A Preview of the Oppo 983

[supervij]

Looks like Secrets got their hands on a 983, and boy, were they impressed! The 983 scored a perfect 100 on their tests: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cd-dvd-player-product-reviews/dvd-players/oppo-digital-dv-983h-dvd-player---a-secrets-dvd-benchmark-review.html.

There are a few things I'm not crazy about this player.
1. $400 is a bit expensive for an SD player, particularly in the age of hi-def.
2. Weren't we teased that Oppo was announcing this summer that they were working on a Blu-ray player? Why buy the 983 when an Oppo Blu-ray player is coming in a year or so? (That's just a guess with the "year or so" thing.)
3. No seamless layer change? Not shiny. That takes me right out of the movie when the layer change is noticeable.

Other than those issues, this looks to be one sweet player! It'll be available March 10, for those interested. Although you can pre-order now. (Geez, I sound like a commercial!)

cheers,
supervij

 

[dobyblue]

Nice find - I've been looking forward to seeing how this one tests and it sure does look impressive, but I agree with all the "CONS" you've listed.

I will list one more CON:

The 983 does not offer a pure DSD output though for SACD.

Boo! I believe I will stick with the 980H for SACD playback and continue to look forward to Panasonic's DMP-BD50 for 2.0 blu-ray playback.

 

[Dezoris]

This is way too expensive for a DVD player. I don't care if it scores 100 on benchmarks.

What are the chances the standard user is going to notice the difference between their $230 and the $400.

The only thing MAYBE would be a deal breaker is audio performance for CD audio etc.

But $400? Still thats a lot of dough considering you know their BD player will have all these same features soon.

 

[joltdudeuc]

I guess you could say that this is the cheapest reference player to date. You have to admit that performance to price ratio is pretty good. Besides, it sounds more like a player that's a few grand, not $400. But those reviews will be out shortly, then you may feel different about the unit. It's quite good.