Help Needed From Oppo 103 owners.

vacdac

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I'm currently contemplating buying a new Oppo 103EU Blue Ray Player & would appreciate some feedback from other users.

This seems a great way of bringing my Audiolab 8000AV processor bang up to date in terms of bang up to date surround codec support. :^

I currently use a HDMI splitter & also a PowerMid XL R.F./infra read repeater which allows full access control of my main system video sources from the bedroom using a Logitech Harmony R/C. The Sharp 32" LCD TV in the bedroom isn't full HD/1080P capable so I'm hoping that the Oppo 103's second HDMI output is configurable for being set for 1080i resolution whilst simultaneously having the first HDMI output set to 1080P?? I have had a look in the published specs of course & it does state that the output is user configurable. As I'd have expected of course, my gut says that Oppo will have this covered & allowed for eqpmt of different/lower specs being used in the same household. :?

TBH I've also been rather keen on the C.A. Azur 752BD, but the costs are horrific for a Blue Ray player & getting on for £900 if you go for the extended warranty. TBH I don't really need the Spdiff/USB digital inputs as I already have that covered every which way. It rather seems this + the balanced outputs are simply gloss I don't need & can't even use as I have both sets of XLR's on the A1fbp already in use. :geek:

Five hundred smackers for the Oppo is looking like fair value for giving me a v flexible AV hub that also brings my AV Processor up to date & brings SACD capability to the table*(*this is probably just a sideshow for me TBH, but having the option at least would be good & I daresay I'd end up buying a fair few)

How good is it?

 

gjm

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I don't have a 103 (or 105) but I sincerely doubt you'll be in any disappointed by one. The 105 is designed to be better with audio recordings than the 103.

In terms of value for money, it is superb.

If it is image quality and vfm you're particularly keen on, go for the 103D.

 

gintonic

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Chris, if you have any questions about the Oppo, I'd suggest emailing them. They were really responsive and helpful, when I was considering buying one of their older models.

 

vacdac

Wammer
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Chris
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Cheers Simon & Graham too of c, :^

That is excellent to hear!! :cool: I'm still up for any feedback from current users of the 103, but TBH this is now looking like a done deal TBPH.

ATB

C. :)

 

Sumdumgi

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It's a great piece of kit. I bought mine from Mark Grant Cables - he posts on here. He'll answer any queries you have around configurations. It's video performamce on Blu Ray is excellent and DVD quality is A1. I use it as a transport for CD these days and have a small range of SACD and DVDA discs. Buy with confidence imho.

 

vacdac

Wammer
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Cheers Les,

That's great to hear....Yeah prices seem of a muchness. I had thought to try buying locally but Oppo have Barnsley/Sheffield as the closest dealer locations. :) So the obvious though was to put a little business the way of one of our WAM dealers who sells them. I think Hi-Fi lounge also sell 'em & they trade on here. :^

It may come down to who has them in stock as I'd like to have the deal done by Tues/Weds this week if possible. I'm quite keen to have it in place/all hooked up as I've had enough shilly shally with moving stuff around & setup of late. :roll:

 

vacdac

Wammer
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Chris
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Thanks to Paul @ Hi-Fi Lounge....one of our own Wammer HiFi dealers I will be getting a shiny nooo OPPO BDP103D tomorrow. :cool:

Great service from Paul:hug: & I'm now seriously looking forward to its arrival, having cleared some rack space yesterday. Also rather happily my three sets of IXOS 804 overture component leads have just arrived here around an hour back. This was rather unexpected as the earliest stated 'delivery window' was for tomorrow. :cool: I'm really pleased with this purchase too as it gives me the full 5.1 hook up needed + an extra stereo pair & a digi coax cable too....Cost for all three sets has been a wallet busting:nup: £35-97 in total @ £11-99 for each 1m set & I think original RRP was at least £80 per set. :roll: I bought a set of the standard edition IXOS 804 for all my hookups for my Adam F5/F7 monitors & the spec is v similar w both quad shielded w chunky connectors TBH I slightly prefer the funky looking 'soft yellow' colour of the outer jacket of the standard version to the graphite coloured braided mesh of the Overture....but who's grumbling at these prices. :^

 

vacdac

Wammer
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Chris
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Just replied Cloffo,

I was thanking Paul @ HiFi Lounge over the phone...not ignoring you honest.

