Official OPPO BDP-95 Owner's Thread - Page 9

Originally Posted by jfz

I was writing for the benefit of Rebop or anyone else who wanted to try being patient to see if the 95 sounded better over time; "much better" is subjective; and I said "my guess". "I'll give you a cookie" sounds pretty condescending to me, but I'll ignore it and assume it's a joke.

I've been an audiophile for over 40 years, and I've done many "experiments" such as you propose; i.e., with broken-in (used for a while) equipment and brand-new, out-of-the-box equipment. Sometimes a real factor in what I hear is a result of the transparency and accuracy of the rest of the system. In any case, I hear what I hear, and others hear what they hear. My intention is not to convince anyone else of anything.

Originally Posted by apog

Since Oppo referenced the term "analytical", perhaps someone here with Oppo connections could contact them and find if they have a definition so we'd have a common frame of reference.

Originally Posted by DAB

jfz-
I'm going to go with you on this. The 95 has been in my system for a week now and has been played allot. Had it on the 1st 72hour all most continuously. Not to have any "break-in" time.
I have always felt, if an -electronic part is going to break it will happen pretty fast- if not then it should good to go for a long time. I wanted to keep the player -hot- for a long time. No noticeable SQ changes thou- YMMV.
Back to the fan. When playing XLR 2ch. the fan hasn't come on. When playing 5.1 analogues it has come on- though pretty much dead quiet... in my environment.
db
Beta Tester #9

Originally Posted by The Rang

Like previous Oppos this model is likely to offer great performance for the price.

I'm anxious to find out how it performs against other players in that 1K price range (mainly Marantz, Denon, maybe Cambridge)

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau

Cool! I love reference sources like this.

But, um, people seem to be using "analytical" here as if it is a bad thing. I don't see that in:

"Analytical: Very detailed, almost to the point of excess."

--Bob

Originally Posted by wuwhere

Analytical is not necessarily a bad thing. I prefer a very detailed presentation as long as it sounds smooth, not grainy or harsh.

Originally Posted by Styln

I think that's why it's hard to put an attribution on that quote - to many near misses - but it get's the message across. Here's my brief take on the definition of analytical.

A friend had just bought a pair of Paradigm 60/80s (don't remember exactly), and I had just finished building some DIY speakers. So of course we couldn't wait to compare them.

Both sounded and measured fine in normal listening. Critically listening we clearly heard an edit on a CD listening to my speakers. Noted the CD counter, changed to the Paradigms, and played it again - no edit could be heard. None. Not at any volume!

I'd say my speakers were analytical and his were forgiving. Neither is better than the other, just depends on what you want, or don't want, to hear.

Styln

Originally Posted by dmusoke

Thanks for the reference wuwhere...

Analytical is right on ....the ability to reveal or show everything on disk, the good, the bad and the ugly. In this case, "Analytical" this is a good thing. It is synonymous of "Accuracy". Should we rage against the postman for the delivering the mail?

As for redbook playback sounding "thin", couldn't this be the recording itself being that way? Isn't this, again, where being analytical or accurate comes into play?

Originally Posted by michdys

Exactly what I am looking for on a player !
Very detailed sound, but no harshness ! One wouldn't like a warm but "muddy" sound neither.

Originally Posted by DAB

I am sure there has been a study [from some Grant money] that has studies ears of humans, male, female, and different races. i.e. tall ears, short ears, Pinna wider at the top, flat ears, large lobes[like Ferengi], ears with few/many folds, irregular eardrums,Etc. etc..
Then they could classify ears- say 7-9 categories that we all statistically fit into. Then manufactures could test and study these statistically categories and make & tweak their gear to match up with these categories. You go in to a store and get an ear test and then you walk out with the gear that has been matched with your ear category.
And we are doneNow back to comparing a $1k player to a $1k player.

The BDP-95's XLR output is fully differential. There are + and - output arms for each channel from the DAC. Each arm goes through its own current to voltage converter (I/V converter), and then the + and - voltage outputs are buffered with a true differential op-amp LME49724. The output of the LME49724 goes to the XLR jack.

We will have the rack ears in March. With the feet removed, the player is exactly 2U.

Originally Posted by jfz

...I've been an audiophile for over 40 years, and I've done many "experiments" such as you propose; i.e., with broken-in (used for a while) equipment and brand-new, out-of-the-box equipment. Sometimes a real factor in what I hear is a result of the transparency and accuracy of the rest of the system...

Originally Posted by rnrmf1971

My BDP 95 is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

I will be directly comparing it to my Denon 5910ci with regard to sound quality. I will be using the same brand and model of interconnect cables between each player and my pre-amp. I will test both RCA (Denon) vs. XLR (Oppo) and RCA vs. RCA. I will also use the same brand/model power cable on each player. Each will be plugged into a PS Audio Power Plant Premier.

