Best Blu-ray player for 2 rac audio out and Picture

[Tim's Dad]

Hi
Has anyone compared the Oppo against anything else side by side?

I was interested in the answer to this, specifically Oppo 105 vs Panasonic BDT500 a few weeks ago.

If you do a google search you'll see several people have asked the question but hardly anyone knows the answer. Eventually I found one forum where deep in a multi-page thread someone claimed to have heard both and that the Oppo 105 was substantially better.

In the end though I bought the Panasonic as it was a major bargain at £160. I can tell you that the sound is good, better than the Pioneer BDP320 it replaced, but this improvement was much much less than the remaining sound quality deficit when up against my Linn Klimax Renew DS. Which is perhaps no surprise.

Mark

 

[oHOWEo]

Am I missing something here, is the oppo £1200? and the Panasonic £170?
How would the oppo compare the the Panasonic with the best £1000 dac?

 

[Mikas]

Well, if you're going to get only the bits out of it for audio, it's almost irrelevant which Bluray reader you choose. Just pick one that goes well with the rest of the equipment and furniture.


Michael

 

[Tim's Dad]

Am I missing something here, is the oppo £1200? and the Panasonic £170?

You're not missing much.

The Oppo is around £1000 and the Panasonic was £300 but can now be picked up for close to half that price, presumably because it is about to be replaced by a new model.

There are some wild claims around that Panasonic's flagship model is giant-killer, and then others say Oppos are brill so don't be silly. True to form, the former are generally Panasonic owners and the latter Oppo owners.

It's worth asking the question. Making choices just on price is a mug's game and there's also diminishing returns.

Mark

 

[Rana]

I have the Panasonic BDT500. The sound quality via its internal DAC is on a par with my Apogee Minidac and previous Micromega MyDac. Ignore the "tube sound settings". Not as good as the Naim CDX it replaced, but very recommended. I bought mine for £190 in October.

 

[peter bj]

the ps3 is good and produces good sound , I found it a bit better than a mid price sony blue ray player I had . As others have mentioned many new players only have optical out and therefore no analogue so this must be a consideration

 

[Suffolk Tony]

There are some wild claims around that Panasonic's flagship model is giant-killer, and then others say Oppos are brill so don't be silly. True to form, the former are generally Panasonic owners and the latter Oppo owners.

Mark

Well, I've got both! And a PS3. (The Panny came "Free" with my plasma). The analogue stereo output from the PS3 is poor, the Panasonic's marginally better. But the Oppo is far superior to either, due to its internal DACs and power supplies, whether it's decoding stereo from CDs, DVD-As and SACDs or decoding multi-channel outputted through its 7.1 analogue channels.

At the moment I use the PS3 for movie video (it does 3D, which I use occasionally, if only to impress the grandson), the sound being routed through an Anthem processor via HDMI. the Oppo is used for multiregion playback of DVDs/Blu/Rays and via its stereo analogue outputs for DVD-As/SACDs. the Panny's in the kitchen.

If you only want the player for BluRay picture output & are using HDMI for sound then, yes, it isn't worth shelling out for the Oppo. But for analogue it's definitely well worthwhile stumping up the extra. You pays your money...

 

[marvan]

Hi All
There have been many wise words
I use the Naim DVD5 as a DVD player only and it sounds fantastic
Playing CDs through it sounds great and probably better than a Naim CD5i but not as good as my current source
Why change? I suppose searching for the Hifi nirvana.

Has anyone compared the Oppo with the Naim DVD5?

A couple of years ago I was thinking of changing my set up and going for a stand alone DAC. I was very disappointed with the improvement using the digital out on my TV and Hard Disc player. ( bordering on non existent )... Hence the reason for the question

I am aware everyone's tastes differ but listening and looking are of paramount importance

Any other thoughts?

Cheers

Marvan

 

[Tim's Dad]

Well, I've got both!

Excellent! You're a rare breed. Which Oppo model?

Mark

 

[Suffolk Tony]

Hi Mark, it's a BD83SE. It was originally a standard 83 but I had it upgraded to SE spec. by the original importers (CRT Projectors IIRC). A significant upgrade.

 

[marvan]

Am I missing something here, is the oppo £1200? and the Panasonic £170?
How would the oppo compare the the Panasonic with the best £1000 dac?

Hi
Thank you for every ones contribution

Reading the thread I wondered about the cheaper Blu Ray and DAC option

My experience of playing a CD through at Panasonic DVD Player and comparing;
A . A direct connection via analogue RCA to the preamp
B. A connection via digital cable a Naim DAC and then via RCA the the preamp
showed hardly any difference and certainly not £2000 of difference
Has any done a similar comparison with a Blu ray Player ?

I have a 2 channel system and am delighted with it. There is no option of a multi channel system. I did however manage to negotiate big speakers !

My second question is
How well does a Hifi DAC cope with 5.1 or 7.1 sound?
Is there any way to facilitate this connection so there is no negative effect on sound?
Having read the DAC Bake Off thread I wonder whether the whole power supply/ transfer/ DAC issue is why the Oppo fairs so well?

Your thoughts would be appreciated

Cheers
Marvan

 

[Mikas]

How well does a Hifi DAC cope with 5.1 or 7.1 sound?
Is there any way to facilitate this connection so there is no negative effect on sound?
Having read the DAC Bake Off thread I wonder whether the whole power supply/ transfer/ DAC issue is why the Oppo fairs so well?

Your thoughts would be appreciated

Cheers
Marvan

Either you choose to output only two stereo channels from the DVD/Bluray player or a stereo DAC is unable to process the data.
...but every DVD / Bluray player let's us choose what we want on the output, in this case, two channel stereo, so I don't see a problem there.


Michael