Oppo-95 or Sony XA5400ES - Page 8

And, the bottom line is that it all may be coloration, and you are right, there is no right or wrong answer. I went to a Prince concert last year, and I have never heard a system that can duplicate the sound of a concert on that scale. While the sound was deep and immersive (I can see how some women get elated and throw their underwears on the stage), there was no stereo or multi-channel imaging. The sound was just omnipresent. The sound man did an outstanding job with the equalization on the sound board. What I really need is an inexpensive HDMI processor with some kind of equalization so I can get the best sound from my room. I'm seriously considering the Integra 80.3 because I read a statement from Kal Rubinson that an inexpensive processor with room equalization has the capacity to sound better than a more expensive processor with out it. I makes sense to me. I would love to own the Classe CT-SSP, but I refuse to dump that kind of money in a processor that will be worthless in a few years. I made that mistake when I purchased my Arcam AV9 for retail and my Pro 720HD Pioneer Elite. In any event, I appreciate the feed back from everyone.

Did I say that? Well, it does have that capacity depending on the speakers and room acoustics. Some may not need the assistance of roomEQ but most do.

At any rate, your statement sounds credible to me. In fact, I purchased my 5400ES based exclusively on the way you described how it gets every ounce of sound from the notes (paraphrasing), gets the music right, etc. It was descriptive nevertheless, and when I purchased mine, I could hear everything you described. Everything I own has been purchased based upon reviews from Stereophile. The equipment was purchased blindly and I haven't been disappointed yet. I am very happy with my sound now, because fundamentally, I hear the music and not the equipment which seems to disappear. But, I do feel that I need 5.1 SACD and a new prepro with HDMI will solve my problem.

gbaby,

I'm glad we didn't chase you off as I respect your preference for the Sony. I recently sold my Denon AVR-A100 and actually made money on the transaction since I had bought the Denon at 30% off MSRP at the time of my purchase. I replaced it with the Integra DHC-80.3, because I wanted something with XLR capability at a reasonable price to mate with the Oppo. Also, Audyssey MultEQ XT32 really improved my environment especially dialing in my dual subs. I also upgraded my speakers and amplification over the past year.

I don't think you will have any regrets if you acquire the Integra DHC-80.3, but I could be wrong.

Sorry for the off topic everyone.

WestCoastD,

When I acquired the Pioneer it really didn't overwhelm me as I already had a Cambridge Azur 640c V2 which had a better implementation of the same DACs. Now could I hear a difference in the implementation; probably not, but I didn't have to wait for the privilege. The Pioneer is a fine transport, but painfully slow.

My wife ask me why do I need so many players and I retort back why do you need so many pairs of shoes. End of discussion.

If I get chased off by opposing opinions on this frivilous topic then I need to leave the planet.

yeah, the Pioneer (BDP-05FD) is probably one of the slowest players, but great sounding and exceptional video quality. I also have a Pioneer Kuro, they definitely play well together. And, yes, having multiple players is the next best thing to having multiple pairs of shoes

Speaking of Cambridge Audio, have you been able to experience the Azur 751BD universal player? Is this player based on the current Oppo platform?
http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summar...Blu-ray+Player

My vote is in for quote of the year


DJoel

So 'gbaby' gets a hard time by stating his preference of Sony over the Oppo in a few threads, but it's perfectly OK for Oppo fans to state their preference, praise and unreserved recommendation over many threads on AVS?

If the measurements suggest there should be no audible difference aren't the people who prefer the Oppo also guilty just as gbaby is for his preference on the Sony? Are some people playing fair?

Shouldn't the many descriptive words conferred to gbaby (a single post #208 alone is a rich source from where I pick):
speculation
uncontrolled
volume related
bias
mood
psychogenic
wishful thinking
subjectively
audiophile objective crutches...also be conferred to Oppo fans?

In my last post listing the measurements I asked the valid question whether they tell the whole story, whether something else could account for the audible differences and I think it'd be much more constructive to focus on that than endless personal attacks and insults.

I for one appreciate Gbaby's views on the whole matter, info is info doesn't matter if I like it or not, as I don't own every setup (variables) a piece of gear may be used. I kinda thought that's part of the reason why we all come here to post

What are the balanced output levels of the Sony? The spec says 2V RMS but I find this hard to believe. If so this explains why Kal had to raise the volume to match the Oppo in his tests.

I think Marantz is even higher (and depends on what filter you use, CD vs. SACD).

must be correct (2V RMS), it states it in the manual (page 29):
http://www.docs.sony.com/release/SCDXA5400ES_EN_FR.pdf

The output level will normally be MUCH lower than that, depending on the music being played. That is the Maximum output level of the unit. It IS true that the SACD level is much lower than the CD output level for the equivalent musical content on the Ayre (-6db).

BTW; I have the Sony 5400, the Ayre C5xe/MP, and the OPPO BDP-95 players.
I use them for music only with the balanced outputs to an Audio Research LS-26 preamp.

I rate the CD/SACD sound quality as a 10 for the OPPO, a 9.5 for the Ayre, and a 9.0 for the Sony.

All damn good, but the OPPO is the best with no question IMO.

Thanks for chiming in. I recall your setup and how you posted elsewhere that you carefully level matched all the players and evaluated them in a comprehensive manner (yet some people still weren't satisfied with your methods). I trust your opinion.

