Oppo or Pioneer elite

[Carter]

Hi.... Im looking for opinions on which has better sound quality. Pioneer elite dvd player(any recent model with hdmi out) or Oppo 981 or 983. I am not as concerned with video although if one is better than the other at both audio and video that would be a bonus. Im asking because I have a pioneer dv-414 dvd player which sounded great in my opinion. However it is old and started to give me problems. I then bought a LG dvd player that was capable of DVD-Audio. It sounds terrible and I miss the quality of the pioneer.
I have read many good reviews on the forums about the oppo's but was wondering if anyone had first hand experience between any model pioneer elite and the oppo. I assumed the LG would sound better just because of newer technology DVD audio boy was I wrong. Even my wife noticed "whats wrong with the stereo she said". At the time my pioneer started acting up I thought I could just get a cheap replacement. I usally listen via digital coax into Lexicon processor, not HDMI because my Lexicon MC1 Does not have HDMI in. Budget in the $400.00 range. Any Help would be appreciated.


Thanks
Carter

 

[jamie2112]

I have not heard the Pioneer but I have heard the Oppo and for the price I would go with the Oppo. If you want a Blue Ray player I would just get a PS3 as Oppo does not make a BD player yet....

 

[mudrummer99]

I have the Pioneer elite and I'm very happy with it. I'm in the same boat as Jamie, though, since I have never seen/heard the Oppo. I would also recommend the PS3 for a BD player, it does a very fine job. Hope this helps.

Mike

 

[j_garcia]

The 980 has better audio than the 981 due to different designs, though picture quality should be a bit better on the 981. At $400, I'd either go with the 983 or a Blu-ray player also.

 

[joltdudeuc]

Definitely recommend the 980H like J_Garcia has mentioned.

 

[Carter]

Thanks for the replies guys.. I do have a 40 gb ps3 but havent really tried to use it as a cd player. It only has a optical out, which in my personal experience does not quit measure up to the sound quality of digital coax.(at least with my lg and pioneer dv-414 units). It just seems like the sound gets a bit worse, not much, but enough that i lose some detail and presence.
Also I want DVD-audio, and SACD. It would be great if I could find one that would pass these via bitstream as well as pcm so I will be covered when I update my processor. I will have to give the ps3 a try on my regular cd's and see how it sounds. I really just assumed it wouldnt be a good cd player but I guess Ill give it a shot. I also might try to upgrade my toslink cable. I currently only have a cheap plastic fiber cable I got from best buy. I have been thinking of getting a real glass fiber toslink cable. Any more thoughts?

Thanks,
Carter

 

[The Dukester]

I have an Oppo and it sounds great. I have never owned an Elite CD player, so I can't compare. If you want the best of both worlds, I would seriously look at the new Pioneer players coming out. They have Wolfson DACs which Pio claims to vastly improve CD playback. Also for your viewing pleasure, they are supposed to be killer Blu-ray players. If you plan on running analog, it is suggested to go with the new BDP-05FD Elite. If going with HDMI, then the standard BDP-51FD should do you fine. You can read all you care to about them over on AVS. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=972724

I have the 51 on preorder. Best Buy is already leaking some of these units out, even though Pioneer asked them not to. They sent them several units for display only, but some of the stores are selling them, anyway. They should be fully released anytime.

 

[obscbyclouds]

Thanks for the replies guys.. I do have a 40 gb ps3 but havent really tried to use it as a cd player. It only has a optical out, which in my personal experience does not quit measure up to the sound quality of digital coax.(at least with my lg and pioneer dv-414 units). It just seems like the sound gets a bit worse, not much, but enough that i lose some detail and presence.
Also I want DVD-audio, and SACD. It would be great if I could find one that would pass these via bitstream as well as pcm so I will be covered when I update my processor. I will have to give the ps3 a try on my regular cd's and see how it sounds. I really just assumed it wouldnt be a good cd player but I guess Ill give it a shot. I also might try to upgrade my toslink cable. I currently only have a cheap plastic fiber cable I got from best buy. I have been thinking of getting a real glass fiber toslink cable. Any more thoughts?

Thanks,
Carter

Optical and Coax are the exact same format. Both use the S/PDIF spec. There should be no difference in audio quality between the two unless one of the cables or connectors is damaged.

Also, buying an expensive optical cable won't help you unless the original is damaged or not working correctly in some way. There won't be a subtle change in audio quality between the two.

DVD-A can't really be passed as bitstream, because nothing transports MLP (the compression alogrythm used by DVD-A). AFAIK it is always passed as PCM.

It is somewhat possible for a player to pass SACD in its native DSD assuming the player has at least HDMI 1.2a, but many recievers cannot decode DSD. It should also be noted that bass management will be non-existent if you plan to use straight DSD>Analog. The previously mentioned Oppo DV-980HD can pass SACD as DSD. I'm not sure about the Elite.

EDIT: Also, multi-channel SACD and DVD-A cannot be passed over S/PDIF(Optical and Coax). They can only be passed using multi-channel analog or HDMI (Denon players and Recievers can also use Denon-Link).

 

[Taifun]

Some of the older Elite DVD players had i-Link and could pass the SACD and DVD-A multichannel audio to a Elite receiver that was so equipped. The last player to have this feature was the DV-79AVi and the last receiver the VSX-84TXSi. The i at the end designated the i-Link capability.

 

[j_garcia]

While I agree that there isn't a big difference between optical or coax, coax cables are cheaper and, IMO, are a superior connection.

