Oppo BDP-105 "Sound Quality" Check Thread for Audiophiles - Page 6

I have been reading this thread and I will speak up and say that I sent my 105 back for the exact reason you are asking. It sounded thin to me too. Especially for 1200 bucks.I tried it both ways ,analog, and digital...Now don't get me wrong, I loved the player/features.And it was great on movies. But it lacked "Hit" or impact on music . So I took advantage of their returns policy and ordered a 103 and took the money I saved and and put it towards a new Denon 4520. I love this new combo. ....But I am going to take my old benchmark Nakamichi OMS 3A Player and hook it up and answer this question for both of us ..I would like to know myself

Terrific. I primarily use the analog outputs via the clots directly to an amp. The 5.1 analog output is also quite good. I'm very impressed by the USB dac and also the dac that converts digital coaxial and upsamples it.

Bob, I selected the LPCM 5.1 track on the disc and ran the test over again. This time I set the master volume to 90 to get to 75 dB on the meter, compared to 84 with the Internal Test Tone. Is this normal?

Here are the new trim settings. I'm very happy with the result. I can't wait to add Antimode and EQ the sub. Thanks for your help.

AIX (LPCM 5.1)
Master Volume: 90
SPL Range: 75

F/L: -5.5
SUB: 0.0
CEN: -7.0
F/R: -5.5
S/R: -2.0
S/L: 0.0

How long did you have your 105 before sending it back? Did you use stock cables or after market?

here to me is one of the best reviews of the "sound quality of the 105"

http://highfidelity.pl/@main-346&lang=en

Its certianly a raving review. I think I'm sold.

I've just plugged my player in....took the Netflix trial to please the missus and had a quick look at the last Batman movie-Blu-Ray picture probably a notch up on my two year old Sony player.

Audio obviously you need time to absorb but out of the box and on a single disc OK Computer by Radiohead I would need to say the Oppo is matching the level of sound reproduction of my Ayre CX-7 indeed might just be a slight nudge in it's favour in terms of detail.

A lot more listening to be done....the kids are nearly down so I might sneak in a few more tunes before bedtime. I have to say my initial thoughts are this is a player that will hold it's own as a very good stereo player.

Huh? The BDP-105 DAC's better?

Here's a review I wrote and posted to the Owners Thread in December I think. (I also posted a Blu ray review in the owners thread as well)

"Oppo BDP 105 as a Redbook CD player

First off, I don’t have any SACDs; therefore I don’t know how that format sounds on this machine. I plan to look for an SACD or two that that I already have the equivalent CD in and compare them. Should be fun.

My current Redbook CD player is a Cambridge Audio 840C that I’ve had it for about 3.5 years. Really like it. Felt it was quite a bargain; really nice sound. Been using it for CD play as well as running my TV tuner and Blu-ray player (Marantz BD7003) through it. I recently compared the 840C to the new BDP 105 with several CDs, which I’ll note below and share my observations. I had about 175 hours on the player at that time; mostly it’s been playing CDs. But I do use if for Blu-ray/DVD playback for 2-3 hours every night as well and that is the primary purpose I bought the player for.
In my testing, I first listened to the 840C and then listened to the same track or tracks on the BDP 105. The only changes required for this were that I switch the input on the McIntosh from CD1 to Video to change sound duties to the Oppo. I also used the same copy of the CD and both the Cambridge Audio and the Oppo use the same model of Blue Jeans interconnect, one for each. I have no variables so I can best hear what it is the two players do on Redbook playback without influence from cables, burned copies of a CD, etc. I took notes during listening and used them to write up this review.

I first listened to Ulrich Schnauss – A Strangely Isolated Planet, Track 1, Gone Forever. This is a new-agey sounding CD with only average sound quality. On the 840C it has a floaty and cohesive sound, but is kind of flat and 2D. It seems a bit veiled and doesn’t have much sparkle or liveliness to it. Bass is strong but a little flabby or mushy. The player provides a nice wide soundstage on this track. Again, this track just sounds average at best. Not really very convincing on the 840C. – With the BDP 105 this track is much more floaty, displaying air and more ambient detail. The presentation is holographic and provides excellent resolving of the material with a lack of perceived veiling. Bass is very well controlled and has much more texture to it. On the 105, this track sounds much more natural.

I moved on to a CD I really like a lot and one that lets a system shine. The artist is Cibele and the album title is “The Shine of Dried Electric Leaves”. I played Track 9, Flying High. On the 840C it sounded great. Fairly holographic and a fun listen. No real negatives noted. Moving on to the BDP 105 it sounded fairly similar to the 840C but the presentation is somewhat better and again with a lack of perceived veiling that was until here unknown to me. I prefer the BDP 105 because it is less veiled (no veil?) and just sounds a little more real but the difference in the two players was not as great as the previous track noted above. But I did prefer the 105 on this track as well.

