Oppo BDP-105 is in my system now.

[premiumplus]

And it's going to go nowhere for a long, long time.
To say that I'm astonished would be a great way to begin. This player is so clear and defined, I really am blown away by how much better it sounds! I just got done with my first run through with the Spears and Muncil calibration disk that is recommended by Oppo, but I can't tear myself away from the SACD's that I've bought in the last week. Got 'em in anticipation of the Oppo, and I'm really enjoying them. Gaucho, Wish You Were Here, Poco, Brothers in Arms...they all sound so stupidly good. So I can't comment on the video side of things just yet...
I always knew that a better DAC would make a difference, but it freaks me out how good the Oppo is. The Pioneer DV-45A that it replaced was well spoken of in it's day, and I've enjoyed it for over 10 years.
But this Oppo blows it clean out of the water. Like I said, completely astonishing. Loving my system, guys. Thanks for the recommendation to get this Blu Ray wonder...I was hesitant to spend $1200 but now I know. If anyone's on the fence about spending extra money for a great signal source, here's a vote of permission to spend the dough. It's worth it!

 

[Gepetto]

And it's going to go nowhere for a long, long time.
To say that I'm astonished would be a great way to begin. This player is so clear and defined, I really am blown away by how much better it sounds! I just got done with my first run through with the Spears and Muncil calibration disk that is recommended by Oppo, but I can't tear myself away from the SACD's that I've bought in the last week. Got 'em in anticipation of the Oppo, and I'm really enjoying them. Gaucho, Wish You Were Here, Poco, Brothers in Arms...they all sound so stupidly good. So I can't comment on the video side of things just yet...
I always knew that a better DAC would make a difference, but it freaks me out how good the Oppo is. The Pioneer DV-45A that it replaced was well spoken of in it's day, and I've enjoyed it for over 10 years.
But this Oppo blows it clean out of the water. Like I said, completely astonishing. Loving my system, guys. Thanks for the recommendation to get this Blu Ray wonder...I was hesitant to spend $1200 but now I know. If anyone's on the fence about spending extra money for a great signal source, here's a vote of permission to spend the dough. It's worth it!

It is rule #1 Dave...

Glad you like it. It is a fine piece of hardware and software.

 

[laatsch55]

POCO----what????

 

[premiumplus]

POCO----what????

Old, old Poco...from 1969 or so. Way old, before the live set they did. Cool old country rock when country rock wasn't country rock...

 

[laatsch55]

Back when it was folk rock?? Jimmy Messina with em then??

 

[laatsch55]

use your TX-7500 much?? AND---can you align tuners?? AND if you can align tuners and just don't hav the equipment , what do you need??

 

[Elite-ist]

That's a great testimonial for the Oppo BDP-105, Dave. I'm glad you have it, now, after the slight delay in its delivery. I bet you never realized how well SACDs would sound on it.

Nando.

 

[Phase Linear Phanatic]

Did I start a trend? Devil's advocate here, but I mean; it's a lot of money to invest? I have read the step down sibling is practically identical and you may be just as happy with the sound. (out of respect for other fellow members who can achieve similar results without the wallet pain). I mean...........I HAVE read that the $500 step down OPPO has the same guts practically. And you may be just as thrilled? But of course; if only the very best will do; I stand by the original recommendation of the audiophile BDP-105. I am very glad you are happy with it Dave. That's what I used to run your 700B in my test. I could (can't) recommend any other audio combo. A 700B with a BDP-105 are made for each other.

 

[fitz43]

Did I start a trend? Devil's advocate here, but I mean; it's a lot of money to invest? I have read the step down sibling is practically identical and you may be just as happy with the sound. (out of respect for other fellow members who can achieve similar results without the wallet pain). I mean...........I HAVE read that the $500 step down OPPO has the same guts practically. And you may be just as thrilled? But of course; if only the very best will do; I stand by the original recommendation of the audiophile BDP-105. I am very glad you are happy with it Dave. That's what I used to run your 700B in my test. I could (can't) recommend any other audio combo. A 700B with a BDP-105 are made for each other.

What is the difference in the analog audio portion when comparing this with an Oppo 83-SE?

 

[Elite-ist]

It's probably best to read some reviews out there about the Oppo BDP-105: http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/oppo_bdp105_e.html

As a universal player, the 105 has some features, the 103 does not. When we are talking of a customer who also wants the ultimate in stereo sound there are attributes the 105 has over the 103.

Nando.

 

[premiumplus]

use your TX-7500 much?? AND---can you align tuners?? AND if you can align tuners and just don't hav the equipment , what do you need??

Messina was with Poco back then...they were really good!
I don't align tuners, and I don't listen to FM too much. I need to put up a nice outdoor antenna. But I gotta say that since I've gotten the Oppo I haven't listened to anything else...it just makes me shake my head every time I hear something else on it. Even regular CDs sound way better. It's amazing.
That machine is sooooo good. My wife keeps marveling about it, saying that she can listen to it all day without listener fatigue. She used to go to her office and watch TV after a half hour or so of music. Not any more. She says that she doesn't know what I've done, but since I got the Oppo (and the two WOPL 1000s, and the Dahlquist bi-amped system, and the SAE 2100L preamp, and...) that she can listen all day, even at high SPLs without her "ears hurting". Which makes me real happy too!
I think you have started something here, PLP. And I'm gonna continue the flag waving. The Oppo BDP-105 is one amazing piece of technology that I'm still learning about.
Next is hooking up a network and discovering what I can do to set up a digital audio server. And in my world of analog love, that's real close to heresy...

