Oppo 205 4K UHD Player

[zdenes]

I haven't A/B tested the Oppo against anything else but the sound quality is clearly better though the Mutec than my MSB Universal Media Player (first edition) which is a dedicated transport only. But this is for Blue-ray movies. For music only, my SOtM SMS-200 Ultra + Mutec certainly outperforms anything else I have. The Oppo 203 is outstanding for movies. I have a Projection design Avielo projector and a Grandview screen. It is not 4K but looks like it :-)

[baconbrain]

The new Oppo looks really interesting and a very solid piece of kit. If it's good with bluray (as I'm sure it is) and can play CD's and SACD's well and quietly without the audible whirr of the mechanism it could mean I could reduce two boxes to one!

My current Denon player is quite good with video but makes a horrible racket when playing a bluray and it's no where near as good as my Esoteric SACD player with audio discs as you might expect. So I would be very interested to hear how people think the Oppo stacks up via digital out and with mechanical noise.

Oppo have obviously put a lot of effort into the analogue outputs with this model and my concern is I would never use them. Is the 203 version a better bet if you are just going to output via HDMI (to AV receiver - 7:1) and digital coax (to Devialet - Stereo)?

The drive on the 205 is very quiet and with my listening position approx. 3 meters from the player it is almost inaudible.

If you are not planning on using the analog outputs, the popular opinion on most forums seems to be to save your money and purchase the 203. It is basically the same player without the dedicated analog section and a smaller case.

[Harry.]

The new Oppo looks really interesting and a very solid piece of kit. If it's good with bluray (as I'm sure it is) and can play CD's and SACD's well and quietly without the audible whirr of the mechanism it could mean I could reduce two boxes to one!

My current Denon player is quite good with video but makes a horrible racket when playing a bluray and it's no where near as good as my Esoteric SACD player with audio discs as you might expect. So I would be very interested to hear how people think the Oppo stacks up via digital out and with mechanical noise.

Oppo have obviously put a lot of effort into the analogue outputs with this model and my concern is I would never use them. Is the 203 version a better bet if you are just going to output via HDMI (to AV receiver - 7:1) and digital coax (to Devialet - Stereo)?

The drive on the 205 is very quiet and with my listening position approx. 3 meters from the player it is almost inaudible.

If you are not planning on using the analog outputs, the popular opinion on most forums seems to be to save your money and purchase the 203. It is basically the same player without the dedicated analog section and a smaller case.

Thanks for the advice! I think what you suggest is the most sensible option, so I will go for the 203. I can add the money saved towards a 4K screen?

[baconbrain]

A while back I was changing some stuff around in my hifi rack and tried connecting my Pioneer BDP-450 Blu Ray (Universal) player via the Mutec MC3+USB.  I figured that via the Mutec it's performance should be very similar to mR into the Mutec.  Just 1's and 0's etc.  I was very wrong, playing identical 16/44.1 material streamed via the mR versus played via CD on the Pioneer the difference was substantial, with the Pioneer showing SQ deficits in all areas.

I must admit I like the look of the Oppo 205, I did think about buying one until I remembered that it would be a bit pointless as I do not have a 4K TV!  (I have a 'last of the good ones' 2013 Panasonic Plasma that I do not want to replace)

Anyway, it would be interesting to get an idea of how the Oppo performs via the Mutec vs the mR just with redbook material, if you ever have the time or inclination to try that is.  One point to add, with SACD the Pioneer outputs at 24/88.2, so it's a shame the SQ isn't better.  The Pioneer is about four levels down in terms of price and quality versus the Oppo though, so expecting top notch SQ from the Pioneer was a bit optimistic.

Hi Confused,

So I have done a bit more testing and had the following results:

Material: Artist Holly Cole singing Jearsy Girl via Normal CD and Redbook rip. (44,1/16)

Listening Methods in order of SQ (Best to Last)

1) Redbook Rip via Mutec, mR, Roon, and HQPlayer via NAA - upsampling to 192/24, Poly Sin shrt mp filter, and NS4 dithering

2) Redbook Rip via Mutec, mR, Roon, and HQPlayer via NAA - no upsampling, filter, or dither

3) Normal CD via Oppo XLR Analog

4) Normal CD via Oppo Spdif out to Mutec

Conclusion - 1st method clearly delivered the best SQ with my system. Surprisly the SQ differences between methods 2, 3 and 4 were noticeable but not that significant. All of them were enjoyable and in no way fatiguing.

