Oppo-95 or Sony XA5400ES - Page 2

Thank you for the compliment. The Oppo did have "superior soundstaging." But, for me, I feel that when you hear a note on the XA-5400ES, its quite full whereas with the Oppo the note is on the dull side and you cannot hear that last degree of sound from the note on the Oppo. Its hard for me to articulate, but I can know it when I don't hear it. To borrow from Sly Stone, Different Strokes for Different Folks.

Well that may have been what your perceptions told you, but since the Oppo 95 has been found by many sources(and many more owners) to be an excellent player that far excedes its price tag, then your single result stands all by itself. But by all means, enjoy your Sonys.

I think it is a fair statement. You may not have been aware of gbaby's continued lobbying on the Oppo 95 thread which became tedious after many attempts to help him went unanswered and he was repeatedly asked to live and let live. But it is true as he said, different strokes for different folks.

had the 95 myself for quite a while. it makes for a good universal player. but prefer the 9000es sacd player for sacd and cd. ultimately ended up selling off the 95, as really wasnt using it for its analog output. balanced connections etc. as have my 2ch players mostly do any music listening on. swapped across to the cambridge 751bd and been very happy with that

ps I happen to own a 5000es player as well. now in my bedroom system. when sold my 95 I used the old sony as my bd source in my system. I was suprised that it wasnt really a drop down from the oppo was expecting. in speed wise its not really much far behind. its a better built player the sony. and in some ways its more slick vs the oppo thats a bit sluggish since its off looking at the network and what not while your trying to get it to open its drawer to put in a disc. if sony ever updated the 5000es to current spec I'd say it would outrun something like the 95 easily and be quite a killer product !

So what do you like about the Cambridge 751 bd and how long did you have the 95?

owned the oppo 95 six months. with the cambridge firstly I prefer the lower profile case which is just like their disc players and with its more conventional display, styling and proper player controls with its buttons etc. the oppo I hated the tiny compromised display could never read from the listening postion, the tiny odd ball non illuminated buttons I'd always be fumbling around to find. when installed the cambridge in my system my 3 year old daughter just walked upto it pressed the eject button and put a disc in. thats how intuitive the cambridge is to use.

the oppo could get quite warm, the cambridge runs very cool as a player and doesnt have a fan. the fan on the oppo 95 is very audible and a bit of a bugbear for me in a pretty quiet low noise floor room and system.

the cambridge is also not sluggish in use. you can just put a disc in it on start up. whereas the oppo was very sluggish on startup that would be off lookign at the network for media play etc would be there plugging the eject button with nothing happening. the media interface on the oppo I looked at once used and that was it, whereas the cambridge it is a much better interface for playing back music movies, photos etc.

In use in specs and capabilities and functionality the cambridge is exactly the same as the oppo so dont miss out at all there.

the cambridge in my opinion is a better built and put together unit. in australia the oppo you have to buy from a private importer with a "local" warranty but need to ship back to them who either fix it or have to ship back to oppo. the cambridge can get from local shops and get a 3 year warranty any problems just take back to the shop. with the oppo to play local region discs you have to buy it "modded" whcih adds another 10% to the price. whereas the cambridge is built and sold in our country for local use and hence out of box plays local discs and region free for dvd as is allowed in my country. saving me any cost of modding and associated issues with updates and warranty with modding.

the cambridge remote is a very smart thing as supplied with their audio players, but not illuminated the oppo one is pretty standard oppo but illuminated.

audio ? the cambridge over analog is actually very decent. as an oppo 95 owner I think most would be suprised to not actually give much up to it at all. the cambridge does not have balanced outputs, but then with the oppo 95 hooking up balanced to my fully balanced pre I'd have to be honest and say I am not sure hooking up that way provides any benefit as such over simple RCAs.

Cool!

Getting OT but just to point out the CA 751 is based on the same platform as Oppo 93. The video side is the same but the analogue side is quite different with the CA using 24/192 upsampling and Wolfson DACs. I don't know if upsampling applies to SACDs (not ideal for SACDs). The prices in Aus are very different from NA: here the 751 costs more than the Oppo 95 and most people including myself just don't see the justification. There isn't even a 751 thread in the BDP forum.

The Cambridge certainly share the Mediatek chip set with oppo and as mentioned I see that as a major attribute as loose nothing in that regard to the oppo. The dac implementation is Cambridge audio specific and quite elaborate discrete dac configuration which I found looses nothing discernible to me. The up sampling is as they do for their top line cd player and very well regarded as you would find in their dac magic as well. Just like the oppo I think they make a good midrange player. With better available from dedicated 2ch players as I found.

As to justification I have listed all that important to me, from multiple aspects to make the 751bd a keeper for me.

