Oppo DV-970HD Universal DVD Player Review

[Audioholics]

<A href="http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/OppoDV-970HDDVDp1.php"><IMG style="WIDTH: 125px; HEIGHT: 94px" alt=[OppoDV970HD2] hspace=10 src="http://www.audioholics.com/news/thumbs/OppoDV970HD2_th.jpg" align=left border=0></A>Oppo has seemingly cornered the market on buzz, becoming the “Apple Computer” of rumor and forum discussion. Following the success of their flagship (and still shipping) OPDV971H upconverting DVD player, they naturally felt inclined to release a new upconverting DVD player that also handles SACD – for $50 less. Now, before you fall off your chair and pull out your credit card, realize that this is a different player. Instead of the Faroudja video processing, this new player utilizes a different chipset and scores somewhat lower in our video performance testing. However, for those using 42” or smaller screens or for anyone looking for a bargain upconverting player, it’s going to be hard to turn away the additional features provided by the DV-970HD.

[Read the Review]

 

[krabapple]

The review needs more detail on the audio issues, as this is by far the cheapest player with the capability of serving as a 'hi-rez' transport. How exactly were comparisons done? Blind or not? Any measurements to back up the 'not subtle'
differences heard over HDMI? Alternately, how about digitizing the headphone output (where you heard the not subtle differences) of two contrasting players/outputs and posting short clips for us to download?

 

[j_garcia]

So did you guys ask Oppo about the sound difference via HDMI vs analogue? The review says you switched to another receiver, so I'm assuming that mean the difference was still present on the second receiver?

 

[bongobob]

Perhaps a silly question but....Why would you use delays or bass managment on a dvd player when these functions are handled by the reciever?

 

[krabapple]

Perhaps a silly question but....Why would you use delays or bass managment on a dvd player when these functions are handled by the reciever?

Generally you wouldn't unless you had to, i.e., where the AVR offers little or no BM/delay management/DSP for multichannel analog SACD/DVD-A input -- which is often the case.

 

[bongobob]

Generally you wouldn't unless you had to, i.e., where the AVR offers little or no BM/delay management/DSP for multichannel analog SACD/DVD-A input -- which is often the case.

Gotcha. Thanks for the reply. - B

 

[KenLand]

Great review, but I have a few issues.

From the review:
"Comparing the analogue outputs of the Oppo to the analogue outputs of the Denon DVD-5900 reference player we heard no discernable difference "

This seems like a major finding that should have at least made it to the "PROS" list.

The other issue is of course the poor audio over HDMI. Is this a firmware issue that can/will/has been resolved or is it a permanent deficiency?

This is the question I'm waiting to have answered before making the purchase. I can use the analog outs now on my DVD-A/SACD's for now and then switch to HDMI when I get my HDMI audio processor.

So please let us know what Oppo has to say about Hirez over HDMI!

Thanks!
Ken

 

[Jay_WJ]

"Comparing the analogue outputs of the Oppo to the analogue outputs of the Denon DVD-5900 reference player we heard no discernable difference "

This seems like a major finding that should have at least made it to the "PROS" list.

Read the review carefully. They made the judgment before they switched to using headphones for the listening evaluation. They thought that the room acoustics were unacceptable for an objective test.

But I agree with you that they didn't specifically rate the quality of Oppo's analog audio outs compared to the Denon, which I'm also very curious about.

 

[Audioholics]

But I agree with you that they didn't specifically rate the quality of Oppo's analog audio outs compared to the Denon, which I'm also very curious about.

We thought the differences were very subtle - so much so that we really couldn't trust our ears without doing a DBT which we weren't in a position to do for this review... It's got decent outputs. We thought the Denon was slightly more detailed, but you know how that goes... source switching wasn't instantaneous.

 

[billy p]

We thought the differences were very subtle - so much so that we really couldn't trust our ears without doing a DBT which we weren't in a position to do for this review... It's got decent outputs. We thought the Denon was slightly more detailed, but you know how that goes... source switching wasn't instantaneous.

Well I guess all the hi-end component users where HAPPY to read that.I do hope the 971 would become a better multi player in its next upgrade!

 

[KenLand]

Clint,

Thanks for the clarification.

I guess $150 is worth the gamble that they'll fix the HDMI output. I want to go all digital eventually but good analog will work too.

Do you know if Oppo is aware of the problem and working on a fix?

Thanks,
Ken

 

[supervij]

Well I guess all the hi-end component users where HAPPY to read that.I do hope the 971 would become a better multi player in its next upgrade!

Hmmm . . . that makes me wonder: Has Oppo ever improved analog audio over firmware upgrades? Firmware upgrades can improve picture quality, but can it improve the audio quality over analog? Or is that only possible with upgrades in the actual hardware?

cheers,
supervij

 

[KenLand]

supervij,

If I'm reading right, the Review (clarified by Clint in this thread), is saying the Oppo has excellent performance over its analog outputs.

It's the HDMI output that is having problems. (narrow soundstage, etc...)

I would think an error in digital output could very likely be fixed/improved via a firmware update.

Ken

 

[billy p]

Hmmm . . . that makes me wonder: Has Oppo ever improved analog audio over firmware upgrades? Firmware upgrades can improve picture quality, but can it improve the audio quality over analog? Or is that only possible with upgrades in the actual hardware?

cheers,
supervij

Sorry what I was referring to was the dv971 getting the same audio upgrade as the 970 but leaving the video perfromance intact!!

 

[georgep]

Bass Management

Clint,

The bass management section of the review and the Audioholics manual appear to conflict in what is an incompatible set-up. As well, could you give some more detail on how to properly set this player up with surrounds that are closer to the listener than the fronts (in terms of delay) - is the set-up similar to the Yamaha c750?

Thanks.

 

[Jay_WJ]

We thought the differences were very subtle - so much so that we really couldn't trust our ears without doing a DBT which we weren't in a position to do for this review... It's got decent outputs. We thought the Denon was slightly more detailed, but you know how that goes... source switching wasn't instantaneous.

Thanks a lot for the clarification! I'm more of an audio guy. I'll try the 970 and test its analog audio output against my beloved Nad c541i CD player. At $150, if it can provide nice CD sound plus SACD, DVD-Audio/Video, HDCD playback, and more, it will definitely be a great buy. And as KenLand said, if Oppo resolves the issue of poor HDMI audio, it will be a bonus.

 

[Totoro]

Thanks a lot for the clarification! I'm more of an audio guy. I'll try the 970 and test its analog audio output against my beloved Nad c541i CD player. At $150, if it can provide nice CD sound plus SACD, DVD-Audio/Video, HDCD playback, and more, it will definitely be a great buy. And as KenLand said, if Oppo resolves the issue of poor HDMI audio, it will be a bonus.

Once you have tested it against your NAD, I'll be interested to hear your opinion. I am more interested in the SACD than video. However, I noticed that the NAD does not have SACD ability. So, is it a fair comparison? BTW: My Panasonic DVD changer already has HDCD, but not SACD.

 

[Audioholics]

The bass management section of the review and the Audioholics manual appear to conflict in what is an incompatible set-up. As well, could you give some more detail on how to properly set this player up with surrounds that are closer to the listener than the fronts (in terms of delay) - is the set-up similar to the Yamaha c750?

It got (mistakenly) reversed in peer review so we've since fixed it. You would simply set the surrounds delay as shown in the review image... You are essentially adding distance delay to the surrounds to make them even with your mains.