Official OPPO BDP-105 Owner's Thread - Page 13

Originally Posted by ajglass 

In connecting an Apple Mac mini to the BDP-105 via a USB port, do you need to download the requisite drivers from (a) an Apple site to the computer (b) the Oppo site to the computer or (c) from the Oppo site to the BDP-105?

Originally Posted by Eric Goldman 

I have had my 95 for about a year and use it in a dedicated stereo fully analog pre/amp set up with amazing results.

I just got my 105 to incorporate into my home theater system and find I have some issues. I justified the expense so that I could use the 105 to better process my video from my cable box, and so that I could use my new 3D capable Plasma (my existing receiver does not pass through the 3D signal). Being Thanksgiving weekend, Oppo Customer Service is closed, so I thought some of you could assist:

1) When running 105 video to Plasma via HDMI 1, and 5.1 analog out to receiver, I get the dreaded lip sync issue. Video is ahead of sound. My receiver can do a sound delay, but it appears that each source, be it DVD, Bluray or various TV feeds from my cable box all have slightly different amounts of delay. How can you set the delay in the receiver if each source has a different delay?

2) When I pass a 3D signal from my Direct TV cable box into the 105 and then to the Plasma, instead of getting the slightly offset double image, I get a split screen, where I am assuming the left and right image appear as two separate sides. ?

3) I have a Logitech Harmony remote. I can't find discreet codes for the 105 "input" various options. So if I want to watch the cable box through the 105, I can't do a "one touch" activity option selecting the proper input "back HDMI". How archaic is that? I fear for my wife!

It appears that most of this thread deals with the audio aspect of the 105 (which is why I bought my 95), but I am hoping that some boring home theater issues can be addressed....

Originally Posted by Bob Pariseau 

Check out the 1114B Public Beta firmware. Using that, try 75ms added audio delay when playing shiny discs. There are some playback combinations where no added audio delay will be needed, but if you spot a problem, try 75ms. Again this is for shiny discs.
For the HDMI Input you will not be able to correct the error. That's because audio is behind video and adding additional audio delay will just make matters worse. For the error on the HDMI Inputs there's nothing for it but to wait for OPPO Engineering to provide the fix. The remaining error situations for shiny disc playback should be fixed at the same time, but we'll just have to check that at the time.
For the 3D signal, check the new function in the 1114B firmware for selecting the 3D format on the fly.
For programming the Logitech, both the Official 1018 firmware and the Public Beta 1114B firmware allow the ability to select the Input by sending the Input button followed by a digit -- the position number in the Input Pop up list. Several folks here report success programming that into their Harmony.
--Bob

Originally Posted by jjwinterberg 

I'll grant you that for an audio source component things are a little bit simpler but which spec is more important, frequency response flatness or THD+N; over which frequency range? What about jitter vs. dynamic range? I wouldn't know which component is going to sound best in my system in my room just by looking at a spec sheet; although I can probably tell which ones won't sound very good.

Originally Posted by jimshowalter 

We just got done with an election where one team used the we'll-go-with-our-gut approach, and the other team went with hard data. Guess how that turned out.
Audiophilia is the only technology-based pursuit I'm aware of where subjectivity comes into the picture. You wouldn't buy a PC based on your "gut" feel about how well the processor performs floating-point operations. You'd insist on specs (or you'd read reviews, from reviewers who read the specs for you). All that stuff about CPU speed, amount of RAM, disk capacity, etc.: it's specs. The horsepower, mpg, top speed, skid-pad cornering, and braking in your car? Specs. Watts of output in your microwave? Specs. Even when everything was analog, there were still hard specs.
Get an MRI? Works because of the technology. Get a filling. Works because of the technology. Get your eyeglass prescription checked. An eyeglass prescription *is* specs. (Specs for specs, come to think of it.)
We're surrounded constantly by brilliant technological achievements based on fundamental understanding of natural laws and how to manipulate nature to our benefit, all based on hard science, engineering, data. Facts. Specs.
So. If someone with a suitably precise measuring device puts the 95 on a bench and measures it, then does the same with the 105, and finds that the 105 *on paper* underperforms the 95, that will be interesting data. It's just one data point, but it's still data. And data matters.
Edit: I had an epiphany after posting this. The reason subjectivity is allowed into audiophilia is that it doesn't *matter*. You'd never fly in an airplane designed by a guy who likes to wing it (pun unintentional). You'd want the plane to be designed by a qualified licensed engineer with a degree and strong skills. But if you buy a piece of audio equipment with lousy specs but great marketing spin (and believe me, there have been some doozies, like a certain single-ended monoblock with > 30% THD), all that happens is you're fleeced (or you manage to convince yourself that the midrange sounds "lush").

