Oppo 970 My CDs Sound Great

[Jerryb]

My cds sound incredible on the Oppo 970.I had an Onkyo 702 and there is no comparison.The Oppo makes my speakers dissapear.And vocals sound clearer and more up front.

[soundboy]

Which output are you using?

[Jerryb]

Analog.I'm listening to cds I've heard on my Onkyo dvd player and I'm left with my mouth hanging open.That's how dramatic a difference I hear.

[soundboy]

Sounds good (pardon the pun :D )

I've been waiting to get more response for the audio performance of this player before deciding.

[Jerryb]

Usually I can't hear any difference between different recievers or cd-dvd players.This is the first time I can honestly say I hear a dramatic difference for the better!

[Jeff Edwards]

What do you think of the SACD and DVD-A performance of this player?

[Guy R]

I was using a 45a. The sound and video quality on this unit are both much better. It's apparent right away. SACD's are more open with a better soundstage and detailing. Better tighter bass and smoother treble as well. Warm midrange. Same with all the other audio formats it supports. There is just no comparison. I'm totally sold on this thing. Phenomenal considering the price. I have no negative points but I have only been listening to it for a day. I did give it a real workout during that day though on all the formats.

[filper]

Guy R,

Did you find one in TO ? If so where ?

[factor]

I use a Philips DVD-963SA which is well-known for its stellar (for the money) Redbook abilities, but I've been putting some heavy thought into getting one of these Oppo boxes. The transport in the Philips makes a good amount of noise on some discs (either a constant whirring, or a periodic clicking, or both) and it can be distracting during a quiet classical passage or the like.

I recall reading that the Oppo was totally silent. If that's true, that advantage plus the ability to play DVD-A and decode HDCD might be worth the switch. I could probably make about $50 profit along the way too.

Can anybody comment on the Oppo and how much noise its mechanisms make?

[soundboy]

For those considering the HD970, maybe you should go thru the ongoing 83 page thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=682896&page=1&pp=30) on the HD970 at avsforum.com. Note that the HD970 doesn't do gapless playback on SACDs, which is a problem Oppo is trying to address.

Also at avsforum.com, a thread was started on the yet-to-be-introduced HD981 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=736287), which looks to be a upgraded universal player.

[chaz]

Pardon my ignorance but what exactly is gapless playback ?

[leopoldstotch]

I knew you'd like that DVD for CD playback and as far as SACD and DVD-A playback on the 970...STUNNING! is the best way to describe it! Oh and I have gapless playback!

[chaz]

I knew you'd like that DVD for CD playback and as far as SACD and DVD-A playback on the 970...STUNNING! is the best way to describe it! Oh and I have gapless playback!


What is gapless playback?

[ZenArcher]

Nice looking unit at a good price! On the Oppo site, I see...

"PAL/NTSC disc and TV compatible with automatic or manual system conversion "

Does that mean this does PAL to NTSC conversion?

[ZenArcher]

What is gapless playback?

Seems the Oppo inserts a pause between tracks on an SACD disc.

[Guy R]

Seems the Oppo inserts a pause between tracks on an SACD disc.

I believe that the last firmware upgrade fixed this. I didn't notice this pause on the few SACD's that I played. Because I upgraded the firmware prior to playaing SACD's perhaps that is why.

[Guy R]

Guy R,

Did you find one in TO ? If so where ?

Call Andrew at "Solutions A/V" 647-519-4635
It is a local number. You can have it shipped for $14 or pick it up and save the $14. $167 before tax. He is located in the Lawrence and DVP area.

[soundboy]

NuForce, a manufacturer of high-end Class D amps, is recommending the Oppo 970 as a partner to its amps. NuForce also claims that the Oppo comes very close to matching the performance of a $3K Marantz uni player.

On audiocircle.com (http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=31641.0), NuForce has a thread on how to maximize the audio performance of the Oppo 970. I hope it will help those who has the machine.

BTW, Italian audiophile website, tnt-audio.com, just release a positive review (http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/oppo_dv970_e.html) 9in English) on the 970.

[Claude]

Usually I can't hear any difference between different recievers or cd-dvd players.This is the first time I can honestly say I hear a dramatic difference for the better!

Sorry, but that's hard to believe. Are you sure the OPPO doesn't just sound different in tonality, in a way that you prefer? Or were you only listening to low budget equipment before?

The OPPO looks like an incredible bargain, especially for it's video capabilities.

Unfortunately it's not being sold in Europe because it lacks CE certification (which means it could be blocked by customs when you try to order it from outside Europe).

[nukevor]

I just discovered OPPO today through a recent review in a AV magazine. Wouldn't ya know it, the company is one city down from me, Mountain View! Probably less than a 10 minute drive!

Looks like they have the beginnings of a great lineup:
http://www.oppodigital.com/products.asp

[soundboy]

I just discovered OPPO today through a recent review in a AV magazine. Wouldn't ya know it, the company is one city down from me, Mountain View! Probably less than a 10 minute drive!

If you decide to buy the player, you can save on shipping by picking it up at their office. Said so in Oppo's website.

[Mike F]

Sorry, but that's hard to believe. Are you sure the OPPO doesn't just sound different in tonality, in a way that you prefer? Or were you only listening to low budget equipment before?

The OPPO looks like an incredible bargain, especially for it's video capabilities.It's pretty good. Damn good for the money. The Benchmark DAC1, another "giant-killer", is a lot better though for 6.5 X the price. It isn't 6.5 X better though! :)

1.3 X better? :shrug:

[bangsezmax]

So I got my Oppo 970HD today to use in my "music" setup. Have moved my Pioneer DV-588A-s over to our new "home theater" setup (egads -- I have two surround sound setups in my house).

The Oppo is a fantastic piece of equipment. Lots of care and thought went into this thing. The video looks outstanding, and I'm just using the S-video output. SACD surround sounds great -- seems a little smoother/richer than the Pioneer, although it's hard to make an objective comparison without hooking them both up somehow and A/B-ing them, which is just not really feasible. Lots of features. Haven't tried HDCD yet.

I have to say one thing for anyone who owns this or any other "budget" universal or DVD player for playing Redbook CDs. Go and buy one of the the Entech Crunchers that are selling on Ebay.

Yes, the native Redbook sounds good on the Oppo. But the Entech blows it away. I find it hard to believe that a $60/shipped piece of gear (and I'm assuming here that the 203.2 comes pretty close in performance to the 205.2 that I own) can make that dramatic of an improvement in Redbook. But check the responses on the thread:http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=75851&highlight=Entech. The Entechs are an amazing bargain.

Bottom line is between the Oppo and the Entech, you can have a SACD/DVD-A/DVD/HDCD/Redbook combo that does it all most excellently for a little over $200 total. A serious giant killer for the budget audiophile.

[westcoasting]

I just placed an order for the Oppo 970 via the Oppo website. Seemed like the cheapest route to finally get a HDCD decoder for my encoded CDs.

I just received an email from Oppo that says they have resolved the gapless playback of SACD audio with a beta firmware available at:
http://www.oppodigital.com/dv970hd/dv970hd-firmware-4a-1113.html

Sweet.

[factor]

I just placed an order for the Oppo 970 via the Oppo website. Seemed like the cheapest route to finally get a HDCD decoder for my encoded CDs.

I just received an email from Oppo that says they have resolved the gapless playback of SACD audio with a beta firmware available at:
http://www.oppodigital.com/dv970hd/dv970hd-firmware-4a-1113.html

Sweet.

:goodie:

That's what was holding me back.

My 963SA will hit the market as soon as I find the manual.