Official OPPO BDP-105 Owner's Thread - Page 29

Thanks.. I think this is new, I could not do that (or never figured out how) with the 95, so that's great!

Nope, it's not new to the 105 - the 95 has the same feature. See page 74 in the BDP-95 manual:

The same feature is included on the 105.

never set it up right, I will now. This will save me a pair of RCAs for F/L...

burn in _
could some on explain the best way to burn in the oppo bdp-105 ?
thanks
paul

Yup. "big tube" was my euphemism for CRT. I've got a Sony KV-34XBR910 (http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article/sony-kv-34xbr910-34-inch-hdtv-monitor) and it's still looking too good to put out to pasture. Thanks for the shielded center speaker suggestion. I'll look into it.

I am an extremely happy 105 customer now:

1. The beta firmware fixed my lip sync issue
2. Kinsky app on my iPad has enabled me to use my iMac with Plex Media Server and control content wirelessly streamed to the Oppo (easier than navigating the network menus)

There is no special burn-in procedure (it's not like you will have image retention as on a plasma display). Some people swear that after 20 or so hours, the AQ sounds better than right out of the box. Other people think this is nonsense and that there is no such thing as burn-in for electronics. No matter which camp you're in, all you have to do is use it normally (and maybe be less critical of AQ over the first few weeks).

Regarding the 1205B Public Beta Firmware

My personal opinion is that everyone active in this thread should update to the 1205B Public Beta firmware.

It has important bug fixes, and no significant new gotchas that are not also present in the current Official firmware.

Be advised that using a Beta firmware means you will have to do a USB (or, if you really must, a burned-disc) install BOTH WAYS. That is, if you are currently running the Official firmware you'll need to do a USB install now to get the Public Beta firmware. And you'll ALSO need to do a USB install later to get the next Official firmware whenever it is released. Network update only applies when going from Official to newer Official or from Public Beta to newer Public Beta.

But doing a USB install is no big hassle, and if you've never done it before now's a fine time to learn how. The instructions are on the OPPO support page for the 1205B Public Beta firmware.
--Bob

In the US, Crutchfield has now posted their Product Research for the BDP-105

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_768BDP105/Oppo-BDP-105.html?tp=171#details-tab

Select the DETAILS tab on that page, if it doesn't open to that tab automatically.

Crutchfield is unusual in that they don't simply regurgitate the manufacturer provided write ups on products, but instead actually try to use the products themselves and write up what they've found -- based on the manufacturer's stuff as a starting point of course.

Crutchfield has just posted that for the BDP-105 -- based on the Official 1018 firmware. I don't think there's anything in there which will come as a surprise to folks following this thread, but of course it is formatted differently, so you may find some nuggets in there that you've missed.

If you spot any MISTAKES in the Crutchfield write up, please do post them here, and we'll see what OPPO can do to get them corrected.

Note that their Features and Specs chart makes no mention of the player's digital inputs. Evidently Crutchfield's spec list for players still is not quite ready to handle the concept of a player with inputs!

The inputs ARE mentioned in the Product Reasearch write up. The HDMI Inputs are mentioned in the Video section. The other Digital Audio Inputs are mentioned in the Audio section, with the ARC input via the HDMI outputs listed separately from the other Inputs.
--Bob
Edited by Bob Pariseau - 12/8/12 at 9:23am

Can I get the Oppo warranty if I order the unit elsewhere (somewhere closer to home as I am 5 days from Calif via standard shipping)?

Of course. Any "return policy" on the new purchase would be up to whoever you buy from, though. If you buy from the OPPO Digital web site they offer a 30-day easy return policy (all you risk is the shipping).

Also if you buy a modified player -- e.g., the seller has opened up the player and added something, such as a 3rd party, Region-free mod -- then obviously you'll need to deal with them for problems with that.
--Bob

Thanks Bob! I forgot about the 30 risk free so will go with Oppo direct as I did on my 83.

^ By the by, just in case you haven't noticed, the OPPO Digital Warranty on the BDP-105 (and BDP-103) is now a full 2 years!
--Bob

OPPO BDP-105EU test: a marvel! (translated hdfever.fr)
Published December 8, 2012 by Nicolas Bécuwe

A very extensive review with a ton of images.

Original URL

Out of fairness, I should clarify that WE cancelled this order, and not the other way around.

I'm not going to start a whole big controversial discussion in this thread, but as a business owner I refuse to service customers who come onto my premises and throw around personal insults, as well as making demands of us that are outside of our policies, becoming argumentative with us in front of other customers, while we try to calmly and patiently resolve the situation.

We strive to provide excellent service. Sometimes though, this just can't happen no matter how hard we try.


As for the other post referenced by Edward, we received our inventory on Wednesday late in the afternoon (a day later than expected), and worked ferociously with our warehouse staff to get the vast majority of our backlog cleared up without any further delay. I have been very apologetic to customers who have contacted us for the delay. I do understand the eagerness to get products as soon as they're released, and we do try to make logistical decisions to bring stuff to our customers as quickly as possible.

Please note this is not intended to be a commercial message to solicit business. I just want to clear the air on these posts and let posters and readers here know that we're not another faceless company as these posts might suggest.

Nice review! I'm looking forward to trying the 105 very soon:D

I had a 103 and no lip sync issues, I sold the 103 to a friend and bought the 105 for improved audio feed to my dedeicated two channel audio system.
With the dedicated audio outputs the timing is way off, not as bad when I use the FR FL downmixed outputs. I would like to use the dedicated audio outputs for watching Directv as well but with the lip sync issue I can't

So my question to anyone , how do I implement the firmware fix? I have a computer but only dial-up (slow) internet and not very computer savy, any help would be greatly appreciated.