Originally Posted by pinoiski 

Hi,
Just received my BDP-105 last week and having issues with BDP-105 DLNA. I have a Synology DS1010+ and using the Media Server that came with it. All of my other components have no issue processing the contents from the media server.
Here is my issue:
BDP-105 keeps on going back to the server selection list at random navigation steps. Sometimes it will go all the way to the list of songs and when I press play it will go back to the selection screen. Other times it will only go one folder deep and return to selection screen. Completely random on where it will go back to the selection screen.
Anyone have experience this on their BDP-105? Any suggestions on how I can fix this?
By the way, I have the latest beta software.
Thanks,.

Originally Posted by Torqdog 

+1 Great post!
One additional factor that makes auditioning audio equipment a much more subjective thing than all that other stuff you listed is how each and every one of us has slightly different hearing capabilities. It's no secret that the older we get the more our hearing begins to suffer with high frequencies going down first. Stats, data sheets and the like might help us get closer to a quality product but in the end, it's each individual's own hearing that makes the differences quantified.

Originally Posted by pinoiski 

Hi,
BDP-105 keeps on going back to the server selection list at random navigation steps. Sometimes it will go all the way to the list of songs and when I press play it will go back to the selection screen. Other times it will only go one folder deep and return to selection screen. Completely random on where it will go back to the selection screen.
Anyone have experience this on their BDP-105? Any suggestions on how I can fix this?
By the way, I have the latest beta software.

Originally Posted by jimshowalter 

We just got done with an election where one team used the we'll-go-with-our-gut approach, and the other team went with hard data. Guess how that turned out.
Audiophilia is the only technology-based pursuit I'm aware of where subjectivity comes into the picture. You wouldn't buy a PC based on your "gut" feel about how well the processor performs floating-point operations. You'd insist on specs (or you'd read reviews, from reviewers who read the specs for you). All that stuff about CPU speed, amount of RAM, disk capacity, etc.: it's specs. The horsepower, mpg, top speed, skid-pad cornering, and braking in your car? Specs. Watts of output in your microwave? Specs. Even when everything was analog, there were still hard specs.
Get an MRI? Works because of the technology. Get a filling. Works because of the technology. Get your eyeglass prescription checked. An eyeglass prescription *is* specs. (Specs for specs, come to think of it.)
We're surrounded constantly by brilliant technological achievements based on fundamental understanding of natural laws and how to manipulate nature to our benefit, all based on hard science, engineering, data. Facts. Specs.
So. If someone with a suitably precise measuring device puts the 95 on a bench and measures it, then does the same with the 105, and finds that the 105 *on paper* underperforms the 95, that will be interesting data. It's just one data point, but it's still data. And data matters.
Edit: I had an epiphany after posting this. The reason subjectivity is allowed into audiophilia is that it doesn't *matter*. You'd never fly in an airplane designed by a guy who likes to wing it (pun unintentional). You'd want the plane to be designed by a qualified licensed engineer with a degree and strong skills. But if you buy a piece of audio equipment with lousy specs but great marketing spin (and believe me, there have been some doozies, like a certain single-ended monoblock with > 30% THD), all that happens is you're fleeced (or you manage to convince yourself that the midrange sounds "lush").

Originally Posted by bobcfla 

Originally Posted by djkiwi [/B]
If people can't notice the difference between the BDP 105 and the Panasonic 500 then two things are going on:
1. Their sensory perceptions are incapable of differentiation.
This isn't meant as an insult. .
2. Their system is incapable of differentiation.
Originally Posted by thorix[/B]
b) according to my experience there is in most cases a common understanding what sounds good and natural, exccluding 2 specific types of people. The first category are those who do not care, which are more and more folks who grew up with mp3.

