Oppo replacement recommendations?

[TiberiusSpock]

I have an X800M2. I figured I'd mention the Magnetar after reading a good review of it, and face it, there's not a lot of universal players out there. Didn't really do a deep dive into the specs, but it looked similar in price to the Oppo. I'm happy with my Sony, but face it, to sell a universal player for that price there has to be some compromises made somewhere. How'd they do it compared to an Oppo? They both do the same thing, right? Has to be the quality like any higher-end product. I would have gladly paid the price to get an Oppo, but I wasn't one of the lucky ones.

The Oppo was like $550 when it came out, probably equal to $675 now. Personally, I find the fact that the "high-end" Panny 9000 doesn't do SACD's and DVD-A's insulting for the price. Plus, the Oppo 203 was literally half the price and much, much better.

 

[stoopid]

I have an X800M2. I figured I'd mention the Magnetar after reading a good review of it, and face it, there's not a lot of universal players out there. Didn't really do a deep dive into the specs, but it looked similar in price to the Oppo. I'm happy with my Sony, but face it, to sell a universal player for that price there has to be some compromises made somewhere. How'd they do it compared to an Oppo? They both do the same thing, right? Has to be the quality like any higher-end product. I would have gladly paid the price to get an Oppo, but I wasn't one of the lucky ones.

Sony's magic trick is scaling production. The drive itself is likely shared among a few of Sony's bluray players, and that likely makes it the weakest link but also easiest to find a replacement for. The rest of this is licensing and computerization/internals. They're low power devices so there's not much to wear out over time compared to an amplifier or sub, something that draws much more power as part of its function. Sony will sell twice or twenty times more units than Oppo, partly because of the lower cost but also their existing supply chain presence in retail and online.

I wouldn't say there's huge margin for the Oppo, but they likely make more per unit because of the increased price. Their R&D is likely more costly as a proportion of the unit's production cost versus say the Sony model, because Sony can leverage (spread) its existing R&D and tech across multiple products. Not sure if how I'm explaining this makes sense [economies of scale?]. Also, supposedly Oppo has top notch tech support and that adds to the cost keeping a team on the ready to handle issues correctly and in a timely manner for customers at a random moment's notice. So you might get 'more' with the Oppo, but whether that value is worth the cost is for each buyer to decide. With fail rates while under warranty being low on these types of electronics, I wouldn't personally put much value in Oppo's support as part of my decision making (hence why I went with the budget option X800M2).

These increased costs for Oppo to accomplish the same things as Sony could lead one to conclude that their mechanical product is of the same quality in order to keep the production price relatively reasonable (but possibly still more expensive compared to Sony due to increase costs for basically the same components that Sony buys in huge volume), and the whole "premium" label on Oppo's models are just hype and marketing. It wouldn't be the first time a 'premium' product in the audiophile realm was just another overpriced thing.

Someone would need to do a complete teardown and research all the parts within an Oppo to know just what each player costs, or to confirm it's all similar quality components as any other player. Not something I've ever felt I needed to look into, so this info might already be out there.

 

[knifeman]

The Oppo was like $550 when it came out, probably equal to $675 now. Personally, I find the fact that the "high-end" Panny 9000 doesn't do SACD's and DVD-A's insulting for the price. Plus, the Oppo 203 was literally half the price and much, much better.

How about $1300, which is what a friend paid for hers a few years back. The last Oppo production run I think they were even more, as I put my name in the hat but had no luck. The Oppo seems to be the gold standard which is why I tried to get one. I know the Panasonic isn't a universal player, so that shouldn't even be in the discussion.

 

[GOS]

How about $1300, which is what a friend paid for hers a few years back. The last Oppo production run I think they were even more, as I put my name in the hat but had no luck. The Oppo seems to be the gold standard which is why I tried to get one. I know the Panasonic isn't a universal player, so that shouldn't even be in the discussion.

Agree! That Panasonic is an absolute joke when you consider it's lack of "universalness" lol, not a word. On second thought, it may be a word.

 

[knifeman]

Sony's magic trick is scaling production. The drive itself is likely shared among a few of Sony's bluray players, and that likely makes it the weakest link but also easiest to find a replacement for. The rest of this is licensing and computerization/internals. They're low power devices so there's not much to wear out over time compared to an amplifier or sub, something that draws much more power as part of its function. Sony will sell twice or twenty times more units than Oppo, partly because of the lower cost but also their existing supply chain presence in retail and online.

