I decided on the OPPO DV-970HD.

[budlyte]

I posted a thread earlier this week asking for recommendations between the NAD T-585 and 2 Denon universal players, but after doing more research I decided to order the OPPO 970 instead. It gets great reviews and it's 1/10 the price of a new Denon 3930ci. I'm more concerned w/ audio performance right now, as I don't have HDTV (yet...), so I think the OPPO will do just fine.

[LeeS]

Let us know how you like it. :)

[JohnG]

Sounds like a good cheap solution. In a few years their will be universal players that also do HD.

[Jerryb]

I got an Opoo 970 last summer.It plays everything and it's Region Free!

[fmuakkassa]

The Denons can be made region free via a remote control code. i did it for my Denon 3930ci.
The Oppo has good reviews.

[budlyte]

Let us know how you like it. :)

Will do.

[Radiotron]

I LOVE this player. Using it mostly for video and it does a fantastic job at that.

[BITBANGER]

I bought a 970 last summer and have been pretty happy with it. My biggest gripe is that when playing SACDs (and possibly CDs, can't remember off hand) the volume is ramped down then up between each song for some reason. The result is that many times the next song has started before the ramp-up is finished. :realmad: This really annoys me. Hopefully they will fix this with the next software up-grade.

[budlyte]

Have you tried emailing or calling OPPO support about this? I know they released a firmware upgrade to allow gapless SACD playback. Maybe that fixes your issue as well. (unless you've already applied it to your player)

[John D.]

Have you tried emailing or calling OPPO support about this? I know they released a firmware upgrade to allow gapless SACD playback. Maybe that fixes your issue as well. (unless you've already applied it to your player)

I had an issue with SACD's also, after I did the firmware upgrade,
problem fixed. I use this player for audio only, I mainly bought it because
it will play HDCD's (most Grateful Dead discs are in this format now), SACD,
DVD-A. I'm very happy with mine.

JD :righton:

[MikeT]

I use this player for audio only, I mainly bought it because it will play HDCD's (most Grateful Dead discs are in this format now), SACD, DVD-A. I'm very happy with mine.

JD :righton:

Quick question. Does the Oppo sound better with HDCD's than your previous or other CD player? The reason I ask is that I had a Denon 3800 hooked up to my system for a few years, and it did HDCD (as well as DVD-Audio). I did a comparison between the Denon 3800 decoding HDCD while playing the same disc at the same time in my Sony XA777ES (which does not decode HDCD), and the Sony beat the Denon decoding HDCD hands down everytime.

To me HDCD makes no difference as long as I have the XA777ES - and I have tons of HDCD discs (like all the Grateful Dead releases).

[John D.]

Quick question. Does the Oppo sound better with HDCD's than your previous or other CD player? The reason I ask is that I had a Denon 3800 hooked up to my system for a few years, and it did HDCD (as well as DVD-Audio). I did a comparison between the Denon 3800 decoding HDCD while playing the same disc at the same time in my Sony XA777ES (which does not decode HDCD), and the Sony beat the Denon decoding HDCD hands down everytime.

To me HDCD makes no difference as long as I have the XA777ES - and I have tons of HDCD discs (like all the Grateful Dead releases).

Mike

I have a Rega Planet that I use to play most cd's, it won't play HDCD's.
It will play the hybrid section though. I prefer playing the HDCD's on the OPPO,
discs sound nice on the Rega, but even nicer in HDCD on the OPPO.

JD :righton:

[MikeT]

I got an Opoo 970 last summer.It plays everything and it's Region Free!

Is it region free right out of the box, or do you have to apply a "firmware" update.

I might just get one if it is region free right out of the box.

[Jerryb]

I had to punch in a simple code to make it region free.It took 5 seconds to do.


Press Setup on remote control to access the setup page
* Enter 9210 on the remote
* A secret menu will pop up
* Select 0 to 6 in region code. 0 is multi region
* Press Setup on remote again to exit

[MikeT]

OK - one more question. If I order an Oppo 970 - how long does it take to get from OPPO?? It appears to be in stock.

[Jerryb]

It took me one week to get it.I'm in Jersey and Oppo is across the country in California.It depends where you are.If you're on the west coast you could have it in a few days.Depends too when you place your order.Best bet is to place it Monday morning.They're closed on weekends.When I placed my order with Oppo it shipped a few hours after I placed it!

[MikeT]

It took me one week to get it.I'm in Jersey and Oppo is across the country in California.It depends where you are.If you're on the west coast you could have it in a few days.Depends too when you place your order.Best bet is to place it Monday morning.They're closed on weekends.