 

[premiumplus]

use your TX-7500 much?? AND---can you align tuners?? AND if you can align tuners and just don't hav the equipment , what do you need??

Lee, there's a guy here in the Flint area that aligns tuners, and he did my SX-1250. He's very good. Over at AK he goes by "PunkerX" and runs "Radio X Tuners" (I think that's the name, forgive me Mark if I got that wrong). Great guy and very talented at radio repair and alignment.

 

[laatsch55]

I've heard very good things of him...

 

[Phase Linear Phanatic]

It's probably best to read some reviews out there about the Oppo BDP-105: http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/oppo_bdp105_e.html

As a universal player, the 105 has some features, the 103 does not. When we are talking of a customer who also wants the ultimate in stereo sound there are attributes the 105 has over the 103.

Nando.

From your article:

"The BDP-105 replaces the BDP-95 and is basically an audiophile version of the OPPO BDP-103 Blu-ray player. It shares the same design, but has a bigger case and an additional dedicated two-channel audio board to satisfy our audiophile desires. It also adds the full DAC input facilities and lacks the fan that's present in the 103: the 105 is cooled passively, and silently instead. The BDP-105 indeed is completely quiet in operation, with even the transport not making an audible noise while playing a disc"

Well that's why I got it. Looks like when it comes to audio; you need to get the 105. If only high quality blu-ray is desired, the lesser version for half the price is your guy. I do not own any equipment with XLR inputs to utilize OPPO's outputs, but I heard the audio difference is negligible if you aren't running long distances. Any truth to this? Or anything anyone can educate me on regarding sound of balanced XLR's vs RCA's?

 

[premiumplus]

From your article:

"The BDP-105 replaces the BDP-95 and is basically an audiophile version of the OPPO BDP-103 Blu-ray player. It shares the same design, but has a bigger case and an additional dedicated two-channel audio board to satisfy our audiophile desires. It also adds the full DAC input facilities and lacks the fan that's present in the 103: the 105 is cooled passively, and silently instead. The BDP-105 indeed is completely quiet in operation, with even the transport not making an audible noise while playing a disc"

Well that's why I got it. Looks like when it comes to audio; you need to get the 105. If only high quality blu-ray is desired, the lesser version for half the price is your guy. I do not own any equipment with XLR inputs to utilize OPPO's outputs, but I heard the audio difference is negligible if you aren't running long distances. Any truth to this? Or anything anyone can educate me on regarding sound of balanced XLR's vs RCA's?

Dave, in my experience you won't notice any difference between the RCA vs XLR at short cable lengths. The XLR's strength is in low noise at longer cable runs. For home audio I honestly don't think the difference is audible. At short cable runs.

 

[laatsch55]

In live sound reinforcement XLR's are standard are they not??

 

[Gepetto]

In live sound reinforcement XLR's are standard are they not??

Pretty much so Lee due to great common mode noise rejection capabilities. Often I see XLRs terminate into a phone jack right where it goes into a piece of professional audio gear that does not have XLR inputs. Most of the modern professional gear has XLR.

 

[Phase Linear Phanatic]

Yeah I raised this question originally to a few people when I bought it because I wanted the best connection possible and I was deciding between the arcam surround receiver or the Marantz pre/pro separates which DID have XLR's. My distance ran was two feet. And every "expert" I consulted on it said that wasn't going to make an audible difference to my ears. That the Arcam was superior to the marantz stack anyway. And to go to the marantz for this reason only, would actually not help my audio scenario.

Most consumer gear does not have XLR's. It seems mainly reserved for high end equipment or studio professional gear. Mixers and amps and so on. Microphones for stage use use them. That's the only time I personally have seen them. Home electronics not so much. But that dedicated two channel audio board does come with the option of using either. So you theoretically should get the same high fidelity audio should you not? Especially on a two foot run.

 

[Gepetto]

Yeah I raised this question originally to a few people when I bought it because I wanted the best connection possible and I was deciding between the arcam surround receiver or the Marantz pre/pro separates which DID have XLR's. My distance ran was two feet. And every "expert" I consulted on it said that wasn't going to make an audible difference to my ears. That the Arcam was superior to the marantz stack anyway. And to go to the marantz for this reason only, would actually not help my audio scenario.

Most consumer gear does not have XLR's. It seems mainly reserved for high end equipment or studio professional gear. Mixers and amps and so on. Microphones for stage use use them. That's the only time I personally have seen them. Home electronics not so much. But that dedicated two channel audio board does come with the option of using either. So you theoretically should get the same high fidelity audio should you not? Especially on a two foot run.

Agree Dave.

 

[laatsch55]

The Carver TP2400, and the Bryston 4b both had XLR.