There is a Cambridge thread on Avs if you look. I have no idea why more expensive to you in the us. Either we get a bargain or the us distributor is pocketing the rest ! For us in oz the 751bd is quite a bit cheaper. Infact I sold the 95 second hand and pocketted $400 difference in buying the cambridge

Given the relative unknown seems to you guys we seem to have a much stronger following of happy Cambridge owners it would seem on my home forum.

Guys my only point the players like the 95 are a decent 2ch player in a universal player which makes for great buying .... But you can do better if wanting to explore other 2 ch players

I'm using a new Oppo BDP-93 in a new 2nd living room system. My BDI rack is slightly limited in space (height), so I'm forced to stack a Monster power conditioner and a Scientific Atlanta cable box on top of the BDP-93, this is on the upper shelf. Down below is a new Denon AVR-2112CI receiver, with only like .75 inch clearance between top grill surface of receiver and the bottom surface of the glass shelf above (holding the Oppo, power conditioner, and cable box).
I'm hoping things don't heat-up too much, from receiver upwards into the Oppo?

hot air rises unfortunately, and 3/4 inch not a lot of space. possible to place the monster power condition out the rack ? give you a bit more room in the rack. and no real reason has to be in the rack, kind of thing can be discretely tucked away

otherwise maybe monitor temps see what they get upto. I've used a turkey baking temp probe myself in previous racks where been a possible concern. can also look to see whether can keep the rack as ventilated as possible, or worse case add some noctua silent PC fans. the denons usually have an ac outlet built in the back can use that to run a small transformer to feed the pc fans and they will then switch on and off with the avr

And the 95 has one of the best DAC's period in the Sabre which puts it head and shoulders above the 93 and the cambridge. With a signal to noise ratio of 125db, it really is a benchmark at the price. Buying from an internet direct company will always offer better bang for buck.

Yep I found the thread with 5 posts and the replies were all talking about Oppo instead.

The reason CA costs more than Oppo in the US is very simple at first thought: the US is Oppo's 'home' territory, and CA is imported. It still doesn't justify the inflated price. In the UK of course it's CA's home and the 751 is inbetween the Euro 93 and 95, which I think is much more reasonable and I'd like to give the 751 a try then. In Aus both are imported and the rules of the game changes with the Oppo importer skewing the price. I understand the love of the 751 in Aus accordingly and certainly wasn't saying you made the wrong choice. I have dedicated CDPs for 2CH audio so it's not a great loss for me not having the 751.

I thank you.

Actually, I was doing everything I could do to like the Oppo. I really needed 5.1 SACD because my Sony XA-5400ES was only 2 channel. But, on the Oppo thread, the owners acted as if they owned stock in Oppo and did not want to do anything to hurt sales. To say they were hostile to different opinions on its sound is an understatement. Only audiofan1 was polite, and understanding, and tried to convince me to like the Oppo in good faith. I am still in the market for a player that plays 5.1 SACD and all the new surround codecs over analog outs, but with the sonic traits of both the Sony XA5400ES and the BDP-S5000ES. By the way, the S5000ES in the "Wide" mode is the best sound I've heard with True Dolby HD and DTA-MA. Even the Oppo could not touch it.

I do not mean to drag up old posts, but I remember a few posters genuinely trying to help you at first, but you wouldn't respond or seemingly try their suggestions of help. At any rate, you are the only one who reported sub standard SQ, so either your Oppo was defective or some of your equipment may have been reacting badly to the Oppo. Several highly esteemed organizations have carefully tested the 95 and found none of your issues with it.

But it doesn't really matter, you found something you can really get behind and works in your system, so it's all good.

Edit: USAFchief, Kal Rubinson, Bob Pariseau, gsr, and Moviegurujeff all politely tried to help you.

Not so fast! I already owned the sonys when I purchased the Oppo BDP-95. I still have not found a machine that can perform like the Oppo but with the sonic trait of the Sonys for Oppo's price. I only have one set of 7.1 analog pass throughs so I need a unit that can play the new surround codecs as well as SACD and DVD-A so I won't have to buy another processor. Since I don't use room correction and sound fields, a blu-ray with 7.1 analog outs and all the surround codecs and the sonic traits of the Sony is all I need. I really don't want to invest in a new processor because it may be a waste of money. I read where one person stated that his Oppo BDP-95 through its analog outs had a bette sound than his new Classe 800. I believe him because Dolby Digital and DTS through the analog outs of my Sony BDP-S5000ES sounds better than that from my Arcam AV9.

Consider finding a used Zektor 7.1 switch and that will get you the additional 7.1 inputs.

I hope I wasn't overbearing, I have a passion for my equipment that I see in you too. Obviously you know what you like, and have been at this hobby a good while.

Thats an option, but the additional expensive 8 RCA cables gives me pause.

