CD analog audio dropout

[gdm]

Hope I am in the best forum!

I hope I'm in the right forum!

I recently purchased an Oppo BDP-83 Special Edition bluray player. I am an avid music lover (classical & jazz) and have several thousands of cds, all of which are in mint condition. The sound is excellent!

When playing a cd, many times the audio will drop out for about 1/2 second or so. Generally this is within the first 10-15 minutes of the disc. If I "rewind" the cd and play the spot over there is no dropout. Sometimes it sounds like a read error.

I have the 7.1 outputs and stereo outputs along with the optical connection teminating into a Denon 4802R. The HDMI terminates into a new Panasonic V10 chasis plasma. HDMI sound is OFF in the Oppo setup menu.

When playing a DVD or Bluray disk, the picture is fantastic as is the sound. No issues at all!

I have contacted Oppo a couple of times and I must say they are very quick in responding! A+ for tech. support!

I have downloaded the latest firmware which they said addresses the known issue of analog dropout. They have recommend several times to disconnect the HDMI cable to see if that helps. It does not. They have mentioned that the HDMI handshake to the tv can be an issue. Here is one of their responses:

"Dennis,

Having the stereo and the multi-channel analog cables connected at the same time will not cause issues.

However, HDMI handshakes which can occur between a television or receiver will cause interruptions over the analog and digital coaxial/optical outputs. This is why we wanted to ensure that the HDMI cable was completely disconnected.

Do you have dropouts when using digital coaxial or optical?"

I generally do not use the optical cable for cd listening since I like the pure audio (analog only) on both the Oppo and Denon.

To sum up, the Oppo is a great player except for this one issue! Have you heard of this before? I am reluctant to constantly unplug the HDMI cable since I am sure over time the contacts will get worn! I also don't believe that my cds are bad!

Any thoughts will greatly be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[TLS Guy]

Hope I am in the best forum!

I hope I'm in the right forum!

I recently purchased an Oppo BDP-83 Special Edition bluray player. I am an avid music lover (classical & jazz) and have several thousands of cds, all of which are in mint condition. The sound is excellent!

When playing a cd, many times the audio will drop out for about 1/2 second or so. Generally this is within the first 10-15 minutes of the disc. If I "rewind" the cd and play the spot over there is no dropout. Sometimes it sounds like a read error.

I have the 7.1 outputs and stereo outputs along with the optical connection teminating into a Denon 4802R. The HDMI terminates into a new Panasonic V10 chasis plasma. HDMI sound is OFF in the Oppo setup menu.

When playing a DVD or Bluray disk, the picture is fantastic as is the sound. No issues at all!

I have contacted Oppo a couple of times and I must say they are very quick in responding! A+ for tech. support!

I have downloaded the latest firmware which they said addresses the known issue of analog dropout. They have recommend several times to disconnect the HDMI cable to see if that helps. It does not. They have mentioned that the HDMI handshake to the tv can be an issue. Here is one of their responses:

"Dennis,

Having the stereo and the multi-channel analog cables connected at the same time will not cause issues.

However, HDMI handshakes which can occur between a television or receiver will cause interruptions over the analog and digital coaxial/optical outputs. This is why we wanted to ensure that the HDMI cable was completely disconnected.

Do you have dropouts when using digital coaxial or optical?"

I generally do not use the optical cable for cd listening since I like the pure audio (analog only) on both the Oppo and Denon.

To sum up, the Oppo is a great player except for this one issue! Have you heard of this before? I am reluctant to constantly unplug the HDMI cable since I am sure over time the contacts will get worn! I also don't believe that my cds are bad!

Any thoughts will greatly be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

There seem to be a lot of rabbits coming out of the proverbial hat with those Oppo players.

I'm going to getting into BD, and have a Marantz pre/pro on order from my local dealer I have a relationship with for thirty years. No big box goons or slick internet sites. He can beat their prices anyway, and I'm glad to help keep him in business.

I have been debating whether to get the new Es version of that OPPO, however I'm getting the strong impression it is another Chinese POS.

So I think I will get the standard BDP-83, but leave my very nice Universal Marantz player in the rack. It has been a wonderful unit. I have plenty of rack space. If I don't like the BDP-83 it is cheap enough I can send it to the recycling center with a good kick in the pants for good measure.

The problem is there is a worsening shortage of good privately owned firms in the west, my favorite Quad comes to mind, where the owners were free people, not slaves to a vile ideology. These were run by inspired individuals with flashes of genius. They made really good gear at reasonable prices. The owners did not get rich, but made a respectable living. They and their employees enjoyed every minute of it. Quad was a really happy organization, before eventually being owned by the Chinese.

To our eternal discredit we stacked the dice against them. We are now paying a terrible price, and will pay a bigger one.

 

[gdm]

Thanks. Wish we had a decent a/v shop in this area. Just the big boxes. We used to have a really good dealer about 22 years ago (yeah, I'm old!) and I still am using some of the gear I bought there. I have had to rebuild the original Epicure 10s a couple of times but they aren't used much anymore but still sound remarkedly good. Decent service and really good advice. I could spend a couple of hours just shooting the, well ya' know what!

No more....my pug knows more about sound than the guys in the big box! At least she knows when to bark!

 

[jostenmeat]

TLS Guy, what are the first bluray titles that you want to play in your system? Thanks. I am curious. I'm sure they're probably all mch classical recordings, and I bet you know which are better recorded.

Oh, I bet you will probably load operatic titles. Unfortunately, I am not big on opera. However, I honestly think that opera must benefit from bluray more than anything else, and that includes movies.

Regardless, I am still curious for your response, thanks!

 

[TLS Guy]

TLS Guy, what are the first bluray titles that you want to play in your system? Thanks. I am curious. I'm sure they're probably all mch classical recordings, and I bet you know which are better recorded.

Oh, I bet you will probably load operatic titles. Unfortunately, I am not big on opera. However, I honestly think that opera must benefit from bluray more than anything else, and that includes movies.

Regardless, I am still curious for your response, thanks!

You have guessed right. But summer is coming up and my eldest daughter and her husband are movie buffs, and are eager to watch in Blue Ray. My son in law calls it the best theater in the world. I'm hoping for great things in the audio and video department. However Dolby Digital seems to work pretty well for movies, so I' not expecting a huge improvement here.

However Dolby Digital is severely wanting as a system for opera playback.

I'm really eager to get some Blue ray Operas.

The Met and EMI have missed the boat and are releasing there HD broadcasts in DVD. I think they hope their Met player will take off. However to download in HD you need fiber to your home to make this practical. However Paul Bunyan Telephone, from whom I get service are on track to be the first in the nation to have fiber to all customer. They are well advanced, and it is already at the little Benedict general store. I should get fiber optic to my studio this spring. I can then subscribe to the met season in HD. This will be interesting for the future.

The Royal Opera House Covent Garden bought the Opus Arte label some time ago, and are well into BD.

Arthaus have a good catalog.

I'm really looking forward to this one.

The good old Naxos label is really blazing a trail.

So now seems a good time to jump in.

Opera is difficult because it requires a lot of resources. We have an enterprising Minnesota Opera Company, but no proper Opera House. We have the Ordway in St. Paul but the orchestra pit is far too small.

So for most of the population do not have easy access to this wonderful art form.

The next issue is that most speakers are totally inadequate for the medium, and frankly turn neophytes off. They just reinforce the public caricature of opera. It takes a very good speaker system indeed to really enjoy opera especially Wagner, who provides a continuous speaker stress test, that will make every speaker fault glaring. The speaker have to be good well balanced and powerful with seamless bass integration.