My requirements are DVD, SACD, and DVD-A and both of these DVD players are approximately the same price. The Oppo has USB, but I am not sure I would use it much.

Who would win in audio quality?

I don't have 3 posts yet and can't include links.

usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3262.asp

oppodigital.com/dv980h/default.asp

My requirements are DVD, SACD, and DVD-A and both of these DVD players are approximately the same price. The Oppo has USB, but I am not sure I would use it much.

Who would win in audio quality?

I don't have 3 posts yet and can't include links.

usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3262.asp

oppodigital.com/dv980h/default.asp

Oppo DV-980H

The Denon would most likely have better analogue sound quality, however there have been many reports of problems with the laser assembly in that series of DVD players from Denon http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=666053&page=147

Which would you choose? Oppo DV-980H or Denon DVD-2930CI

My requirements are DVD, SACD, and DVD-A and both of these DVD players are approximately the same price. The Oppo has USB, but I am not sure I would use it much.

Who would win in audio quality?

I don't have 3 posts yet and can't include links.

usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3262.asp

oppodigital.com/dv980h/default.asp


For audio (music or movies) RCA out (i.e. analog) the Denon 2930ci player is best.

For audio (music or movies) digital out it's flip a coin between these two players.

For overall DVD picture quality, the Denon 2930ci is best.

IMHO the better buy (I mean we're only talking about a current $30 diff) is the Denon 2930ci player on closeout. Buy through amazon, see: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=denon+sacd+player&x=0&y=0

Don't buy used, buy new.

edit: if cooling is in any way an issue, the Denon 2930ci player runs slightly warm and needs open space, so the OPPO 980 player might be best if that is the case.

Cheers

I have owned bith the Oppo 980 and the 2930CI over different periods in time

Oppo: THe 980 while displaying great quality picture (as long as it is static), screen refreshes used to leave black and white smudges on the screen.. I tolerated it for a while thinking the problem was with my TV. I replaced the Oppo with the Denon 2930CI and the problem just went away. My conclusion was for blacks, the Oppo purely sucked. Colors were good, video refresh also sucked because of above mentioned issue. In the looks category, it didnt match the rest of my equipment as it was a silver colored unit.

2930CI: When it works, this is a great DVD player that you need to take with a pinch of salt.. Shaky laser.. I bought my 1st one at Vanns.com and it used to stutter horribly on certain DVDs and displayed other problems too. A replacement from Vanns, also a brand new one has been performing very well. I am very satisfied with the purchase because I got in on an unheard off deal ($165 for a brand new 2930CI) and I can feel that it is a quality player that is probably worth thousands in its heydays

My suggestion is, just skip these and get a bluray player unless you have ample space and need a dedicated high end DVD player.. if so, get the 2930CI if you can get it at a good price. I believe you can get a refurb for $250 or so.. still worth it.

If you are considering the new Oppo BDB-83 player, wait until they drop the price by $200 to $299. THe current owners will scream, writhe in agony at my suggestion but it is not about them.. THey have already invested in it and just want to feel good about the price they paid for it. Oppo will in all likelihood drop the price eventually. Wait until it does so by using a nice $100 bluray player and sell and switch when the price is right. It is a great player, but $499 is a lot of money for some of us

If you are considering the new Oppo BDB-83 player, wait until they drop the price by $200 to $299. THe current owners will scream, writhe in agony at my suggestion but it is not about them.. THey have already invested in it and just want to feel good about the price they paid for it. Oppo will in all likelihood drop the price eventually. Wait until it does so by using a nice $100 bluray player and sell and switch when the price is right. It is a great player, but $499 is a lot of money for some of us

Oppo never lowers retail prices, period. Even used Oppo players typically sell at or above retail. Oppo may sell a cheaper player, but retail price for the BDP-83 will never go down. Once it is replaced with a newer, better model, the market value will go up, not down.

My requirements are DVD, SACD, and DVD-A and both of these DVD players are approximately the same price. The Oppo has USB, but I am not sure I would use it much.

Who would win in audio quality?

I don't have 3 posts yet and can't include links.

usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3262.asp

oppodigital.com/dv980h/default.asp

Just based on my personal experience, I would hesitate to recommend the Denon based on reliability issues. I've had a few Denon components and it seems any of them that had any kind of mechanical assembly (Tape player, CD player, etc) suffered from reliability issues. Any of the "solid state" components I've had from Denon (tuner, surround processor, etc) have been fine. In terms of PQ and AQ, the Denons have been great, but IMO, that doesn't mean much if it's not functioning correctly.

I've only had my Oppo 980H since April 08, but so far I am very happy with it's performance and have not had any issues (It's hooked up to my Pioneer Elite 151 plasma for video and an Anthem AVM20 processor for audio).

Hope something in this post helps.

Oppo never lowers retail prices, period. Even used Oppo players typically sell at or above retail. Oppo may sell a cheaper player, but retail price for the BDP-83 will never go down. Once it is replaced with a newer, better model, the market value will go up, not down.

+1

It seems Oppo "value prices" their gear from the start instead of starting out high then lowering it later. While $499 may sound like alot for a BD player these days, keep in mind that the 83 is much more than just a BD player.

+1

It seems Oppo "value prices" their gear from the start instead of starting out high then lowering it later. While $499 may sound like alot for a BD player these days, keep in mind that the 83 is much more than just a BD player.
that may be true but for most of us, the extras that come with the oppo are worth $1 or less as we never need or use them. so it is a misfit for us. we need it only for bluray playback. so $499 is still overpriced. it is laughable that they charge $100 for the RS232 option, for$100 you can get a player

i bought a sony bdp_s560 for $169 and happy

a PS3 at $275 with 120GB is a far better value than oppo:

that may be true but for most of us, the extras that come with the oppo are worth $1 or less as we never need or use them. so it is a misfit for us. we need it only for bluray playback. so $499 is still overpriced. it is laughable that they charge $100 for the RS232 option, for$100 you can get a player

i bought a sony bdp_s560 for $169 and happy

a PS3 at $275 with 120GB is a far better value than oppo:

It all depends on what you want/need. I agree if the features of player A are of no interest, then they aren't worth anything to that customer and a different player may be a better value for that customer. For those who desire those features included in player A, then they have some value that can only be determined by each individual customer. So it's good we have choices.:)