Finally, I played the track “Pilgrims Progress” by Koinonia, from the album “Celebration”. This is a Jazz album that sounds a bit above average but could not be mistaken for audiophile-quality. At least that was my opinion before today. The music has been a favorite for many years. So when I played it on the 840C I noticed things like decent air and ambience, nice symbol resolving, and fairly holographic sound. But I also noticed that the sparkle factor was a bit lacking. I did notice that the cow bell that is played several times in the track did sound like it should though. Bass is deep but a bit muddy. Overall, this is the way I remembered the disc sounding, great sound and presentation but somewhat lacking overall. -I moved on to the BDP 105 and the bass was well defined but maybe with a little less low bass. This is preferred over the 840Cs presentation though. Instruments like symbols, drums, and guitar sounded much more lifelike and inviting. Overall the presentation is very holographic with big decay, displaying excellent ambience and air and no veil. It provides excellent detail and overall just sounds more real. It also seems like there is less smearing of the soundstage. Overall, just a more convincing presentation by the BDP 105.

Based on my as yet limited observations, it appears that the BDP 105 really provides a holographic presentation (no veiling noted) and gets spacial queues in a more resolved and right way. Even when I’m just casual listening and go down the hall to the kitchen for a drink or snack, I can hear a more real and convincing sound from the Oppo. I find the 105 to work exceptionally well with Redbook CDs and to be quite the universal player. In longer listening sessions I didn’t notice listener fatigue either. It seems that average sounding CDs sound better on the 105 and even the good ones benefit from this player as well, sounding more real and just pulling you farther into the music. You can really see into it with greater depth and so it’s just more fun to listen. Further listening done since I compiled the notes for this review has been consistent; the Oppo is a very resolving and involving Redbook player (not to mention a great Blu-ray player: see my review earlier in this thread). -I’ve still to explore the DAC side of this machine. It has allot to offer and even if it did not offer the DAC functionality to be used doing computer music, etc., I’d still be super happy. This is a two-channel dream for me. One player than can do Redbook and Blu-ray in a truly high end way".

As of today, I'm really liking the Oppo for CD, DVD, and Blu ray. Very resolving and more musical than my last CD player and better picture quality than my last Blu ray player. It's a great one-box solution in my system. Still to explore computer audio via USB.

Here is a quote from Audioholic's review of the Oppo 105. "Note: The BDP-105 bass management only affects the analog multi-channel outputs. Balanced outputs and HDMI outputs bypass this feature." The mention of balanced outputs not having bass mgmt seems contrary to what I have been reading in this thread. Thanks.

^ That refers to the Dedicated Stereo Outputs (both Balanced (XLR) and RCA) when Stereo Signal DOWN MIX STEREO is set. In that configuration, they operate independently of the Subwoofer output, so bass management makes no sense. There's no place for any steered bass to go.

But with Stereo Signal FRONT LEFT/RIGHT set, the base management DOES apply just as it would for the normal LF/RF outputs of the multi-channel Analog set.
--Bob

Not sure on the Huh! but I was speaking on the combo 8801 and the 105 and my comments on the two on there sound through out the 105 and 8801 threads respectively , I noted a couple of times it being hard to judge between the two and while I do prefer the 105 for 2ch and the 8801 for multi sacd w/Audyssey I still as stated before not having heard the 105 could easily live with the 8801 for all processing including 2ch;)

Having been through the burn in process with 95 that the 105 replaced I knew what I was in for and noted in the 95 thread early on that the unit would require no less than 500+ hrs and up to 700hrs to produce audiophile "air" which it indeed did. The 105 couples what was great on the 95 and pushes the neutrality bar to its limit and gets a benefit of pacing over the 95 along with better defined bass!

Sorry it didn't gel with your gear but I'm glad to hear you have a player you can live with and enjoy the music!

500 to 700 hours? Has anyone directly A/B'd a "broken-in" player with a brand new one? I'm making my way page-by-page through the 105 owner's thread, and the break-in time is thrown about from 50 hours, to 100, to 200, to 250, and now 500-700 hours? If it ever hits 1000 hours, I'd just take it that the player simply has an inherently lean, thin quality that doesn't simply vanish one day...

Thanks for the clarification Bob. I appreciate it.

I see that this was touched on in this thread but I'm still not quite sure so I'll ask very specifically. Apologies for the dumb question but here goes.

I have a USB external hard drive containing both standard (44.1K/16) ripped .wav files and hires (192K/24 and 96K/24) .wav and .flac files.

Which is the proper USB input for this drive where the hires will be properly read? I've read two totally different answers. One person said the rear USB input is fine, which goes straight to the DAC, while someone else said that the rear input was only for a computer where the DAC takes over for the sound card.

Which would it be for my needs? I'm not using a computer to interface.

Look at the image here: http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-105/images/BDP-105-Back-hr.jpg

There are three USB connections on the back. Two are for USB hard drives (or thumb drives). The one marked USB DAC is for direct connection to a computer.

