Oppo 103 Blu-ray Player Gets 3 Stars!
Well my Oppo103 arrived this afternoon I have been messing around with DVD AUDIO and SACD this afternoon mainly and seems pretty good I am not blown away but not disappointed either I think it needs some fine tuning of the settings
on a SACD which is better DSD or PCM ?
just going to watch a film now so will report back later !
Yep pretty damning. I wonder what they will give the 105?
It is a strange review. The fact that this player does a lot more than the rest, & also has analogue outs, has been completely ignored while giving the verdict. Blu ray picture quality is equal in all players IME. DVD upscaling comment is interesting. Have to check some cheaper decks now. Looks like competition is catching up on this front.
I had a demo of this, on smaller screens the difference is subtle and barely noticeable, but put it on a projector and it will blow you away. The cheaper decks are good but there is a difference. For example the Sony s790 looked blurred in comparison when watching transformers, motion was awful and judder evident. Mind you this was only apparent on CGI. The BDT500 provided the best contest for me, but again I could still see a little difference :)
If you judge this on bluray playback and on a 50inch or smaller tv, then dare I say the review is fair! Perhaps a 4 star IMO.
The analogue outputs were not ignored...
"Even older amps which are completely devoid of HDMI inputs are catered for, as the Oppo can decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio onboard and output a signal from its set of multichannel analogue outputs."
The analogue outputs were not ignored...
"Even older amps which are completely devoid of HDMI inputs are catered for, as the Oppo can decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio onboard and output a signal from its set of multichannel analogue outputs."
You can't just say "use 2 boxes instead of one" and ignore the versatility of the Oppo for the final verdict.
I have had a bit more time to play with the oppo 103 last night and to tonight
Blu Ray playback seems very simular colours seem a little brighter sound a little better
SACD seems a better tonight
CD play back is a lot better than my BD60 and gracenote is easy on the eye too Tron Legacy rocks on cd (someone on another forum said it was one of the best cd to show off )
My sentiments exactly Ian 
The analogue outputs were not ignored...
"Even older amps which are completely devoid of HDMI inputs are catered for, as the Oppo can decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio onboard and output a signal from its set of multichannel analogue outputs."
You can't just say "use 2 boxes instead of one" and ignore the versatility of the Oppo for the final verdict.
Perhaps they are saving it for the 105 review.
Yep pretty damning. I wonder what they will give the 105?
I wouldn't like to predict. Fair play to WHF for saying what they really thought about the 103 though. Many reviews are predictable and boring this certainly was not. 
It's not like there's no precedent for this though, the 93 only got 4 stars, primarily for weaknesses in the sound, the 95 however got 5 stars, so you can't suggest they're going to automatically mark the 105 down, certainly not just because it's an Oppo, which is what some people seem to be trying to infer (exactly the same as some people did when the 93 and 95 reviews were published).
It's not like there's no precedent for this though, the 93 only got 4 stars, primarily for weaknesses in the sound, the 95 however got 5 stars, so you can't suggest they're going to automatically mark the 105 down, certainly not just because it's an Oppo, which is what some people seem to be trying to infer (exactly the same as some people did when the 93 and 95 reviews were published).
I agree, I made that same point a few posts back about the 93 getting a 4 star rating. I think it's fair when you consider what the review mentions. personally I feel its a 4 star machine as the benefits come through on larger screen's.The 105 is incredible with CD playback, that will inevitable receive a better rating because of it.
on a SACD which is better DSD or PCM ?
just going to watch a film now so will report back later !
If your AV amp can decode native DSD (not all do), then setting DSD output from your Oppo should be better - and remember this will only be through HDMI.
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.
Where do you take them home from for testing?
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. 
LOL, Don't I feel bad everytime that happens. I know how you feel )
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