I think a lot of people say a component is better than another simply because it is more resolving and they can hear further into some audiophile recordings. Like when people compare hi-end sports cars, I am more interested in which one I could live with on a daily basis. So I am curious how you would describe the differences, however small, that tips one in favor of the other.

Regards,
Stefan

He didn't carefully level match.

It was not a comprehensive evaluation.

You should trust your ears when only ears are used (uninfluenced by sight and or psychological distractions).

A lot of people say a lot of things. Why do you think there is a saying, "Don't believe every thing you hear."?

All destructive comments to the topic. Contribute something better yourself or don't bother addressing me again.

My reply to you (post #225) are all true. You just don't understand it at the moment. Hopefully you will and that would be a happy ending.

I have the cambridge 751 and sold off the 95. I do think the cambridge is a better player. but understand it is more expensive in your country. it shares the mediatek chip set with the oppo 95. but has a completely different dac and analog stage

the cambridge is a better player in my opinion. for one thing doesnt have the noisy fan the oppo95 has and neither does it have the sluggish behaviour of the 95 (due to its network audio implications)

Yeah if the Cambridge had balanced outputs I'd be all over it.

Interesting points. Thank you.

was one of the man reasons I purchased the oppo 95 originally to run with my fully balanced pre amp.

to then realised in use that the balanced outputs provide about two fifths of F'all benefit vs just using the L&R RCA outputs ...

Whatchu talkin' bout?

While I much preferred the sound of the Sony XA-5400ES over the Oppo BDP-95, I can objectively say that fan noise on the Oppo BDP-95 was not an issue as I never heard it.

I have the BDP-95 and considered auditioning the Cambrdige since I could get it for the same price, but the closest Cambridge dealer was almost 300 miles away and they didn't ship. I also have a Denon DVD-5910CI which has one of the best analog implementation that I have come across. I can't say the BDP-95 is better than the DVD-5910 because I think they are both excellent with different sonic signatures.

As far as the fan noise in the Oppo, my fan has never come or at least I couldn't hear it from my listening position about 6 to 7 feet away. The one time I actually heard it I was within 1 foot of the unit. I don't know how far your listening position was from the Oppo, but if your fan noise was that loud, then I would assume that maybe your unit had a defect. I know a handful of other owners experienced fan noise, but the vast majority of owners on the BDP-95 did not see fan noise as an issue.

Good luck with the Cambridge.

I agree both fine players, in the oppo and denon you have.

I have a very quiet room and system, noises such as fan noises clearly audible to me. I sit 3 meters from where my equipment resides. To put in perspective the oppo 95s fan is noisier than the denon 4010 I also used to own the denon didnt have any sluggishness in use either. oppo said they cant do nothing about the sluggishness as it is inherent to giving people network ability so live with it.

And no it isn't defective, its a very popular unit in my parts so quite familiar with other units in other systems where it behaves just the same.

and without doubt I am sure there are a lot of people quite content and happy with it as a unit, and deservedly so it is an excellent player for the money

Without fans The 5400 like the cambridge have one less noisy component in the case !

I've come across oppo owners who have gone to extent of replacing the noisy pc fan with a silent one. And not sure why oppo hasn't done that to start with. Go to trouble of of putting in a good quality Rotel silent torroidal power supply only to put a noisy fan in the case instead.

Perhaps next time around they'll put something like the excellent long life Noctua silent fans instead. Or work on the design for better efficiency so a fan is not required at all. After all put in another mechanical moving part. And it's just going to fail ....eventually

...Willis ? :lol:

If looking for benefits over Xlr balanced be sure to compare. But also be sure to make sure it's a level matched comparison. Since the balanced output of the oppo is exactly twice voltage of the left and right RCA outputs on the 95.

Otherwise people tend to just compare uncorrected and go wow it's louder as in better rather than hang on Willis just crank the volume down so they're outputting the same level. And then like me might find .,. Hang on ...there's nothing in it ?

If locked on balanced connections be sure to check out the primare blu-ray player.

http://www.synergyaudio.com/Primare/...oductview.aspx

Looks like shares the same Mediatek chipset as oppo and Cambridge , so will no doubt be rock solid and very capable in use.

Under hood shots seen of it show as is typical of primare gear in being beautifully built. Decent Dacs, excellent analog stage, no scrimping in power supply, and guess what ? No noisy fan ! Hehe

If my math is correct is it worth 5 times the cost of the Cambridge or Oppo? Are we talking about diminishing return here? I have stop chasing perfection since it doesn't exist or does it.

Could be just the usual ripp off mark up we get here. Re diminishing returns.. Who knows doubt I'll never find out hehe

Hey guys, I am in the market for a new player to play back my cd's as well as a new bluray player that has 5.1 or 7.1 analog outputs. The reason I need the analog outputs is because my pre-amp doesn't have hdmi (Anthem AVM-20).

I am looking for suggestions on a bluray player that has the analog outputs that I can play both blurays and cd's on, through the analog outs. I have been looking into the Pioneer BDP-51fd, and, e Sony BDP-1000es. How do these 2 players compare to the other players such as the Oppo BDP-83se? Are there any other players out there with analog outs that would be better? (ie Denon or Marantz? )

My budget is $350.00 and under. Unfortunately I can not afford the Oppo's and have been unable to find a Sony BDP-s5000es for a decent price. Any suggestions for playback of both red book cd's and blurays through analog outs? My main concern is sound quality from the analog output stage.