OPPO BDP-83SE Special Edition Blu-ray Disc Player First Look

[fatswillie123]

The latest firmware from OPPO fixed the problem of the audio dropouts. Works great!!!!

 

[TLS Guy]

I'm telling you, cassette tapes with dolby noise reduction is the best.. It best dvd-a any day.

You must love the sound of tape saturation. Even the best cassette tapes can only maintain flat frequency response at -10db. At levels above -10db there is tape saturation which makes for a congested sound, and highly significant HF roll off.

Magnetic tape can only yield a flat frequency response at 0db with quarter inch tape, two track, running at 15 ips. A cassette tape is eighth inch four track running at 1 7/8 ips.

I can verify all of that as I have calibrated reel to reel and cassette alignment tapes, and all the equipment to adjust tape recorders for optimal performance and measure them.

I have never regarded the cassette tape medium as a true high fidelity medium, but on a very expensive machine like the one below it gets close.

In all honesty though the cassette was for music on the move like the i-pod and mp3 players now.

 

[bogrod]

I'm going to post this topic, because I feel that this website and forum is probably one of the only popular audio sites that would ever allow it, but has anyone ever done anything close to a DBT (certainly level-matched) between the so-called "high end" analog outputs? I guess to stick to topic, would anyone be able to truly come up with a statistically significant result between the six channel analog outs of the 83 and 83SE?

Or, for that matter, between others?

I tend to believe (and I think a good chunk would agree with me) that there is enough horsecrap within "high end" audio. There have been a lot of recommendations that people who have to deal with analog inputs buy the SE. But, again, could anyone really, truly (again, DBT and level-matched) tell the difference between the 83 and it's SE brother? Or, is all of this stuff similar to people believing in differences between properly constructed audio cabling/interconnects?

 

[j_garcia]

I had the 83 for quite a while before upgrading to the SE. The difference is easily noticeable after recalibrating. I leave the player set to zero except for the sub and adjust the channels with my receiver. My player was also completed and returned to me in one day (I am local) so my "audio memory" didn't need to stretch too far. This isn't just people wanting to believe because they spent more. The upgrade was totally worth it to me for music. I've heard the same thing from everyone who has done the upgrade.

 

[bogrod]

I had the 83 for quite a while before upgrading to the SE. The difference is easily noticeable after recalibrating. I leave the player set to zero except for the sub and adjust the channels with my receiver. My player was also completed and returned to me in one day (I am local) so my "audio memory" didn't need to stretch too far. This isn't just people wanting to believe because they spent more. The upgrade was totally worth it to me for music. I've heard the same thing from everyone who has done the upgrade.

But no double blind test results that you know of?

 

[j_garcia]

But no double blind test results that you know of?

No, none that I have seen. I thought even Gene's review had similar comments that the SE was superior as well. I'll have to reread it.

 

[sptrout]

FYI - - You folks may find the article at the link below very interesting:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/blu-ray-players/756-oppo-bdp-83se-special-edition-universal-blu-ray-player.html

 

[bogrod]

No, none that I have seen. I thought even Gene's review had similar comments that the SE was superior as well. I'll have to reread it.

Thanks. I'm not saying that the differences don't exist, but in a way it sort of reminds me of the same thing that some say about interconnects. Subjective statements from some mention significant differences. I'm simply skeptical that it's something along those lines.

 

[aisloy15]

I like your discussion.Thank you very much.

 

[basspig]

I got my BDP-83 this week and one of the first things I did was bench test it with a test CD.

Maximum output before clipping is +9.9dBm
Any positive value on the Trim adjustments will result in clipping of the output signal. IMHO, this is a poor design decision.
The rail voltages on the output buffer seem to be only +/-4VDC, as opposed to +/-12VDC, as with commong op-amp rails on audio equipment.
If Oppo had implemented higher rail voltages, the positive Trim adjustments would make sense. As it stands, they only cause clipping in the player.

I tested the square wave response of the BDP-83 and was dismayed to see results identical to the first CD players before oversampling was developed--square waves with 6% overshoot and ringing that didn't subside until the zero crossing point on a 400Hz test signal @ -10dBfs. I've seen this degree of ringing in 1983 on the first-generation CD players.

By contrast, my Sony BDP-S301 has only 2% overshoot and ringing subsides about 1/3 of the period of one half cycle of square wave.

One of the reasons why I chose the Oppo was because I thought I could get above the noise floor with the +10dB trim, achieving +20dBm (I had hoped) on the outputs, thus enabling me to play my Ultimate Fireworks Video on Blu-ray, without the ambient sounds (which peak at -85dBfs) being plagued by hum and hiss. The Oppo has a 60 and 120Hz buzz in the output when powered on, about 100dB below full output. In contrast, my Denon DCD-590 has no audible hum in its output, when the preamp volume is cranked to maximum.

So in order to play my fireworks video at real life volume levels, I must tolerate 58dB(A) of hum and hiss.

Picture quality is not an issue, although the player does seem glitchy, with the picture blanking out and digital 'snow' and then picture restored, upon playback or resume of certain chapters on many discs I've tried.

I was also a bit disappointed that the USB port cannot see nor play h.264 videos that are essentially the same CODEC as Blu-ray movies. Most popular formats are NOT supported.

Given the extremely mediocre audio performance of the D/A converters on the BDP-83, one can see why the SE edition would be an improvement, possibly AUDIBLE improvement.

 

[Alex2507]

I had the 83 for quite a while before upgrading to the SE. The difference is easily noticeable after recalibrating. I leave the player set to zero except for the sub and adjust the channels with my receiver. My player was also completed and returned to me in one day (I am local) so my "audio memory" didn't need to stretch too far. This isn't just people wanting to believe because they spent more. The upgrade was totally worth it to me for music. I've heard the same thing from everyone who has done the upgrade.

I can already hear the difference and it's still in California. My thanks in the above post shows just how long I been wanting this thing.

 

[j_garcia]

It is still an excellent player. If I wasn't getting a deal on the 105, I probably wouldn't be upgrading