You can't use one type for the other purpose.

-Bill

ah, I see. The "huh?" was my confusion in regards to: "personally I consider it deadly" (quote).

Yeh! the "deadly " comment refers to having both in one's setup, truly SOTA and difficult to justify spending more to better them;)

Hey West Coast, I have the same exact feelings with my Denon A1 and Classe SSP-800 pre-pro. I seem to prefer the 2-channel balanced analog outs but could easily live with the SSP-800 for all 2-channel via HDMI or Coax.
Edited by mt14942 - 2/5/13 at 12:39pm

It is what it is my friend ! I did very close listening and took some good notes on the 95 as it settled into my previous setup and that end result remained consistent until the 95 was sold. and just after one week of the 105 being install there was indeed an increase in bass and image weight and atthat point it for me bettered the 95 which was a tad warmer on the neutral side , but at the time was a perfect neutral. this is why I stated the 105 pushed that neutrality in my setup to its verifiable limit with out crossing over the cool thin side of neutral. This persevering of the tonality of brass and strings, while revealing more texture to the image(Bass included) made the 105 a winner for me over the 95, as it took what was there already well done in the 95 and capitalized on its strengths and helped its short comings on equal par with them!

So no not thin at all still has that analog sound that made the 95 great in my book. I said 500-700hrs for the 95 with no futher noted changes, on the 105 I currently have 450+hrs YMMV!

Thanks for the responses regarding cd, 2 channel playback. It makes me wonder if the Oppo prefers valve amps? Interesting Pokey 77 that you thought it made lower quality recordings better. This would suggest a signature to the sound of the 105. My concern was that with the 95 too much emphasis was put on the statistical readings it put out. I wish it was easier to demo here in the Scotland. My nearest Oppo dealer is over 3 hours away.
Edited by googly moogly - 2/6/13 at 3:57pm

Googly, not so much that it made "lower quality recordings better" as it was just able to read them better. The 105 is not imparting its sound signature, its imparting more of the music on the CD. I can say if you want a sweet but rolled off or tubey sound that the 105 is not for you. The 105 is quite holographic, has excellent detail and sparkle, and is plenty musical. You can always order it and find our for yourself. At least you have the option to send it back. I've read few comments of folks sending them back. Good luck in your quest.

Agree with Pokey77 above. In our system the 105 is hooked directly to two Red Rose Music tube amps and sounds wonderful. A couple of weeks ago we were able to drop in a Simaudio 600i integrated solid state amp and it sounded wonderful as well. Really hard to tell the two apart. So don't worry about type of amp to use. Use what you use and take Pokey77's advice and try one in your own system. Because, as usual, you have to like how it sounds in your system not his, mine or a reviewers. After all it is all about enjoying the music.

Under "heavy rain headed our way" Seattle skies, Gill

yes, that's a lot of hours.

In regards to break-in methods could'nt we choose to, say, stream digital files via-etherNET (WinMedia, etc.,...) for consecutive days (while at work) at low output levels? As opposed to operating the (mechanical) disc-drive? Or, say, stream digital music content for consecutive days with only the Oppo powered-ON, and pre-pro or pre-amp powered-OFF? Isn't the important thing here to just induce sustained current-flow through the analog circuits?

I bought one here in Glasgow online on the basis that if I didn't like it I could probably get a quick resale without losing too much.

I have only played with the audio and I have an Ayre AX-7/Proac 2.5 combo but the sound of the Ayre is not unlike a valve sound or so I have been told. I think there is evidence though not universally agreed that the 105 can stand up well in very high end systems...the gentleman from Audiogon sort of proved that-it's in an earlier thread-his is an opinion I've read over the years and respected plus his system is out of this world.

I would say off the bat the Oppo sounds at it's strongest with simpler recordings-a bit of Kind Of Blue and Ophelia by Natalie Merchant (the HDCD is recognised) have been the discs that have sounded best so far in my system-there is something about the presentation of these discs that has really impressed me.

My Ayre CX-7 it is up against is nearly ten years old and I have none of the upgrades but it was a £3K player in it's day and I would say the Oppo off the bat(I have personally never heard burn in on any equipment) sounds like a better CD player.

It would be nice to hear more but the Netflix option has the good lady watching the new US House Of Cards..:-) The Netflix option UK wise is poorish both in functionality and picture quality but that's a different issue.

Indeed you can ! but don't for get to let your 8801 burn as well, it benefited from burn in as well as the 105. I use 12hrs on and 30min breaks of no signal or complete system shut down .

I get the impressiont from the dealers in the UK that they will not take returns on a purely "doesn't suit my system" basis. And that they don't stand against the 30 day return policy. None I've spoke to have offered this as an option, one even suggested I pay for a returned machine when available to demo. Anyway i digress. Theres Certainly a lot of good reviews, and a few bad that could be more blamed on burn in. But I'm still scared!