FirstReflection]

You know I looked at this player and immediately thought it was the Oppo. Maybe its time for an "Attack of the Clone Blu-ray player" article

It's definitely time for an "Attack of the Clones" Blu-ray player edition!

Clone Blu-ray players are everywhere! There's that Funai OEM player that is being sold under all sorts of different brand names. I'm not hugely upset with that one because almost all of the clones of that model are being sold for very low prices.

Denon almost always takes their base design from another company - often Panasonic, sometimes Pioneer. Denon, at least, usually upgrades some internal components, but the fact remains that their players are largely the work of other OEM companies.

The whole OEM relationship is everywhere though! Axiom and RBH are just two examples of well regarded speaker companies that sell under their own brand, but also act as OEM for other brands (who sell their designs at considerable mark-ups). And it's utterly ridiculous when it comes to computer parts!

How many times have we seen JVC's D-iLA front projectors re-branded and sold at higher prices by other brands now? And among LCD displays, so many can be traced back to a Sharp manufacturing facility.

In a nut shell, this is why I do not trust "luxury" brands what-so-ever in the electronics world. Very few of them actually MAKE anything. They just buy products from other brands, put the parts in a fancier case (or more accurately, HAVE the parts put in a fancier case) and then stick a price tag on it that is 5-10x the price of the original!

 

[gene]

I updated Tom's article

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/transports/high-definition-dvd-players-hd-dvd-blu-ray/lexicon-bd-30-universal-blu-ray-player

 

[Seth=L]

It's definitely time for an "Attack of the Clones" Blu-ray player edition!

Clone Blu-ray players are everywhere! There's that Funai OEM player that is being sold under all sorts of different brand names. I'm not hugely upset with that one because almost all of the clones of that model are being sold for very low prices.

Denon almost always takes their base design from another company - often Panasonic, sometimes Pioneer. Denon, at least, usually upgrades some internal components, but the fact remains that their players are largely the work of other OEM companies.

The whole OEM relationship is everywhere though! Axiom and RBH are just two examples of well regarded speaker companies that sell under their own brand, but also act as OEM for other brands (who sell their designs at considerable mark-ups). And it's utterly ridiculous when it comes to computer parts!

How many times have we seen JVC's D-iLA front projectors re-branded and sold at higher prices by other brands now? And among LCD displays, so many can be traced back to a Sharp manufacturing facility.

In a nut shell, this is why I do not trust "luxury" brands what-so-ever in the electronics world. Very few of them actually MAKE anything. They just buy products from other brands, put the parts in a fancier case (or more accurately, HAVE the parts put in a fancier case) and then stick a price tag on it that is 5-10x the price of the original!

Honestly, companies only do this to fill voids. What if someone wants to buy the newest Lexicon processor and amplifier and they want the Blu-ray player to match. With some of these rich folks it's all or nothing. Lexicon could have designed their own Blu-ray player based off their H/K sibling, but someone already did it so much better. The Oppo sets the mark for nearly all Blu-ray players. Why make a high end version of your buggy and slow design, when you can copy the best available to blend with the rest of Mr. Endless Pocket's home theater.

 

[FirstReflection]

Oh I get it, Seth=L

My concern is that regular folk can't help but wonder if it's really possible for the QUALITY to be so much better. As in, is there really some QUALITY difference that would make spending an additional $2900 worth while?

My point is that - in many, many cases - there is not.

If having the aesthetics and the logo on you equipment match is worth an extra $2900 to you - well, that's just the sort of luxury that I cannot wrap my head around. A few extra hundred? OK...I could understand that. But $2900?! I'm quite sure you could have someone make a custom outer case and put the BDP-83's guts into it for less money than that!

I'm fine with the OEM structure. It makes perfect sense! Billions of dollars are invested in building factories. It only makes sense to have that factory manufacture products for more than just one brand.

The problem - for me - is when some brands decide to charge ridiculously high prices for what is essentially the exact same product as a much less expensive brand. That, in itself, is not inherently bad (if you're foolish enough to pay so much more, that's your problem!), but it's the claims that the performance is actually better. That's what bothers me. There are people out there claiming that the super-expensive products actually perform better...and that is just plain false. THAT bothers me. I get why they say it - why else would even a rich person spend so much more money? But it's just a flat out lie. Same internal components coming from the same factory. There's no QUALITY difference to be had. Just a different case, different logo and a WAY different price tag.

 

[Audioholics]

I'd guess they are adding additional circuitry inside and possibly beefing up some aspects

You may be assuming too much, or not... we wont know until someone rips one open. The JVC projector products rarely included any mods in the clones. I think one company did some calibration and software changes.

 

[Seth=L]

The problem - for me - is when some brands decide to charge ridiculously high prices for what is essentially the exact same product as a much less expensive brand. That, in itself, is not inherently bad (if you're foolish enough to pay so much more, that's your problem!), but it's the claims that the performance is actually better. That's what bothers me. There are people out there claiming that the super-expensive products actually perform better...and that is just plain false. THAT bothers me. I get why they say it - why else would even a rich person spend so much more money? But it's just a flat out lie. Same internal components coming from the same factory. There's no QUALITY difference to be had. Just a different case, different logo and a WAY different price tag.

Often times, and I think this is the same deal here, is that people draw their own conclusions about a product's performance from personal bias. The company isn't stating their product is better in most cases, especially when it comes to rebadging OEMs, I believe that sort of thing could lead down a path no business would want to walk. People believe what they want to because they believe that by paying more they get more. So it's the foolish people that spent their endless cash on stuff they are certain is better.

 

[FirstReflection]

Often times, and I think this is the same deal here, is that people draw their own conclusions about a product's performance from personal bias. The company isn't stating their product is better in most cases, especially when it comes to rebadging OEMs, I believe that sort of thing could lead down a path no business would want to walk. People believe what they want to because they believe that by paying more they get more. So it's the foolish people that spent their endless cash on stuff they are certain is better.

I'm in total agreement with you on this, Seth=L. The people who actually went ahead and spent the super high price - they feel a need to justify their purchase (to themselves if no one else) and so they will claim that it sounds or looks better. And then there are the people who just cannot wrap their minds around the fact that sometimes, paying more does not get you more!

I've seen the circular logic pop up many times. Ask, "why does Product A cost 5x as much as Product B when they are both made by the same OEM?" Someone always seems to answer, "oh, that's because Product A is better!" Ask, "what makes it better?" They'll answer, "oh, it has upgraded parts and it has been 'tweaked' for better performance." Ask, "do you know for a fact that parts have been upgraded? What parts, exactly?" They'll say, "oh, I don't really know for sure. But they MUST have upgraded parts. After all, look at the price!"

Those folks just can't wrap their minds around the idea of a brazen and flat out rip off