Nope, you were not overbearing. And, you are correct, I have been in this hobby for quite some time. While in college in the '70s, I worked in a high end audio store named Vicker's Audio. It was the best audio store in Durham, NC at the time. We sold almost every major brand from Klipsh Horns to Phase Linear, Accuphase, Nakimechi (excuse spelling) dragon cassette, Crown and Halfler amps, Infinity speakers, Genesis, MacIntosh, JBLs, Harmon Kardon, Marantz, Kenwood, Pioneer, you name it. It was the best job I've ever had for enjoyment as we sat around, during down times, listening the different speakers with different receivers and amps so that we could describe the sonic traits to customers. Circuit City was the beginning of our demise because people were not concerned about "accurate" sound, but loudness and boomy bass for a cheap price. We spent a lot of time educating consumers about "coloration" and what sonic traits to listen for, as well as educating people on why they suffered from listener fatigue speaker efficiencies and matching amps and/or receivers or whatever. We even went to people's homes and help them set up their systems and assisted with speaker placement. So yes, I do know what I like in sound, but even thats subjective. I don't think one can ever duplicate accurate sound with audio equipment, just close to accurate. The last time I went to a concert, I never heard "imaging," "stereo" or any other seperation. The music was just there. This hobby has turned into an adddiction for me. I'm trying to kick this habit.

I have had the Sony 5400 for a few years now, and I have heard many different players, including the OPPOs, and the only thing I have EVER heard that sounds better than the 5400 is my Ayre C5xe/MP, which cost me $6000 about 5 years ago. Actually, when I first got the Sony, it sounded BETTER than the C5, but that was before I sent the Ayre in for the MP upgrade, which made IT sound better (but only a little bit).

I have never heard the OPPO or anything else that could come close to those two players for accurate sound (but there are some players for $12,000 and up that I have never heard). I use the balanced analog outputs on both exclusively so I have no idea what other outputs can or will sound like.

I guess Sony has quit making the 5400 now, which is sad; such a bargain for its quality. If hi-end dealers had accepted it and sold it...but they didn't much want to take on any other Sony product lines, so that was a problem.

Wow! What a great testament. What you describe is the reason why I am reluctant to buy a new pre/pro; my D/A converter on my XA-5400 sounds better than the D/A converter on my Arcam AV9. In fact Sony's ES products aren't given their just due as giant killers. I paid over 6k for the Arcam, and collectively my XA-5400ES and BDP-S5000ES was around 2.2k and both D/A converters on each sound better than my AV9. Its not that my AV9 is the best pre/pro, but new, it was highly regarded as among the best. With this in mind, I honestly feel the Sony can build a machine with 5.1 SACD and the new surround codecs that will better a processor costing up to 10k or better. This stuff definitely gets to the point of diminishing return so I'll wait and see what happens. I am so glad for your comments because it proves I am not the only one who feels that the the Sonys sonically betters, at least subjectively, the Oppo BDP-95. For me, it its not even close.

Not so fast! LOL Not even close? hmm! I still beg to differ and let's not forget the 95 is the giant killer the Sony almost became and has other manufactures scrambling to play catch up!

Then don't buy expensive cables. I use many types and brands but, among them, the Belkin Silver PureAV are very, very good.

You win!

What also gives me pause is the idea of having anywhere between 16 and 24 RCA cables. I have a feeling that if I'm patient, I'll get the ideal blu-ray with the sonic trait I find appealing for a reasonable price. The reason I say this is that if I were patient in the past, I could have gotten an Arcam AV888 with HDMI for the same price of the Arcam AV9. I purchased the AV9 six months too soon.

You are barking up the wrong tree for sonic trait. Look for ideal speakers and room setup.

I am generally satisfied with my Speakers, Infinity Composition Preludes PF-R. While they are old, they somewhat disappear when I am playing music, and they easily display different sonic traits with different cables, speaker wires, amps, pre-amps and processors. In fact, my system was built around those Infinity speakers and I went from a sorry sony receiver to a Sony ES processor (TA-E9000ES and TA-P9000ES), and Carver amp (705x) to a Krell amp (KAV-500) to an Arcam AV9 processor with a First Watt Aleph J amp powering the Infinity speakes and the Krell KAV500 for the center and rears. But, you are right that room setup also affects the sound which is one of the reason I do not care much for equalizers and the like. I can change the sound of my speakers by simply pivoting them or taking them away from the back wall or side wall. For me, equalizers affect transparency and I can hear the subtle degradation in the sound. And, I can hear a big difference in the sound with different D/A converters. While I like a clean and articulated bass, I really appreciate the smooth mid range and sweet highs that are music to the ears. Its hard to articulate, but you know it when you hear it although its all somewhat subjective. One thing for sure, and that is I'm sick of buying equipment as I am finding that different sound does not mean better sound.