The players will be connected to different inputs on my pre-amp so i can simply switch between inputs to hear the difference in sources. I will mainly focus on cd playback for this evaluation, since i can have identical media in both sources, and listen to the difference instantaneously. I will then check out SACD, and DVD-A. I will also use identical hdcd media to see how the players handle hdcd.
There will be no signal processing anywhere in the chain. Just source to pre-amp to power amp to speakers.

I purchased the Oppo BDP 95 fully expecting it to better my Denon. I will be disappointed if it does not improve upon the Denon and I will likely sell the Oppo. I will be surprised if it doesn't sound better. The Denon 5910ci is a great player, but lacks a little transparency, in my opinion. It has a very analog like presentation, but i have the impression that I can get closer to the performance and hear it as more real. Reviews of the 83SE against big name audio players, one in particular, led me to make this purchase. Someone whose opinion I value did a shoot out between the 83SE and the Mcintosh MCD500 cd/sacd player and found Oppo's playback to be very respectable against the 7x more expensive Mcintosh player. This is the kind of performance I expect from the BDP 95, except even better in the new model.

I look forward to posting my impressions this weekend!

Originally Posted by yuppi

i look forward to hearing comments from you

Originally Posted by WestCoastD

the DVD-5910CI was a flagship Denon player. It had better Burr Brown DAC part No.'s

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau

XLR Outputs Fully Differential!

The following info from Oppo engineering was just given to the Beta testers in response to a query about the design details of the XLR outputs on the 95 (and on the availability of the rack mount kit for the 95). We were told it was OK to go public with this:


ETA: Note this means it is probably best to use true XLR to XLR connections as opposed to using an XLR to RCA adapter.
--Bob

Originally Posted by rollinsrus

Analytical: This is difficult to describe in the audio world but it is easy to describe to people that understand video.

In the video world, think of edge enhancement.

Let's use three systems as examples:
System A is out of focus.
System B is in focus and perfectly calibrated.
System C is system B with the edge enhancement cranked up so there is visible ringing.

Comparing system A to B; system A would look soft and system B would look analytical in comparison because of the additional detail. For this case analytical is GOOD.

Comparing system B to C; system B would look perfect and system C would look OVER analytical in comparison. For this case analytical is BAD.

The exact same observations can be made in audio. This is particularly true in a system with transient instabilities which can sound analytical in the bad way.

Originally Posted by bakerwi

I really enjoy hearing the comments from those comparing the Oppo to transports and/or DACs that cost 2, 3 or 4 times its cost, but only as a benchmark. I think some are expecting or hoping the BDP-95 will best or equal transports costing 2, 3 or 4 times its cost. However, that would not be my expectation. The one poster who compared the BDP-95 to a Benchmark DAC1 HDR ($1,895.00) and a Marantz SA-7S1 ($5,999.00) and stated that the BDP-95 fell short, but was very good is a huge plus for the BDP-95 in my opinion considering the cost difference and one of the items is a dedicated DAC.

I think one poster compared the BDP-95 to a Denon DVD-3910CI (I think) and preferred the warm sound of the Denon versus the analytical (I think that's the word he used) sound of the Oppo, which was a fair assessment for his setup. Some may have taken this to mean that the Denon was better as opposed to his preference.

The fact that the BDP-95 uses Sabres best DACs doesn't mean it will outperform other transports with lesser DACs based on their respective specs.

As you stated I'm more interested in comparisons to other players in its price range as opposed to transports optimized strictly for music (SACD/CD) costing 2, 3 or 4 times its cost.

Just my $.02 for what it's worth.


Willie

Originally Posted by J.T. Guitar

New owner... Subscribed.

Originally Posted by J.T. Guitar

New owner... Subscribed.

Originally Posted by NY613

im kinda new to the high end home theater gadget, trying to learn as much as possible.
Recently purchased new Pioneer Elite 151, looking to get a blu-ray player and eventually get a receiver and a nice speaker setup.

my question is this, for the avereage user is the 93 plenty? or do i really need to get the 95, which is double the price, is the sound that i will get via HDMI on 93 going to be great while watching movies?

another question what is the best way to get quality sound, via hdmi?

Originally Posted by Kevin Johnson


I expected that it would at least be the Denon's equal for redbook playback, given the reviews (and the hype... Stereophile Class A?) concerning the 83se's analogue prowess. But, I soon realized (and was fairly shocked) that it wasn't. I listened constantly for weeks thinking that it was just me being used to the sound of the Denon. I had a buddy over whose ears I trust. He came to the same conclusion (without knowing which was playing).
QUOTE]

You specifically mentioned redbook playback. Anything to say about sacd, blu-ray, or dvd-a?

Originally Posted by NY613

im kinda new to the high end home theater gadget, trying to learn as much as possible.
Recently purchased new Pioneer Elite 151, looking to get a blu-ray player and eventually get a receiver and a nice speaker setup.

my question is this, for the avereage user is the 93 plenty? or do i really need to get the 95, which is double the price, is the sound that i will get via HDMI on 93 going to be great while watching movies?

another question what is the best way to get quality sound, via hdmi?