Yup I'm broadly aware of all the differences in spec between the three models......but I rather think you misunderstood what it is I wanted here. Which is what I've got, no need to sell the 8000AV whatsoever, I've explained more fully in the PM. :cool:This is kind of an end point for me for AV surround. Initial watch/listen to Promethius thru the Oppo is very promising & my recent changes seem to have paid off big stylee.

Thanks for taking the time to post some answers though....always interesting to hear thoughts from those more current with this stuff than I am. Beyond a certain point for me however AV/Surround becomes a sideshow & what I have already seems pretty damn good to me TBH.

Ta Bud

Chris. :)

 

vacdac

Wammer
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Chris
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Lol....love the consistency re the time taken to unbox any new bits. :D :^ My Dad is the same. :)

Yeah I was previously using my old Sony 970hdxr..whatever HD/DVD/free view PVR so just making the leap to Blue Ray is quite a big deal for me here.

I was also considering the C.A. BD 752 which has some great features, but seems silly money to me for a BDP. I reckon I may have found the sweet spot with this un though for my own needs. I love that it allows me to watch all my main system sources with full remote operation from in the bedroom. Thanks to the magickry of my PowerMid XL R.F/infra red remote control repeater & a Harmony Remote + the Oppo's HDMI inputs:geek:

Sounds like we have both been working through similar scenarios of looking at best solutions/fit in the context of our own systems. :cool:

 

vacdac

Wammer
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Chris
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This is the complete nuts!! Video & audio quality is awesome:love: :love: ...Haven't even tried any Blue Ray discs as yet, just a few DVD movies so far. Main use so far has been as an AV hub, I have my Technisat T2400 2TB twin tuner Freeview HD PVR hooked up via the rear HDMI & picture quality of standard def freeview content seems to be damn near as good as DVD's upscaled to 1080P. I have the Derby processing set in "Hi-Def" mode & dialled in @ 45%. I'm really impressed & well glad I plumped for the pricier Derby edition over the boggo BDP103EU. :^

Sound quality for DD/DTS is superb when fed from the OPPO's analogue O/P's into the 8000AV's 5.1 inputs. It's hard to state a preference TBH. I have the speaker distances/levels setup identically for both units. The GUI of the OPPO is excellent & v logical, doing the speaker set up was a complete doddle.

It's no slouch as CD player. I'd guess as good at least as £200/£300 standalone players if not better. It's hard to judge this in the context of my current system, as my last standalone player was an Arcam CD73t. I've been using separate DACs for some time now & the CD player from my TEAC ref 300 mk.iii as a transport/backup device for if my streamer's ever went tits up. :)

My Audiolab processor used as a straight 2ch DAC/Pre has been making an excellent account of itself TBH. Not as good as t' Oppo as transport into the more sophisticated DAC of my C.A. SM6 streamer into my main 2ch Pre-amp the M.F. A1fbp, but hardly disgraced. It's rather nice to have a choice of 2 pre's & the very accurate -90 to +12 vol control in 0.5db steps may be an even better option for late night low level listening sesh's. The upgrade to the OPPO has deffo given my Audiolab a new lease of life I'll have to do some A/B'ing:geek: at some point to see whether the player or processor does a better job with HDCD encoded discs, as both bits of kit have this capability.

I now have full SACD capability, including my front 3 speakers meeting the minimum specs for this*, so this will be something I will explore more fully. Lol what had me cracked up yesterday was I found my double disc 2 layer copy of the Stones' "Forty Licks" & couldn't for the life of me remember what the other coupla' albums I own on SACD actually were. :nup: :doh: I've had a couple of fruitless scans through my library, but nothing is popping out as yet. :D Never mind I'll probably add some more SACD albums in the New year, as I have a nice little recent haul of ripped ceedees to enjoy first:stereo: (*My rear speakers have a FR that extends above 30khz....Just prolly. So mebbe multi-channel SACD may be worth exploring too? :? )

Streaming video from the Syno NAS works an absolute treat & the supplied Wi-Fi dongle works great. The OPPO found all the UPnP/DLNA devices on my network straight away. Network setup was extremely fast/simple. :cool:

Build quality is really nice I feel & certainly seems pretty classy compared to much of the sub £400 alternatives. I think C.A. need to get back in the game @ around this price point as their 752BD player is understandably too big a stretch as a Blue Ray player for many peeps.....Even if like the Oppo BDP105 & this BDP103 come to that too!! It is actually a whole lot more than just this.