This from the same guy that mentioned "Perils of Pauline"?

Since this is my first Oppo player I was nervous of bricking it somehow. However I just downloaded the 1205B Public Beta firmware to my computer and then was automatically prompted to burn the iso file onto a CD. Inserted the burned CD disc into the Oppo BDP-105 and it uploaded sucessfully. The only out of sequence event was that I had to eject the disc since the player shut off after updating as it is supposed to do.Then had to power cycle it and reset to factory defaults. It was very easy and relatively quick. Next trip to BB buy a USB thumb drive.
Edited by Sharp1080 - 12/8/12 at 12:51pm

Thanks, I guess I will get a thumb drive thingy and see if I can figure it out, I am pretty sure my computer doesn't burn anything to disk, at least I never did such a thing.

**Throw away the Preamp**

The Oppo 105 sounds more transparent without a preamp than with a preamp in my opinion. I've tested a variety of preamps with various topologies (passive, transformer volume types, autoformer volume types, active types, tubes and solid state of varying price ranges).

I could not find a single example where the Oppo sounded better with a preamp. All of the preamps added a veil or slight coloration to the sound, some more so than others. A good preamp should have no sonic signature in my opinion. Some people say the preamp provides nice "warmth". In these cases the preamp is merely being used as a tone control and the listener should perhaps consider altering the source to achieve their desired sound.

It's also difficult for someone who has spent $10k on a preamp to admit that it adds no value. A friend who offered his preamp for comparison was shocked his so called "high end" preamp was virtually redundant in the Oppo setup at least. In fact nobody has so far preferred the sound with a preamp, even the "warmth" fanatics.

I suspect what we are dealing with here is power supply. Oppo is able to provide sufficient body to the music and throw a wide and deep soundstage probably because of its robust power supply. Couple this with a beautifully designed volume control and you have a recipe for great sound.

What I've found over the years is CD players and/or dacs with puny power supplies generally need "more help" from the preamp to convey a live performance. The BAT VK-5SE is a good example. Most CD players when plugged into a PS audio P 300 drew 10 -50 watts. Compared to the old BAT which drew over 250 watts and threw a magnificent but natural sound stage. Unfortunately the BAT was far less transparent than the 105.

Does it have enough gain?

I tried a number of different amplifiers with varying input impedances from 10k - 100k with no problems. My understanding is the 105 output impedance is 100 ohms, and BDP 95 is 390 ohms (someone correct me if I'm wrong). I did have a few problems with the 95 and some of these amps but no problems with the BDP 105. The general rule of the thumb I've traditionally used is the input impedance of the amp should be 20+ times the output impedance of the preamp. So I'm not sure why I had problems with the 95 as even the 10k amp fits within these guidelines.

In any case, I'd say there would be enough gain for 95%+ of users. Personally, I'd prefer a little more gain as my setup is fairly unique running 4 way active which results in attenuation sensitivities/differences between the drivers and amplifiers. I'm currently running the volume at 80-90% which is fairly loud and 100% for very loud or very quiet recordings. What I'd like to see is a gain mode similar to the most transparent preamp I've heard irrespective of price, my out of production autoformer based Bent Audio TAP-X. This preamp automatically engages gain mode as volume increases above unity gain. So on the Oppo some sort of unity gain would be useful that kicks in say above 95%.

As a final note, I think the next version say the BDP 115? should include analogue inputs so the vinyl, analogue tuner and reel to reel guys can plug into the Oppo for a complete audiophile solution.
Edited by djkiwi - 12/8/12 at 4:31pm

djkiwi, I agree with your assessment of ditching the pre-amp and running audio direct to the amplifier for better sound. My experience was quite revelatory. Problem is that many of us use our pre-pros for things other than the Oppo and in my case, having a dedicated system solely for the enjoyment of music is impractical. It did sound darned nice though....... so much so that I had to revert back to using the pre-pro or risk getting addicted.

Or for other things like my Sony tuner that only has analog outs. I have a small standalone ADC on the way hoping that it will work OK to solve the problem of no analog ins on the 105.

A question regarding the volume shown on the units display: Seems I read somewhere that the volume is now indicated on the display (is not on the 95), how visible is it from the listening position say 7 to 8 feet away? Is it a progress bar or just the numerical value? Thanks

It is numerical on the display 0-100. I'm 12 feet back and can see it clearly.....

Yes I had noticed that Bob. So nice to get more than just one year, if that!

Everyone,

For what it's worth, my BDP-105 that I pre-ordered from Solutions AV, was shipped on 5 December 2012, and should have been delivered the next day but Canada Post didn't get it to me until the 7th. This is the second Oppo unit I have ordered from Solutions AV and I would have no hesitation on ordering from them again. And I have no personal or professional affiliation with the company in any way shape or form.

Cheers.

You probably have a fast internet site you can go to. I used to use the public library or a coffee shop.

The instructions on OPPO's web pages are pretty complete.

Else contact them and ask them to send you a firmware disc. Specify you want the latest public beta.

-Bill

I certainly won't throw my preamp away. Selling it on Audiogon would fetch me enough to buy 4 BDP-105s.

As far as the BDP-115 I think what it needs more than analog inputs is more attention to the ergonomics of having it serve as a preamp.

 

Thanks for letting us know your side of the story as it clears up things a bit. Edwardkim's version of the story just seemed a bit off to me as no company would be in business for long if it operated the way he indicated yours did...

Edited by dmusoke - 12/9/12 at 11:18am

Quote:

 

Nope ... both 95 and 103/105 have output impedances stated at 97 ohms(well within the margin of error for a +/- 5% 100 ohm resistor). The headphone output of the 105 has a 10 ohm output impedance. Something else about the 95 or something in your system made the 95 sound unpleasant to your ears.