I wouldn't say there's huge margin for the Oppo, but they likely make more per unit because of the increased price. Their R&D is likely more costly as a proportion of the unit's production cost versus say the Sony model, because Sony can leverage (spread) its existing R&D and tech across multiple products. Not sure if how I'm explaining this makes sense. Also, supposedly Oppo has top notch tech support and that adds to the cost keeping a team on the ready to handle issues correctly and in a timely manner for customers at a random moment's notice. So you might get 'more' with the Oppo, but whether that value is worth the cost is for each buyer to decide. With fail rates while under warranty being low on these types of electronics, I wouldn't personally put much value in Oppo's support as part of my decision making (hence why I went with the budget option X800M2).

These increased costs for Oppo to accomplish the same things as Sony could lead one to conclude that their mechanical product is of the same quality in order to keep the production price relatively reasonable (but possibly still more expensive compared to Sony due to increase costs for basically the same components that Sony buys in huge volume), and the whole "premium" label on Oppo's models are just hype and marketing. It wouldn't be the first time a 'premium' product in the audiophile realm was just another overpriced thing.

Someone would need to do a complete teardown and research all the parts within an Oppo to know just what each player costs, or to confirm it's all similar quality components as any other player. Not something I've ever felt I needed to look into, so this info might already be out there.

Yes, your explanation makes some good points and I'm not schooled in the business world. I was forced into shopping for a new player when my Yamaha started acting up. I would have bought their latest model but I found out there no longer was a latest model, and Oppo was just about un-obtainable, hence my Sony. The Magnetar got an EISA product of the year award last year, which is voted on by a consortium of audio/video publications from all over the world, so I have to think you're getting something a little more for your money.

 

[TiberiusSpock]

Sony's magic trick is scaling production. The drive itself is likely shared among a few of Sony's bluray players, and that likely makes it the weakest link but also easiest to find a replacement for. The rest of this is licensing and computerization/internals. They're low power devices so there's not much to wear out over time compared to an amplifier or sub, something that draws much more power as part of its function. Sony will sell twice or twenty times more units than Oppo, partly because of the lower cost but also their existing supply chain presence in retail and online.

I wouldn't say there's huge margin for the Oppo, but they likely make more per unit because of the increased price. Their R&D is likely more costly as a proportion of the unit's production cost versus say the Sony model, because Sony can leverage (spread) its existing R&D and tech across multiple products. Not sure if how I'm explaining this makes sense. Also, supposedly Oppo has top notch tech support and that adds to the cost keeping a team on the ready to handle issues correctly and in a timely manner for customers at a random moment's notice. So you might get 'more' with the Oppo, but whether that value is worth the cost is for each buyer to decide. With fail rates while under warranty being low on these types of electronics, I wouldn't personally put much value in Oppo's support as part of my decision making (hence why I went with the budget option X800M2).

These increased costs for Oppo to accomplish the same things as Sony could lead one to conclude that their mechanical product is of the same quality in order to keep the production price relatively reasonable (but possibly still more expensive compared to Sony due to increase costs for basically the same components that Sony buys in huge volume), and the whole "premium" label on Oppo's models are just hype and marketing. It wouldn't be the first time a 'premium' product in the audiophile realm was just another overpriced thing.

Someone would need to do a complete teardown and research all the parts within an Oppo to know just what each player costs, or to confirm it's all similar quality components as any other player. Not something I've ever felt I needed to look into, so this info might already be out there.

Customer service is a great point. Oppo has been updating software even after having "gone out of business". That's impressive.

 

[ProgRules]

A couple of other ways the Sonys keep costs down are: no front display and no analog circuitry- HDMI is the only output. Both of which are fine by me (though occasionally I miss the display, but that stays off 99% of the time on my Oppo).

 

[Owen Smith]

I tend to be in the boat of purchasing separates when the cost of this stuff starts to get up there. As mentioned, the SONY 800 can still be had new for around $300. That would solve the SACD and DVD-A issue.

It does not solve the DVD-A issue since it can't play burned DVD-A, of which there are many. Some (but not me) might also claim lack of SACD-R support means it doesn't solve the SACD issue either.

 

[Owen Smith]

How about $1300, which is what a friend paid for hers a few years back. The last Oppo production run I think they were even more, as I put my name in the hat but had no luck. The Oppo seems to be the gold standard which is why I tried to get one. I know the Panasonic isn't a universal player, so that shouldn't even be in the discussion.

For $1300 that would be the Oppo 205. We're generally comparing the X800M2 to the Oppo 203.