In answer to my original question that kicked this thread off it auto selects the output resolution of both my connected displays so my bedroom TV being only 720P/1080i capable is no issue. :^ For watching DVD movies I'll not even have to bother with my R.F./I.R. remote repeater as the OPPO droid App works a treat. There is an App with better functionality....but didn't list support for the OPPO BDP103.....I've installed it & as expected it doesn't find the 103D:(...lets hope summat that'll work with the 103 & offers better/full fuctionality appears at some point. :? Meanwhile I have it covered with my remote Extender + Harmony remote.

Big thanks to Paul @ Hi-Fi lounge for excellent customer service & getting the unit to me so quickly!

 

HiFi Lounge

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Hi Chris, glad to hear that you are enjoying the 103D, I have got the chief OPPO guys coming in on Friday from China for a chat, don't know why they'd want to come here really but should be fun, I'll see if I can get any info out of them regarding any new products :)

Have you had a chance to try the Darbee Processing yet? I have been really impressed how it can improve picture quality without adding any artefacts, I have mine set on Hi-Def at around 60% which seems to work really well.

Cheers,

Paul.

 

vacdac

Wammer
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Chris
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Hi Chris, glad to hear that you are enjoying the 103D, I have got the chief OPPO guys coming in on Friday from China for a chat, don't know why they'd want to come here really but should be fun, I'll see if I can get any info out of them regarding any new products :) Have you had a chance to try the Darbee Processing yet? I have been really impressed how it can improve picture quality without adding any artefacts, I have mine set on Hi-Def at around 60% which seems to work really well.

Cheers,

Paul.
Cheers Paul,

Yup I have the Darbee Processing set in "Hi-Def" 'dialed in' currently @ 45%.....I'll certainly experiment at dialing it in at a higher setting. :cool: As you say though it certainly seems to make a great improvement, with no downsides I can see. :nup: I'm amazed at this trick which doesn't seem to be at the expense of introducing any artifacts/nasties into the picture.

I've actually found that fed from my Technisat T2400 2TB Freeview HD PVR that upscaled standard Def channels are far closer to the HD channels through the OPPO than if I feed the Technisat straight into my TV. Hi-def channels are even better, as one would expect. The picture quality from external sources, now fed through the brilliantly flexible OPPPO's HDMI inputs are certainly better by some margin than I have ever seen on my current Sammy full HD LCD screen.......Which is now getting long in the tooth @ around 7/8 yr's old. Upscaled freeview is not so far off the quality of upscaled DVD's through my previous Sony PVR 970hdxr combined DVD recorder, which was near the top of the range when I bought it. Needless to say with the OPPO doing the honours for DVD playback the PQ easily beatis my previous Sony DVD thang & is toootarsely superb!!

These are currently the two favourites of the TV's I'm looking at. With some price beat deals applied I can prolly swing the LG for around £465 delivered & hopefully with 5yr warranty & prolly £469 for the Sammy.....so really not much in it price wise.

http://www.johnlewis.com/lg-42la620v-led-hd-1080p-3d-smart-tv-42-with-freeview-hd-and-4x-3d-glasses/p437390.
231935833


LG 42LA620V LED HD 1080p 3D Smart TV, 42" with Freeview HD and 4x 3D Glasses

81nefADQzBL._SL1500_.jpg


Samsung UE40F6320 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p Smart 3D LED TV

 

vacdac

Wammer
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Chris
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Bubble UPnP works a treat for pushing video from my Syno Nas to the Oppo. :cool: This is great as this is the controller I already use to control my C.A. Stream Magic 6 streamer. This means the only need I may ever have for my 2nd Harmony Remote + PowerMid XL I.R/R.F. remote repeater in my bedroom system. Will be for watching recorded freeview content from my PVR. Otherwise I can use a Droid controller for most of what I'll be using t' OPPO for. This really is a far far better solution

 

Huntergatherer

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One thing though, if you want to stay with Audiolab, and it is indeed the AV that you have, just get rid of it altogether and replace it with an AP, now as 8200 i.e. 8200AP, rather than try to modify an old legacy product with quite different design. Either that or get a 105 and actually make direct conncetion to power amps, with no Audiolab involved at all, if that will work in overall terms of your systems connections. You ought to achieve a better sonic result for your av sound doing this. Five hundred pounds more for the spinner, but you'd have an old processor to sell and also, the overall cost would be far less than a 103 plus new AP unit - and better, if less flexible.
Yeah that's what I did, Sold my Audiolab, which enabled the purchase of the 105.