---

Happy Thanksgiving!
I enjoy learning from this forum, and appreciate the hard work and knowledge of our mentors here, which has helped me be prepared for my new toy. which HAS arrived. I also agree with much of what both gentlemen above shared-as opinions. On top of what they stated is the likelihood that many users out here do not have signal interconnect and speaker cables good enough to pass the signal well enough intact to be fully appreciated--or subjectively compared.
I'll offer my comparative opinion from a different direction, for those who have not had a 95, and wonder if the 105 is worth the price and trouble. I received mine just in time for being off for 5 days so I will have time to warm it up properly, and exercise all the functions I have been dying to try out. No secrets here--I am stoked, and early on, after my first listen to redbook CDs, favorite SACDs and a few BRD movies, to me it is wonderful! I LOVE the 105. I will tell you why.
The new 105 so far, clearly sounds more dynamic, powerful, cleaner, warm (full--NOT lean), smooth, and has deeper and cleaner bass than anything I have heard in my dedicated theater room. I could not be happier with its purchase, with the caveat I have never owned a player over $1200. As an old electronics designer, I also know what literal "burning in" means, and believe it is not the same as the improvements gained from letting a system operate over time, with the cumulative effects of the capacitors forming, and other nuance-critical components becoming more stable with use. You do not have to believe that, but like better wire insulation, rotation, and metallurgy, it will make a difference in the sound. And I look forward to the additional improvements.
I did not have the luxury of having a 95 to compare my new 105 to, but have been listening to very good (but not well heeled) stereo for a very long time. I started young on tubes, then McIntosh, Marantz, PS Audio, and still enjoy turntable analog. After 25-30 years of reading Absolute Sound and Stereophile, I think I can hear, and know what sounds good to me, in MY system. which is important, and is totally subjective. I use primarily Audioquest (with batteries) interconnectl cables for my more critical inputs, and Kimber Heroes on the lessor inputs like surround and VCRs. I use Audioquest Rocket 88 Bi-wiring to the Maggie 1.6 QRs and Transparent for the others. I wanted the new 105 so I can get away from the additional electronics--pre-pro, external DACs, and more cables, etc, which all affect the sound of whatever comes out of the OPPO. Any and all electronics AND wire affects the signal, just depends on how, and how much. I will find out this weekend how much my prepro affects it by going around it directly to the power amp. My perspective includes my older NAD 7ch T163 Tuner pre-pro, and matching NAD 7ch T973 power amp, into pairs of Magnapan front MG1.6QRs, surround MG MC1s, rear surround MG 12QRs, and center MG CC3, all run full range. Plus a Velodyne 10" SW is set for roll off at 60 Hz. The flat screen is a Smart 60" Samsung 6100. My amplification is older but sounds clean and powerful at my budget level. My old Sony BDP NS999ES was about equal, and different, but not better than the Oppo 83, and far better than my older Denon. I have used most of the digital inputs thru a DacMagic, and for computer USB output FLAC and WAV, both at home and RV travel. I purchased the 105 so I can feed all my digital including Direct TV thru it and controlling the volume to the power amp. The room does not require a lot of bass control so I do not need that complication.
BTW, one other gain from deleting a 7.1 ch pre-pro is cutting the price and signal loss of 8 more good cable interconnects, which is considerable, easily more than the cost of the 105.
My one unknown is how to deal with my turntable phono preamp, as I do not think the concept of ADDA is cool for perfectly good HQ analog if I give up the analog part of the pre-pro?
Any suggestions other than living with the pre-pro?
Astronomertoo

Originally Posted by jjwinterberg 

So which spec is it that tells me which fighter plane will win a dogfight? How about which car is going to win a road race? Or which computer will be best for my needs?
The challenge is that the subjective audio experience is made up of many aspects of the performance of each of the components that make up the complex audio systems that create the sonic environment we experience as audio.
I'll grant you that for an audio source component things are a little bit simpler but which spec is more important, frequency response flatness or THD+N; over which frequency range? What about jitter vs. dynamic range? I wouldn't know which component is going to sound best in my system in my room just by looking at a spec sheet; although I can probably tell which ones won't sound very good.

Originally Posted by skriefal 

I had the same issue with the BDP-105 beta firmware.

