Oppo 103 Blu-ray Player Gets 3 Stars!

I beg mercy!

I have not really compared to the two but what I heard from Oppo 105, it is a no brainer... UNLESS.. you have more than 2 HDMI Sources and I guess it is a bit of bargain when compared to the Audiolab 8200AP. 

Though I must tell you that the Z9 might redigitalize the 7.1 inputs for supporting all the audio processing (like room correction) and so if that is the case, then I am not too sure what happens May be there is an analog mode on 7.1 inputs and if so the room correction might not be available.

umm. had n't considered that. Although having 7.1 analogue inputs would surely suggest that it is allowing something else to do the decoding - doesn't it?

Agreed. Since leaving full range room EQ behind (only using it for the sub now), I have to say I've never enjoyed my system so much. Also, the best systems we put together at the store tend to be without EQ too - usually based around the Audiolab 8200AP or the Bryston SP3. Although I have to say there's more to it than just not using the onboard setup on an AV receiver, with the quality of the pre-amp being if high importance.

One of our regulars recently took the 105 home to test various aspects out, and he found it to sound like the Audiolab 8200CD. For a £1k Bluray player to sound like a £1k CD player is pretty good really. He also mentioned that the headphone amp was rather good too.

Well I bit the bullet today and ordered a 103 being delivered Thursday if get time will try and set up Thursday night and I will let you know what I think! 

The reasons I purchased it are as follows 

DVD audio playback at hi res

SACD play back 

Blu ray play back should be better than my BD60

Onkyo app o remote which is fantasic works with oppo too so can control Onkyo TV OPPO all from iPad 

gracenote is pretty cool when playing cd 

Oh yes and I got a deal on the oppo too, So brought the price down too ! So not a £500 player any more better value for money 

is there a good place to negotiate a deal?

I think there is a price fixing  going on with oppo dealers 

I called  about 10 of them this afternoon from dealer list. Most of them would not give a penny off ,! But a couple did and 1 had stock so ordered 

I am not going to name them here, as I am sure someone from oppo or another dealer will moan and that is not fair on them. 

Thanks guys for the feedback. David that simply adds more plus points for the Oppo. 

I need to take the 105 home for testing then I can report back.

It's a simple case of demand & supply. If you have less dealers for a product, competition will be less & so price tends to stay up. Have you ever seen Cambridge Audio blu ray players discounted, except when a newer model is imminently arriving?

Well with the discount it is a bit closer to the budget players maybe it will get a extra star lol

I don't have a problem with WHF, so I don't know what my rant is all about.   I enjoy the site and certainly appreciate the high quality components (as well as the great music) that regularly comes out of the UK (I used to live in Oxford).  At the same time, I do believe there are bias tendencies in the reporting (which is to be expected, and probably at play a bit here), but it's not like it really matters anyways.  I mean, you're a third world country now so you want to focus on selling home-grown products.     Just kidding  :)

My take, all of these types of source components are a bit of a waste of money since there's really no reason to put a disc in a tray anymore.  Choose your favorite Media Center and purchase a great DAC.  Feed the chain with streaming 1080p movies, or high resolution audio files.  DSD files can soundflawlessly analog (like putting a needle down on a horn phonograph).  96/24, 48/16....even 320 kbps sound quite nice in even the most revealing systems.  

Where do you take them home from for testing?  

jj123 wrote:

I don't have a problem with WHF, so I don't know what my rant is all about.   I enjoy the site and certainly appreciate the high quality components (as well as the great music) that regularly comes out of the UK (I used to live in Oxford).  At the same time, I do believe there are bias tendencies in the reporting (which is to be expected, and probably at play a bit here), but it's not like it really matters anyways.  I mean, you're a third world country now so you want to focus on selling home-grown products.     Just kidding  :)

Yeah whatever, I'm guessing you live in the US, in which case you got far more problems than just the economy...

But they look like EDITED, appalling quality compared to blu-ray.

If you pay for the item online you have the right to return it within 14 days if you are not happy. They wont let you take it home otherwise, no matter how much of a charming devil you are

Thats all I meant :)I will probably get it off Hifix, I owe David a purchase for all the advice given to me down the years.

Oh I see.    I still owe David a purchase myself, last time we spoke I think I said I would buy the Pioneer 55 Blu-ray player but it did not quite work out for various reasons!  Oops.