Oppo 105 a users review

Lefisc

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May I give a Barry review of the Oppo 105, which I have had since January? And this comes from the school of “I don’t know nothing about measuring equipment, Miss Scarlett. I only go with what is on the screen and what is coming out of the speakers. I have been without my "major" SACD player, the Krell Cipher, and I should get that on Wednesday. Not having a CD player has me playing more with home theatre than usual.

On my system I have also had the Oppo 95, The Pioneer Elite 05 and 09, a Sony and a Denon, whose numbers I have forgotten.

First off, it beats all those units, except the 95, cold. First, it loads faster thank god! Even a bit faster than the 95. The color, contrast and detail are so superior to the Sony, Denon and especially Pioneer, with which I was particularly disappointed.

The sound is another issue and it is unbelievably great there. I have listened to discs with DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD, LPCM and Dolby Digital and I am surprised how well everything sounds and it certainly is a step up from the Oppo 95. Without a doubt, I felt that the DTS sounded the best followed by Dolby True HD But a close runner up to Dolby HD was the LPCM. Now ten years ago I would have told you the DD 5.1 sounded great, but now, in comparison is sounds a bit dull and lifeless and, on some discs, going from DD 5.1 to LPCM is a step up.

Now that I got my SVS subwoofers, I am so appreciating the bass levels and separation even more. And I am enjoying “movie music” too. I am not so much watching the end credits but listening to them

I have not gotten to the Advanced Picture Control and 2D to 3D conversion, but will try them and posit when I do. I should get my Cipher on Wednesday and I will compare the SACD and CD audio to that in good time. It’s hot and I am in my no “futzing” around mood, I just want to watch and listen.

There is a PS here. When I first got this, the Oppo did not communicate well with the Krell. The Krell people said it was the Oppo and the Oppo People said it was the Krell. In there five emails to me, Oppo gave me several solutions and this,

“If the Krell is introducing the error in the chain, then this issue needs to either be addressed through firmware from Krell (we have had customers update their Krell S-1200 in the past to resolve issues related to poor HDMI handshakes) or through additional firmware releases through our player itself.

Ensure that the Krell has the latest firmware release installed. It is possible that the firmware on the Krell is out of date and needs to be upgraded.”

The Oppo technical crew were available, helpful and persistent. You could not ask for better service.

The Pioneer Tech support was just the opposite and really didn’t know their product, they read off their computers when I had a problem a year or so ago.

By the way, the trouble was in the Krell. But this is the third time a NEW product had trouble talking to the different systems I have had.
 
Thanks for the review Barry. Did you mean the "Krell" Tech support was just the opposite? It's not a surprise to be honest. I too have found the folks at Oppo to be very helpful. The 95/105 are staples in my systems. They just do everything so well and aside from spending 10 times more....I don't think you can get a better value in hi end.
 
Hi Mike:

The Krell tech support people have been fantastic. They had even come to my house to resolve a couple of issues with the 707 and they always answer the phone or call me back. With the Oppo problem they came to the house, could not fix the the problem, took the machine with them AND RETURNED IT THE NEXT DAY!!!!! They thought the problem was a software one, but they had to replace a part. Again, they, Krell, have been impressive and dedicated on every level.

I did mean Pioneer. You won't believe part of this story. The machine wouldn't work right after an update and I was on the phone for hours! Finally, they had me send the machine back to them and then sent a new one. But, unexpectedly a week later my first one came back. They had repaired and sold it as a re furb, but sent it back to me by mistake. They asked me to either deliver it to the new guy or have him come to my house to pick it up. Then, before I know it my phone rang from the new guy wanted to come over! I "rejected" the delivery and had it sent back to Pioneer. (People don't know you can do that, but you never have to accept a delivery.)
 
Mike and NS;

I find this frustrating, but just a little bit. I should be happy!

I ordered the Krell Cipher about 5 weeks ago. They told me they expected to ship it out the last week of June. They didn’t but they called.

They said they didn’t like the way it sounded and wanted to replace the transport and maybe the laser. They make these things one at time.

They were dissatisfied with how it sounded and ordered new transports. They just came today, Monday and they will hand deliver it on Wednesday. But they actually listened to it and tested it before they would send it out. That’s great.
 
Hi Mike:

The Krell tech support people have been fantastic. They had even come to my house to resolve a couple of issues with the 707 and they always answer the phone or call me back. With the Oppo problem they came to the house, could not fix the the problem, took the machine with them AND RETURNED IT THE NEXT DAY!!!!! They thought the problem was a software one, but they had to replace a part. Again, they, Krell, have been impressive and dedicated on every level.

I did mean Pioneer. You won't believe part of this story. The machine wouldn't work right after an update and I was on the phone for hours! Finally, they had me send the machine back to them and then sent a new one. But, unexpectedly a week later my first one came back. They had repaired and sold it as a re furb, but sent it back to me by mistake. They asked me to either deliver it to the new guy or have him come to my house to pick it up. Then, before I know it my phone rang from the new guy wanted to come over! I "rejected" the delivery and had it sent back to Pioneer. (People don't know you can do that, but you never have to accept a delivery.)

Wow indeed. That's great to hear about both Krell and Oppo.
 
Hi Mike:

The Krell tech support people have been fantastic. They had even come to my house to resolve a couple of issues with the 707 and they always answer the phone or call me back. With the Oppo problem they came to the house, could not fix the the problem, took the machine with them AND RETURNED IT THE NEXT DAY!!!!! They thought the problem was a software one, but they had to replace a part. Again, they, Krell, have been impressive and dedicated on every level.

...

Great to hear, Barry!;)

And great review of the Oppo! Have to try one one of these days!
 
The Krell people are on their toes. They called this morning and then they called my dealer who just called me! So everyone is working to make this just right. I guess I remember the old, days when they just went and pulled one off the shelves.

You know, when people make good products and show that they care they can keep as a customer forever. And if something goes wrong, and this is complicated stuff, they resolve as quickly as possible, I'm happy. I guess I have gone to too many stores where I feel like I'm a burden to the salesperson and not a welcome guest. I think that is one of the many reason on line shopping is just growing every year.
 
Hi everyone i have been with cd players since 1983 i have owned at least 10 different units very few below 3k lately i had to send my Chord One for laser adjustment and did not want to be without music for a few weeks so i bought an Oppo BDP-105 as a backup machine well i liked the unit alot is it as good as my Chord One the answer is NO but the Chord One is NOT 5 times better but it is 5 times the price of the Oppo BDP-105 my intention is to sell my Chord combo and buy a BIG power amp and match it with the Oppo BDP-105.

PS: After living with quality cd players for so long i would have no problem living with the Oppo that's a good sign.
 
That's a great endorsement comin' from you Andre! ...And yes, you can use the 105 as a digital preamp, plus much much more.
And! You can also get it ModWright, with premium tubes, and separate power supply.

My next high end digital source + all that jazz will be the Oppo BDP-115D. We are working together (a bunch of people) with Oppo in what we would love to see in it.

Before I die I wanna see the world forward, on higher ground, with Ultra HD picture and Ultra HR sound.
I'll keep my three turntables in my museum of nostalgia, just to remind me of the giant steps we have achieved since we were kids. :) ...And comes next Christmas I might also buy an opium pipe (hashish too).
 
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