 

[stoopid]

... The Magnetar got an EISA product of the year award last year, which is voted on by a consortium of audio/video publications from all over the world, so I have to think you're getting something a little more for your money.

You may be going out on a limb for the Magnetar. Audio/video publications are the right arm of most of these boutique outfit's marketing departments. Think of it this way -- the only people interested in a $1500 bluray player are also the only people interested enough to read articles in those audio/video publications. Kinda like a dog whistle or preaching to the choir situation. Or voluntary kool aid distributors/consumers.

I'm not trying to belittle this specific product I know so little about, but I've been around the musical world for decades and these products come and go. I do believe the feature set and reliability for the Oppo brand earns some cache, but so many others are borderline (or outright) snake oil.

 

[barfle]

The Oppo was like $550 when it came out, probably equal to $675 now. Personally, I find the fact that the "high-end" Panny 9000 doesn't do SACD's and DVD-A's insulting for the price. Plus, the Oppo 203 was literally half the price and much, much better.

Yeah, the 205 was a lot cheaper than the 105 (go figure) when new. I was in the middle of a move that took a couple of years away from my abilitynto have a decent room when the 205 came out, and missed that boat my that much.

 

[mandrix]

Comparing current disc players, profit margins, etc etc with an Oppo is sort of useless. Oppo disc players have not been made for years now.
When they were, they were comparable to anything on the market in terms of functionality.
Modern disc players are made for movie watchers, 4K, BD. Getting pretty much the same for AVR's.
F' those old tired useless formats we still love and use. Whether burned, or bought and burned for backup, or self authored...and we're powerless to fix it. Since SACD is a Sony thing, I expect they will support it as long as the discs are turned out...and Sony makes a few pennies here and there. When they decide it's no longer worth it they will stop supporting it just 'cause they can. Same with DVDA. F' Sony.

 

[barfle]

Sony has been in the consumer electronics business for a hell of a long time, and they have an overall great reputation. Far more people recognize the Sony name than recognize Oppo. Oppo marketed to a niche that most of us occupy. Sony marketed to everybody.

Those of us who have Oppos love them and want to keep them forever. We might as well be married to them. I know mine is used more often than any other signal source in my setup. But the brand is dead. No new Oppo anything except cell phones, AFAIK.

Will Sony fill Oppo’s market? I doubt it. That doesn’t mean their products have gone the way of Altec Lansing. It just means that they have a market that is profitable for now, unlike Oppo Digital.

Side note: I once had my own company where I built electronic products (too long a story for this post). These days, I say my products did everything they were supposed to do except sell at a profit.

 

[Owen Smith]

Will Sony fill Oppo’s market? I doubt it. That doesn’t mean their products have gone the way of Altec Lansing. It just means that they have a market that is profitable for now, unlike Oppo Digital.

Actually Oppo Digital's market was still profitable. But there was more profit to be made using the production line capacity to make more Oppo phones, so the plug was pulled.

 

[knifeman]

A couple of other ways the Sonys keep costs down are: no front display and no analog circuitry- HDMI is the only output. Both of which are fine by me (though occasionally I miss the display, but that stays off 99% of the time on my Oppo).

The lack of a front display is my only complaint with the Sony. The ability (or non-ability) to play burned discs isn't an issue for me since I don't burn discs. I still wish there was more to choose from in this line of products. A Kia will get you from point a to point b just as well as a Porsche, but I'd much rather have the Porsche.

 

[knifeman]

Customer service is a great point. Oppo has been updating software even after having "gone out of business". That's impressive.

Very impressive. My Yamaha AVR had it's last update probably within two years of purchase, and my disc player was even less.

 

[ab]

Leave a disc in it at all times. This tip came from Oppo support

I do, and leave it on all the time (another suggestion). It still balks maybe one out of five times.

 

[hafquark]

I do, and leave it on all the time (another suggestion). It still balks maybe one out of five times.

That was a known issue with the BDP83. If you sent the unit to Oppo repair they replaced the whole Loader assembly -- still do as far as I know.

 

[filament3]

That was a known issue with the BDP83. If you sent the unit to Oppo repair they replaced the whole Loader assembly -- still do as far as I know.

Oppo replaced 93SE loader a few years ago and has been working great since. Well worth the money and time spent waiting. I'd do it again if necessary.

 

[Owen Smith]

Oppo replaced 93SE loader a few years ago and has been working great since. Well worth the money and time spent waiting. I'd do it again if necessary.

There's no such thing as a 93SE, at least not bought directly from Oppo. Are you sure you don't mean 83SE?