Oppo BDP-83SE / BDP-83 Blu-ray Analog Audio Measurement Supplemental

[j_garcia]

This is gonna drive Supervig nuts.

I feel better about buying a BD60 on account of your positive experience with the upgrade. I figure that $110 taken away from a $900 player is not nearly as big a sin as taking $110 away from a $500 player. That make any sense?

It makes perfect sense, and that is why spending the extra $299 and saving the $100 over having bought the SE outright to me is like saving $100 I bought a BD-60 also It will be for my dad, but I popped it open to update the firmware and had to try it out.

 

[Alex2507]

It makes perfect sense, and that is why spending the extra $299 and saving the $100 over having bought the SE outright to me is like saving $100 I bought a BD-60 also It will be for my dad, but I popped it open to update the firmware and had to try it out.

Ugh ... having read your previous post has raised my level of jealousy to palatable levels.
It's a bitter taste.

Oppo did right by the early adopters and I'm glad. This post reminds me that I need to go and get my router out of my trunk so that I can maybe update this BD60. I need to let it warm up, develop condensation and dry off before using it.

I think for the Canadian market Oppo is just gonna let Sony have it.
What are there, like 6 of you with Blu-rays?

 

[DaleAV]

What few reviews I've read, clarity of the SE over the base 83 seems to be the most mentioned feature.

 

[DaleAV]

Just got an email from Oppo.. FedEx tracking..it's already left SJ.. it will be in my hands tomorrow! Amazing! They just received it Wednesday morning.

 

[j_garcia]

What few reviews I've read, clarity of the SE over the base 83 seems to be the most mentioned feature.

What I think I am hearing is that lower noise floor. When I crank it really loud, you hear the sound and seemingly nothing else. It makes everything sound more clear.

Last night I only briefly tried out on DVD-A and one SACD and I wasn't as excited about the results, but I didn't get to crank them and didn't get to spend a lot of ear time because I got home really late from work. I do feel like there is a bit more there on what I listened to, but it seems less apparent than with what I listened to yesterday. I will hopefully have more time to spend with it tonight and over the weekend. I am off all next week as well

 

[DaleAV]

Based on your description, dynamics is also improved. I'll be putting mine through the paces next week also. Let it bake in a bit this weekend.

 

[supervij]

John, thanks for more of your sonic observations! Is it harder to do now, now that you've had the 83SE for a while and possibly forgetting specifics about what you thought of the 83's sound? At any rate, I'm impressed with what I'm reading!

Living in an apartment (condo) building, I don't like cranking the volume, neither for music nor for movies. So the lower noise floor that the 83SE exhibits may not help much for me. And I read elsewhere that Oppo claims there'd be lovely improvements for music through the analog outputs, but that any improvement in the sound for movie soundtracks would be less noticeable. Given the visual distraction of the movie itself (!) I'm inclined to agree. Still want the upgrade though!

"Me and a Gun" remastered? Had no idea it was remastered. I threw on the "Silent All These Years" CDSingle I had from ages ago -- probably the first time I've listened to it in ages too! Is your remastered copy a really good mix, or just compression of dynamic range?

It'd be so perfect if Oppo opened up the exchange to Canadians right now. I'll be out of town for a couple weeks for the holidays and so would be without my beloved 83 anyway. Crap! What a lovely Christmas present to me it would be to have the upgrade done!

cheers,
supervij

 

[j_garcia]

The remastered Me and a Gun is on Tales of a Librarian. A "hits" compilation on which the tracks were all tweaked or are new versions and some of them sound great - that is one of the tracks that was even better.

 

[DaleAV]

I have to agree with all the positives..not sure I could find any negatives!
Clarity, dynamics, and it just sounds smoother...more relaxed maybe?
That's primarily 2ch CDs. A tad better setting my receiver for stereo-direct which eliminates the sub processing.
But everything analog sounds better regardless.

Listen to the naturalness of voices and piano notes (reliable indicators) through the dedicated stereo out or the MCH analog outputs.
More to come as it burns in.

If you take any one characteristic of the sound, the improvement is fairly subtle. But taken together they all add up to a notable improvement, certainly worth the 3 bills.
Wow, the way they pack the player and clean it up. They strive to make it look like you are getting a brand new component, not a speck of dust or fingerprint anywhere. Classy outfit!

 

[j_garcia]

Yep, mine looked like it was brand new.

