Greetings All,
I’ve been living with the Oppo BDP-83 now for three days and it amazes me. My basic system is Audio Research Tube stuff and Klipsch Heritage all around….I had been listening through a Panasonic BD-10 for DVD-A and CD and a Sony SCD-595 for SACD……I am ashamed to say that I once spent a small fortune for an early SONY flagship which did not match the sound of my present $199 SCD-595. For basic cd and DVD-A I’ve used a Technics A-10 along with a few outboard dac’s….Benchmark , Musical Fidelity and for one month I listened to a DCS Puccini SACD CD player which had a smokey, silvery, glass like, very seductive sound, but lost something when it came to brass and was priced at $12K…just a little too expensive for me I’m afraid, especially for what it did…………I ended up going back to the Panasonic BD-10 and its on board DAC’s which I found quite wonderful until now.
The OPPO’s sound is stunning. Disc after disc, whether CD, DVD-A, or SACD, sounded new to me. At first I thought what I was hearing might be a little bright, but when I listened at length to vocals I realized I was hearing something new. I would catch bass lines and instruments … reverbs, breath, and in some cases softness mixed with hot brass in a way missing in previous listening sessions. Through the OPPO, The Norah Jones CD, FEELS LIKE HOME, shines light on her breathy soft voice in contrast to its big round bass and beautifully recorded piano like never before. This CD always sounded close to hi-rez to me. Now it really takes that huge leap. There is no brightness here, rather a 3-D like sculptured, captured whisper. The Manhattan Transfer SACD album VIBRATE is silk in the round …..females voices are velvety and screechy sweet. The males have a perfect chesty rasp ……One DVD-A from AIX….SHOSTAKOVICH PIANO QUINTET….is beyond belief through the OPPO, especially the fourth movement…..I know the QQ board is not exactly a classical leaning space, but you simply must hear this recording through the OPPO or a processor of similar quality ……the string sound is all around and staggering in its realism. It is the closest to actually hearing the actual instruments in your own home. I’ve listened to this album at least 10 times……it was always sensational, but through the OPPO it is scary real. I have now been convinced that there can be huge leaps in sound quality, not just incremental improvements, through the new generation of DAC’s………..The James Taylor HOUR GLASS album is another example of crystal clarity, silk and big bass served in a way that surprised me. In cut 4, GAIA, at about 4:10 there are two magnificent drum blasts in rear right and rear left channel. Through the OPPO the drums seem to occupy a space about ten feet in diameter…in the past through my other SACD players the space was confined more or less to just around the speaker. After I heard this I had to play it again through my Sony-595 and no matter how I fooled with those rear channels I could not reproduce the sheer effortless size that I heard through the BDP-83.
This truly is a universal player with first class electronics on board….it has you in mind ….and at a fantastic price to boot. Well done OPPO! I’d also like to thank Jon for highlighting this product. I lost my hearing following a bout of Vertigo a few months back and I lived vicariously through the posts on QQ….It’s the second time my mental health was saved by this forum. My hearing has returned to normal …verified normal! How 'bout that! …and I can breathe a sigh of relief with this aural present to myself. Thanks to all who get so excited by what they hear!
Dwight