Since you already have a PS3, I'd go with the 980H. The PS3 is a decent CD player too, but I don't really use it for music at all...that is what my 2900 is for The 980 does very well with SACD and DVD-A though.

 

[Carter]

Optical and Coax are the exact same format. Both use the S/PDIF spec. There should be no difference in audio quality between the two unless one of the cables or connectors is damaged.

Also, buying an expensive optical cable won't help you unless the original is damaged or not working correctly in some way. There won't be a subtle change in audio quality between the two.

DVD-A can't really be passed as bitstream, because nothing transports MLP (the compression alogrythm used by DVD-A). AFAIK it is always passed as PCM.

It is somewhat possible for a player to pass SACD in its native DSD assuming the player has at least HDMI 1.2a, but many recievers cannot decode DSD. It should also be noted that bass management will be non-existent if you plan to use straight DSD>Analog. The previously mentioned Oppo DV-980HD can pass SACD as DSD. I'm not sure about the Elite.

EDIT: Also, multi-channel SACD and DVD-A cannot be passed over S/PDIF(Optical and Coax). They can only be passed using multi-channel analog or HDMI (Denon players and Recievers can also use Denon-Link).

I could have swore Ive read that dvd audio can be passed via bit stream. Oh well my mistake. My existing pioneer dv-414 going on 9 years old will pass 24/96khz signals through s/Pdif into my lexicon. It also works on some DVD audio disc even though its not a dvd-audio capable player. It will play ERic Johson dvd audio and The eagles 24/96khz tracks from eagles hell freezes over(seven bridges road) and James Taylor 24/96 tracks. I have ways around bass managment I have the NHT SUB2 system but I still will keep that in mind.
I know technicaly you should not hear a difference between digital coax and toslink, but I swear I do and this difference is noticeble for even my wife to hear. The toslink is not damaged. The glass fiber cable Im thinking of buying is not that expensive so it might be worth giving it a shot. My digital coax cables Ive been using are from blue Jeans cable (canare 77) It has a very wide bandwith and the most important thing missing from most digital coax cables it has true 75ohm impedance rca connectors instead of the normal 50 ohm cheap rca's. Ill be the first to say that digital is digital but the ears dont lie. Thanks very much for your comments

Carter

 

[Carter]

While I agree that there isn't a big difference between optical or coax, coax cables are cheaper and, IMO, are a superior connection.

Since you already have a PS3, I'd go with the 980H. The PS3 is a decent CD player too, but I don't really use it for music at all...that is what my 2900 is for The 980 does very well with SACD and DVD-A though.

Would you recomend the the 2900 over the oppo 980?

 

[j_garcia]

Would you recomend the the 2900 over the oppo 980?

I do feel the DACs are better in the 2900, but the Oppo holds its own surprisingly well with SACD and DVD-A. Picture quality due to the upscaling is actually a bit better with the 980 also. The 980 is literally 1/2 the size of the 2900, and that really only shows in the build quality of the unit itself. I might actually look at a 2910 or 3910 rather than the 2900 because of better bass management on the newer models.

 

[Soundman]

I do feel the DACs are better in the 2900, but the Oppo holds its own surprisingly well with SACD and DVD-A. Picture quality due to the upscaling is actually a bit better with the 980 also. The 980 is literally 1/2 the size of the 2900, and that really only shows in the build quality of the unit itself. I might actually look at a 2910 or 3910 rather than the 2900 because of better bass management on the newer models.

Given the price, I think the Oppo 980 is the best buy, IMO.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Denon DVD-2910 (MSRP $739) for $238:

http://www.ecost.com/Detail/DVD+Players+and+Recorders/Denon/DVD2910S/34561631.aspx

http://www.usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/228.asp

 

[Carter]

Ok guys..........thanks for the opionions. Based on your opionions I think right now I might try one of the oppos' either the 980 or 983. They seem to hold there value real well. If I am unsaisfied with it I can always sell it at minimul loss. I have always had the Pioneer which I was very satisfied with.
Everthing Ive ever read and heard with Denon, although limited listening time with Denon, sounds like they are great also. I have always listened bitstream via digital coax, opting to use the D/A converters in the Lexicon MC-1. I have Aerial Acoustics 7B speakers and have been very happy with this sound. MAYBE ITS TIME TO TRY OPPO! I Was really just hoping somebody had done a A-B comparison between the pioneer elite and Oppo players.

 

[bandphan]

pioneer is comming out with their new bds, with the first impressions well received from some of the isf guys that were at the Pionner 08 release party. Downside wil $$$$

 

[cwall99]

Oppo 980H

I have the Oppo 980H and love it. Granted, it's not Blue Ray, but it does have a good internal upscaler. It passes multi-channel SACD and DVD-A over its HDMI 1.2 connection, and also provides multi-channel analog connections.

Picture is great. No lags when the layers change (like my old Denon DVD-1920 does).

Audio is super-impressive. Very rich, very detailed, very lush.

 

[Carter]

Guys, I have tried using the ps3 for CD's and I must say at least via the optical output. The sound is better out of the already crappy LG model Ive been using. Its also easy 2 screw the sound up on the ps3 even more since it has its own volume output buttons that can easily be changed. Just my 2 cents............


Thanks
Carter

 

[dobyblue]

Those DVD-A discs you're referring to are playing the DVD-Video portion of the disc, which may have a dts 24/96 track on them.