No looking back, minus one box and direct into power amp via analog feed.

Oh yeah the guys at Oppo are also great for a informed chat

Ah, read a bit more thread, put my hand up a bit Late....

 

highfidelity

Wammer
Wammer
Jun 22, 2007
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0
, ,
I'm currently contemplating buying a new Oppo 103EU Blue Ray Player & would appreciate some feedback from other users.This seems a great way of bringing my Audiolab 8000AV processor bang up to date in terms of bang up to date surround codec support. :^

I currently use a HDMI splitter & also a PowerMid XL R.F./infra read repeater which allows full access control of my main system video sources from the bedroom using a Logitech Harmony R/C. The Sharp 32" LCD TV in the bedroom isn't full HD/1080P capable so I'm hoping that the Oppo 103's second HDMI output is configurable for being set for 1080i resolution whilst simultaneously having the first HDMI output set to 1080P?? I have had a look in the published specs of course & it does state that the output is user configurable. As I'd have expected of course, my gut says that Oppo will have this covered & allowed for eqpmt of different/lower specs being used in the same household. :?

TBH I've also been rather keen on the C.A. Azur 752BD, but the costs are horrific for a Blue Ray player & getting on for £900 if you go for the extended warranty. TBH I don't really need the Spdiff/USB digital inputs as I already have that covered every which way. It rather seems this + the balanced outputs are simply gloss I don't need & can't even use as I have both sets of XLR's on the A1fbp already in use. :geek:

Five hundred smackers for the Oppo is looking like fair value for giving me a v flexible AV hub that also brings my AV Processor up to date & brings SACD capability to the table*(*this is probably just a sideshow for me TBH, but having the option at least would be good & I daresay I'd end up buying a fair few)

How good is it?
I tried out the Oppo 103 did not like it , suggest you buy the Sony BDP-S790 provided it has all the features you require.

 

vacdac

Wammer
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Chris
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
I tried out the Oppo 103 did not like it , suggest you buy the Sony BDP-S790 provided it has all the features you require.
If you'd read the thread:doh:, you will see I bought the Oppo, precisely because its feature set/specifications meet my needs/requirements. The Sony doesn't come close. The Oppo is a v classy product that I'm using as an AV hub to feed 2 TV's in different rooms & thanks to it's multi channel outputs/Blue Ray + SACD it has brought my Audiolab processor bang up to date in terms of more current Hi-def surround codecs. In the end I bought the Oppo BDP103D "Darbee" picture processing model & the difference this makes to overall PQ is well worth having IMV.

Indeed, simply from my post which you have quoted above, my main requirements seem clearly stated. :) I tend to spend a fair bit of time carefully looking at the feature set/spec of any eqmt I buy & have always generally bought stuff that is flexible. My combined 2ch/AV main system gives me top notch movie/whizzbang stuff without being at the expense of stereo/2ch SQ & now I even have SACD playback back on the menu.

There's not much point looking at the likes of the Oppo players or the similarly specced C.A. 752BD unless you need the features TBH. Although the build quality/solidity of the Oppo's is a cut above most of the run of the mill rather humdrum competition below £500. The "Darbee" processing really does just work too & can be dialled in to the users taste.

 

highfidelity

Wammer
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Jun 22, 2007
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, ,
A friend has the Oppo 103 EU connected by HDMI to the latest Arcam AVR it plays DVD but not SACD. Does the Menu need accessing for a different mode or could either component be faulty.

 

vacdac

Wammer
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Chris
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Press "Settings" on the remote, next click on "Audio Format Setup" which is the third option down from the top. Check that it is set to "Auto" in the first option it will automatically select the right format & either output PCM/DSD dependent on what format your AVR can handle.

However on visiting Arcams site just now & checking the specs of their current range of AVR's* (AVR380/450/750.......950??) they don't specify that any of them can handle/decode SACD via HDMI connection. :nup: I have taken the trouble to download/take a squiz at the manual for these too. :^ Sounds like the best option would be to use the Oppo's multichannel analogue outputs on Phono/RCA socketry, which is what I do with my Audiolab 8000AV processor.

It certainly doesn't sound like the Oppo is faulty, nor the Arcam AVR for that matter, just that additional analogue hookups will be required.

 

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