Would you be interested in a preamp/processor made by Oppo? - Page 2

That's a pretty sick phone.
I don't see why they would be dumb to make a pre/pro though. More product to market. Probably the first thing i noticed when looking into home theater was the oppo bluray players. EVERYONE knows about them. If they made a pre/pro, it would be to far off the bluray players they have now really.
I mean they would have competition but if they did the job right and made it look good like the players then people would definitely buy it.

I think anybody who would decide to enter the AVR/AV-PrePro market right now would have to be a complete idiot.

I would guess in the next 4 years, at least half of the current crop will simply never update their AVR/Pre-Pro's and let them die out (and try to stay alive with VERY slow moving but rarely updated 2-channel gear) or the whole company will be gone altogether. You'll hear stories of companies that have no development. Just an office with a empty receptionist desk, a small sales staff, and a handful of old-timers who try to deal with issues and such. Just trying to keep the doors open and make it to the "other side" of a bad time.

We are talking serious shrinkage in the whole audio electronics industry, but especially within the AV area. Average AVR is something like $379. That's AVERAGE. And people will want even BETTER deals. The last three years have been tough for many, but the next 4 will be REALLY brutal.

I will predict a BIG (well, big for what's left) move back to US production. A dying dollar and higher Overseas wages/labor laws/labor unrest/etc. means it will actually be CHEAPER, possibly SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper to build here. Even expect firms like the Japanese and Europeans to start/move production facilities here, for at least their North American sales production. Don't be surprised if those gigantic Chinese 3rd party production companies start facilities here because it's cheaper.
Edited by dean-l - 12/17/12 at 9:25am

Then we can elect a new congressman who owns a dog styling business and has a wife that cheats on him with the competition

The counterpoint is that moving to switchmode power supplies and output stages enables building AVRs that are either dirt cheap or have humongous power ratings associated with them, or both. I've noticed that power ratings hunger is pretty big in the audiophile community, rationality not so much.

Of course this is OT strictly speaking since we were talking AVRs that lack power output stages...

What benefit do you think you get from balanced outputs besides cool factor?

Balanced is to keep noise down with cable runs that can be hundreds of feet.

Even ADA says the balanced outputs on their very expensive pre/pro's offer no sound quality benefit, just 3 dB higher sensitivity.

Just read this thread.
I have a question to ask.
We all admire the sound reprodction of the Oppo Players and in particular the 105 but the main rason to buy the player is the video quality.
So what range of AVRs equal or surpass the oppo in sound production? i.e. one would buy the 103 for the video and put the savings on not buying the 105 into an very very good receiver?
Any suggestions?

I would best explain why I am considering this way.
The modern reveiver has a wealth of inputs and outputs etc. which the Oppo's do not yet have (2x HDMI inputs only) so it is still much easier to use a "receiver" as the centerpiece of a HT setup IMHO.