Thanks. I am in Jersey also. I am on vacation this week, since my daughter has off from school. Since we are not going anywhere (staying home) - figured if I could get the Oppo delivered sometime this week I could have some time to play around with it. Just might get one since it can be easily made region free. I already have a DVD player I am happy with (Pioneer Elite 59avi), but I would like a region free player since I have a few region 2 DVDs I can only access with my computer - and any audio on those DVDs has to be extracted and burned to a CD to be able to enjoy on my main system. SACD is a non-issue since I have 3 other SACD players (in addition to the Pioneer 59avi).

[Jerryb]

If your willing to pay much more for shipping you probably could have it in a few days.For $29 shipping you can get it in 2 days by Fed Ex.

[luckyman]

If your willing to pay much more for shipping you probably could have it in a few days.For $29 shipping you can get it in 2 days by Fed Ex.

Would it be quicker from Amazon?

[Jerryb]

Oppo double boxes it.I don't know if Amazon does that.

[MikeT]

Amazon doesn't have the item in stock as of right now.

[Jerryb]

Call Oppo tomorrow morning.With Fed Ex 2 day delivery you'll have it by Wed or Thursday.

[greghadz]

I bought the 970 earlier this year, and I have to say it is the BEST $150 I have ever spent. I was in nirvana when I went to a website and found the remote control code to change the region. ( I was thinking that it decodes PAL, it had to play other regions *somehow*). I use it as my primary cd and DVD-A player, and it's my only player that handles SACD, HDCD. And I've bought several concerts and movies in PAL format. Stardust, with David Essex, Adam Faith, Keith Moon and Larry Hagman, finally came out in England early this year!! I've had to deal with a 4th or 5th generation VHS dub for 15 years now. I'm slowly auditioning the many SACD hybrids and DVD-A's I've bought over the years, and I am very impressed.

Congratulations!

[alanb]

i thought as well as it did the PAL to NTSC thing it would be region free....NO.

BUT a quick google and 5 minutes later after enetering 0 it's region free as well.

Plays everything and region free--yeah gotta like that!:righton:



I had to punch in a simple code to make it region free.It took 5 seconds to do.


Press Setup on remote control to access the setup page
* Enter 9210 on the remote
* A secret menu will pop up
* Select 0 to 6 in region code. 0 is multi region
* Press Setup on remote again to exit

[budlyte]

Oppo double boxes it.I don't know if Amazon does that.

My OPPO 970 arrived today via FedEx. I ordered this directly from OPPO and it was not double boxed. There was a hole in the top of the box when it arrived, but thankfully the player was not damaged.

My initial impressions of the 970 can be summed up in one word: INCREDIBLE! Folks, for $149 you just can't beat it. Set up was easy, and it already had the latest firmware upgrade. I bought this player primarily for audio performance, as I don't have HDTV yet. My other player is a Kenwood DV-6050 which does not do SACD or HDCD but does play DVD-A. I don't use a subwoofer either (gotta keep the neighbors happy....)

Here's a summary of my first impressions:
* video performance using component cables connected to my Panasonic 32" tube TV was just fine (480i). I watched 2 DVDs this evening along with part of the Journey 2001 concert DVD. No picture problems noted, and the Dolby Digital sound was great via coax digital.

* SACD performance was outstanding. Bass was awesome. I played the following SACD titles: The MoFi of EWF's "That's the Way of the World", Deep Purple's Machine Head (quad mix is great by the way) :righton: and parts of George Harrison's "Live in Japan" and CCR's "Cosmo's Factory" (Steve's version).

* DVD-A - I'm still not sure if I like the OPPO or the Kenwood better, but it's close for sure. I played Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" and America's "Homecoming" along with part of the Doobies "The Captain & Me." Overall sound was excellent, but I think the Kenwood may deliver a bit more in the bass department. I'll have to compare further at some point, but it won't be for awhile, as it's a pain to keep switching the 6 multi-channel input cables!

* redbook - well, because I played so much other stuff today I only had time for one disc which was the new Black Sabbath release from Rhino "The Dio Years". Sounded great to me. :agree:

* HDCD - haven't tested it yet.

I gave the player quite a workout today, and I am quite happy so far. The only minor complaints I have are with the disc tray. First, when you open the disc tray, it does not come out all the way so you can't just set the disc in the tray to load or unload it. Because there is about an inch (give or take) of the tray still inside the player, you have to slide part of the disc into the player before it will fit in the tray. It's not a big deal, but I hope I don't end up scratching some of my discs because of this. Second, there are no recessed areas around the disc tray where you can put a finger on the disc edge to assist with loading or unloading, so all I can do is put my index finger in the center hole of the disc and load it ever so gently.

I hope this mini review helps those of you who may be considering this player.