Originally Posted by jjwinterberg 

So which spec is it that tells me which fighter plane will win a dogfight? How about which car is going to win a road race?
I'll grant you that for an audio source component things are a little bit simpler but which spec is more important, frequency response flatness or THD+N; over which frequency range? What about jitter vs. dynamic range? I wouldn't know which component is going to sound best in my system in my room just by looking at a spec sheet; although I can probably tell which ones won't sound very good.

Originally Posted by ehlarson 

How do you think the Electrical Engineer designs these devices?. Hint, it's done based on a fundamental understanding of the perceptual importance of various specifications. Pick up a copy of the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society and you will see that it's full of articles discussing how objectively measured parameters affect perception.
Dr. Sean Olive, head of R&D at Harman International publishes an excellent blog describing some of their work along these lines.
http://seanolive.blogspot.com/
Sure, users often buy based on subjective impressions. But there is no particular reason to believe these buying decisions are anything close to optimal. And there is the fact that audio equipment marketing and the sales process is often designed to take advantage of emotional response and discourage analytical thinking.
This subjective buying process is why we get products like Shatiki stones, LP demagnetizers and audiophile fuses.

Originally Posted by Friendly Fire 

Man, that makes it harder. 4K is looming large -- I can justify $500 as a bridge to the Oppo native 4K player when it gets here in 2016, but $1200 is hard.
Are you running analog MCH for surround or letting your DAC do the heavy lifting? If analog MCH -- how is the spacial alignment? Audessy is giving me
such a sweet 3D soundstage with HDMI out that I really don't use the analog out with its tonal superiority. 2.1 stereo is sweet, nearly moving coil cartridge sweet,
but I lose the enveloping soundstage when I go MCH analog. Darned shame.
So does the 105 get it right in MCH analog?

Originally Posted by bsauvage 

I am curious to know more about this. Considerig usig the Oppo as a transport instead of a Linn (would I realy lose out much?) then into a high end DAC.
Are you hearing marked difference between OPPO's onboard DAC vs your outboard one ?

Originally Posted by pinoiski 

@rdgrimes

Yes, that is actually what I am using right now to access my media. The listing though is in random order as was reported here by another poster. Since SMB is not is now supported, do you know if Oppo have plans to fix the randomness of the file listing using SMB?

Originally Posted by Friendly Fire 

. Back in the day Nakamichi sold some amazing, literally record setting amps and preamps based on the spec sheets -- S/N >125 dB -- incredible for analog gear. The stuff sounded horrible..

Originally Posted by Mivsbai 

Hi, I am wondering is oppo 105 apple products friendly? I have a pair of active speaker with no volume control built-in. And I am planning to buy a oppo 105, as it has good quality volume control over analog and great DAC. My question is can I connect iPod dock to the 105's optical digital in? If it may work, would 105's built-in' DAC handle all digital audio processing? Furthermore, would oppo 105's HDMI-in work with apple tv? Again, would oppo's DAC and video engine processing audio and video signal sent from apple tv?

Also, as my music is all in ALAC format in my iPod classic, would this fomat matter? I guess my iPod decodes the ALAC format, and send digital audio signal to the 105 through optical connection, and the 105' DAC convert the digital audio signal to analog, am I right?

The main reason I want to buy a oppo 105 is use it as a BD player and preamp, as the 105 has a state of art DAC.

Thanks

Originally Posted by pinoiski 

Hi,

Just received my BDP-105 last week and having issues with BDP-105 DLNA. I have a Synology DS1010+ and using the Media Server that came with it. All of my other components have no issue processing the contents from the media server.

Here is my issue:

BDP-105 keeps on going back to the server selection list at random navigation steps. Sometimes it will go all the way to the list of songs and when I press play it will go back to the selection screen. Other times it will only go one folder deep and return to selection screen. Completely random on where it will go back to the selection screen.

Anyone have experience this on their BDP-105? Any suggestions on how I can fix this?

By the way, I have the latest beta software.

Thanks,.

Originally Posted by stumblebum 

Hello

Quick question


I currently own an Oppo 83 and don't own a 3D or 4K TV

Looking to upgrade to either 95 or 105

Are there any outstanding hardware or firmware issues outstanding with the 95

or is the 105 a safe bet ?

Thanks