I was playing some CDs and DVD-As over the weekend and I did note what I feel is an improvement on them. It becomes clearly obvious when I crank it up to higher than average listening levels, both my GF and I noticed small things that stood out more just with it playing in the background. I am very happy with the upgrade.

 

[DaleAV]

I failed to mention, bass also seems more substantial. I am doing comparison from memory ("if memory serves me right...") but after listening to recordings I am very familiar with, the difference is certainly there.

 

[Ron Temple]

Got my RMA # yesterday. I'll bring it in on Monday. Hopefully, I can get a John Garcia turnaround . Also, hopefully after Monday I can get the Xmas music off my rig 24/7...nails across the blackboard

 

[j_garcia]

I failed to mention, bass also seems more substantial. I am doing comparison from memory ("if memory serves me right...") but after listening to recordings I am very familiar with, the difference is certainly there.

The bass doesn't feel more substantial to me, just cleaner.

Let us know what you think Ron

 

[DaleAV]

The bass doesn't feel more substantial to me, just cleaner.

Let us know what you think Ron

I just re-calibrated my setup and it is possible my bass is in fact more substantial

but I would agree, most everything since hooking up the SE has better definition.

 

[Ron Temple]

Got my RMA # yesterday. I'll bring it in on Monday. Hopefully, I can get a John Garcia turnaround .

Looks like jg greased some palms. I might get mine back tomorrow

 

[Ron Temple]

Got my hands on the SE today. I've got a problem with LFE integration. I was able to apply a 10db boost between my pre and the player to calibrate with the 83. I've had to apply 19db plus increase my gain on the sub for the SE. I've been in touch with Oppo and they are in a quandary about this too. They did a test before they called back and the boost should have been even. I'm going to play with mine for a week or so. If I can't fix this, then they'll do a swap out. Nice folks.

That said, I'm fine now, but the sub doesn't seem as profound, just cleaner. All the rest of the channels are markably more detailed, airy and tone/tuneful. I've just been playing some MCH and a BR, along with the AIX calibration disk to get things to sound right. I've got a rough calibration now. I'm plugging in the Luxman pre for some 2 channel listening later.

First blush, definitely an upgrade. The detail in the surround channels with the new DACs is very noticeable, along with the front 3 integration. Just played Steely Dan's Everything Must Go DVD A, a favorite. Sounds like a speaker upgrade.

 

[Ron Temple]

Hey John, send me an email...my desktop has crashed and I don't have your addy on this machine.

Oops, nevermind. I found it on the laptop too. I'll shoot you an email.

 

[repdetect]

Follow up test

Gene
Are you still planning on doing a followup test?

Any idea when?

Thanks

 

[Ron Temple]

my delayed thoughts about the SE upgrade...

The LFE issue had nothing to do with the Oppo. The amp on my PB13 decided to die on the 30th and SVS came through with the replacement yesterday. In the interim, I watched very few movies, but did some 2 channel listening, sans sub, through my 2 channe pre...

I spent a couple of hours in 2 channel on Monday night playing Redbook CDs, Alan Parsons Gaudi, Supertramp Crime of the Century and Steely Dan Aja. I've probably got 20-25 hours total on it. The interior detail on fundamental notes is pretty stark. Before I'd hear the note or riff, the instrument and it would be good. Now I hear that plus the nuance from that particular recording session, whether it be fingering, fuzz or filtering. Also detail buried in cords is brought forward so that ensemble playing sounds like there are more instruments contributing than before. Lead vocals seem to be brought forward and background vocals recessed...meaning imaging is placing the background singers behind the lead on stage (at least on the AP disk...SDs singers were setup slightly different). All in all, SDAs have always made studio recordings sound live. Now they sound "liver".

vc69, I heard an edge to vocals initially too...now it's smooth as silk.

Nothing new here...just reinforces what others have said. It's a nice flavorful upgrade that cuts another slice of high end analog at a very reasonable price. I'm glad I did it.

 

[repdetect]

Better defined bass - 83SE

FWIW-A difference I heard over the 83 is deeper, better defined low bass.

I was about to buy a dedicated amp/crossover to squeeze a bit more bass ouf of the last octave of my full range speakers. When playing a 2CH SACD I have been listening to for 10 years (Satriani- Engines of Creation) that has lots of lowest octave bass (22-40hz). I could clearly hear more of this bass. Looks like I may not need that amp/cossover upgrade.