[Confused]

baconbrain - Thanks for taking the time to try all of this.  To me this offers some interesting conclusions.  The first is perhaps no surprise, and that is that a 2017 model Oppo is significantly better than a few years old budget / mid price Pioneer equivalent.  If I compare my Pioneer BDP-450 playing CD versus the same CD ripped via mR / Mutec the difference is immediately obvious, the Pioneer is a clear step down.   I am however quite impressed by how close you put the Oppo via  XLR to the mR / Mutec, that indicates that the Oppo is perhaps better than some might think.  OK, the Oppo is hardly a budget priced item, but when you consider that it is a 4K Blu ray player, SACD player, CD player, surround sound decoder etc., the fact it is anywhere close to the mR / Mutec playing CD / redbook is I think pretty remarkable.  It looks like @zdenes has reached a slightly different conclusion, but then again he was using the SOtM SMS-200 Ultra, which may well be what it making the difference in that case.

Your mention of HQPlayer gives me a prompt too.  I have had trying HQPlayer on my 'to do' list for a long time now but have never tried it to date.  The good news is that it is now very close to the top of my 'to do' list.  I did want to get the mR V2.5 software running, then HQPlayer would have been next up.  Unfortunately the V2.5 update did not work on my mR.  Apparently Sonore have solved this issue, I have just received my replacement V2.5 micro SD card, so assuming this works OK, trying HQPlayer moves to the top of the list.

As for Octaviars advising that his trusty Pioneer Kuru lasted 'nearly 10 years', this got me thinking, just how old is my second (and seemingly indestructible) Panasonic Plasma?  I actually could not remember, but a quick check revealed that it is just over 9 year old.......    and if that one dies I will be going 4K OLED, time will tell....

[baconbrain]

baconbrain - Thanks for taking the time to try all of this.  To me this offers some interesting conclusions.  The first is perhaps no surprise, and that is that a 2017 model Oppo is significantly better than a few years old budget / mid price Pioneer equivalent.  If I compare my Pioneer BDP-450 playing CD versus the same CD ripped via mR / Mutec the difference is immediately obvious, the Pioneer is a clear step down.   I am however quite impressed by how close you put the Oppo via  XLR to the mR / Mutec, that indicates that the Oppo is perhaps better than some might think.  OK, the Oppo is hardly a budget priced item, but when you consider that it is a 4K Blu ray player, SACD player, CD player, surround sound decoder etc., the fact it is anywhere close to the mR / Mutec playing CD / redbook is I think pretty remarkable.  It looks like @zdenes has reached a slightly different conclusion, but then again he was using the SOtM SMS-200 Ultra, which may well be what it making the difference in that case.

Your mention of HQPlayer gives me a prompt too.  I have had trying HQPlayer on my 'to do' list for a long time now but have never tried it to date.  The good news is that it is now very close to the top of my 'to do' list.  I did want to get the mR V2.5 software running, then HQPlayer would have been next up.  Unfortunately the V2.5 update did not work on my mR.  Apparently Sonore have solved this issue, I have just received my replacement V2.5 micro SD card, so assuming this works OK, trying HQPlayer moves to the top of the list.

As for Octaviars advising that his trusty Pioneer Kuru lasted 'nearly 10 years', this got me thinking, just how old is my second (and seemingly indestructible) Panasonic Plasma?  I actually could not remember, but a quick check revealed that it is just over 9 year old.......    and if that one dies I will be going 4K OLED, time will tell....

Really no extra effort because it was something I wanted to compare anyway. You just provided me with that extra bit of motivation to sit down and do it.  

You really have to try HQplayer. Together with my mR it makes an almost "magical" difference. It is as if the two components were made for each other. Honestly, I have never heard such a dramatic increase in SQ while investing so little.

I took the plunge and purchased a 4k Panasonic last year but must admit that it is nowhere near the 4k OLED displays. Perhaps in another year or 2 ....  

[zdenes]

"3) Normal CD via Oppo XLR Analog"

How did you do that? The Devialet has no XLR input. Did you use an adapter?

Zoltan

[baconbrain]

"3) Normal CD via Oppo XLR Analog"

How did you do that? The Devialet has no XLR input. Did you use an adapter?

Zoltan

Hi Zoltan,

I am routing the XLR connection through my Trinnov ST-2 which allows XLR in and RCA out to the Devialet. Clearly not ideal, but as you mention since our beloved Devs have no XLR in, it was the best compromise I could find.

Bacon