[Zipperfoot]

I am fairly new to the audiophile world, and as a result, do a lot of reading about products before I purchase. I read reviews from many different sites, and base some of my purchases on the merits of those reviews. Because I do not always have a dealer that sells the product I am interested in, I sometimes rely on the reviews of so called professionals.


Recently I read several threads about Lexicon selling a Blu-Ray player that is essentially an Oppo BDP-83. Everyone has shared their comments on the comparisons so there is not need to go into that again.


What concerns me are the reviews I have read about one product or another being superior to another. I recently read a review on a prominent AV website regarding the Lexicon BD 30 and how superior it was to any other player... As has been shown through testing, this is just not the case.


I learned that many manufactures share components and rebadge their products for their own use. Some make improvements, others do not. Yet the reviews I read in respectable websites praise the merits of one player over the other, etc.


I have also read online reviews that proved through testing that high end speaker cables are sometimes no different than lamp cord.


So my question is, who do you trust? I have personally found differences between low, mid and hi-fi blu-ray products, this much is true, but at what point is the difference indiscernible?


I try to sift through all the manufacture BS, now I have to worry about reviewer BS?


I have lost all faith in the so called professional reviewer. I think all reviewers should have to disclose if their employer sells the products they review, and/or if they were given a "freebee" by a company in exchange for a favorable review.


As far as warranties and customer service, I could have seven Oppo's go bad before I got to the price of one Lexicon.


I have had to return one item since venturing into the hi end world five years ago, and it was because I did not like the item, not because it broke.


What do you base your decisions on? A well machined face plate that raises the price of the blu-ray player by thousands or dollars? and then read a review about how great it is? Even though mechanically it is the same?

 

[rwestley]

There has been a lot written about the fact that the Lexicon is just an Oppo in a fancy box. This again illustrates that the "buyer must be always aware." Some reviewers got caught with their pants down with their reviews of the Lexicon. You are correct that the Lexicon scam is outrageous. As a smart consumer stick with the Oppo, buy Monoprice cables and tell you friends and others how much money you saved.

 

[PooperScooper]

Please keep the discussion focused on BD players.


larry

 

[rdgrimes]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Zipperfoot /forum/post/18214709


I try to sift through all the manufacture BS, now I have to worry about reviewer BS?

This is not new. There are, and always have been, 9 BS "reviews" on a given product for every single reliable one. It's not so hard to spot BS in a review. Basically, if it's not backed up by tests, benchmarks or some sort of controlled A-B comparisons, it's BS. IOW, if the writer expects to you take his/her opinion as fact, it's BS.

 

[Zipperfoot]



Quote:
Originally Posted by PooperScooper /forum/post/18215471


Please keep the discussion focused on BD players.


larry

I have the Pioneer Elite BD-05. I love the picture and sound, but it takes forever... to load. I mean I can make a sandwich before the thing is ready to play the movie, no joke.


My son recently purchased the Oppo BD-83. He said the load time is respectable and the sound quality is far superior to the Panasonic DMP BD 55 he replaced.


Here is the question. I have been a fan of Cambridge Audio products, and they have a new player. But once again it appears to be based on the Oppo. To their credit it appears they HAVE made improvements and tweaks and not just rebadged an Oppo. Can anyone tell me from their experience if the Cambridge Audio player would be an upgrade over the Pioneer I have now? and should I consider the Cambridge player over the Oppo?

 

[rdgrimes]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Zipperfoot /forum/post/18321369


I have the Pioneer Elite BD-05. I love the picture and sound, but it takes forever... to load. I mean I can make a sandwich before the thing is ready to play the movie, no joke.


My son recently purchased the Oppo BD-83. He said the load time is respectable and the sound quality is far superior to the Panasonic DMP BD 55 he replaced.


Here is the question. I have been a fan of Cambridge Audio products, and they have a new player. But once again it appears to be based on the Oppo. To their credit it appears they HAVE made improvements and tweaks and not just rebadged an Oppo. Can anyone tell me from their experience if the Cambridge Audio player would be an upgrade over the Pioneer I have now? and should I consider the Cambridge player over the Oppo?

The Cambridge is based on the lesser Oppo player, and lacks the high-end video processing. So at least for DVDs, the Oppo BDP-83 is a better value. If you watch very few DVDs, and need improved analog audio then the Cambridge *may* a better value. Although this is really a guess given the total lack of any believable reviews on the Cambridge vs the Oppo BDP-80. Even at that, it's unlikely that the Cambridge will best the analog audio available in the Oppo BDP-83.