[wushuliu]

Are they selling their inventory at a discount? Don’t see that yet.

Lol, that will never happen. Their products still sell for almost full price if not more on ebay. Even the BDP 83 still goes for  at least $300.

[R. Daneel]

I can see why as Optical media (DVD and CD) is dying as streaming takes over.  But I wonder about the quality though and a lack of ownership of the material?

james

Performance has never been the driving force of either music or DVD/BD labels. Optical discs cost too much to make and involve complex infrastructure to be produced and sold. With streaming, the infrastructure is already there and apart from making a website, you needn't invest anything in it. Even better than that, if your streaming service doesn't work for some reason, you can blame it on the internet provider - since you didn't invest in the infrastructure, you don't take any responsibility for it not working.

I imagine profit margins for Oppo (and any other large-scale manufacturer), are quite low so with optical media sales diminishing, it would becore increasingly difficult to continue making these players. They could increase the price but it would hardly be seen as a friendly gesture considering the brand recognition. While it's probably a good business decision for them, as a consumer, I don't like it.

Cheers!
Antun

[CanadianMaestro]

OK, so an argument can be made that the market for physical media is in free-fall, and the time to bail is now. 

Nobody really keeps accurate stats of sales, but I betcha that CD and LP sales (physical media) from places like Discogs, Amazon resellers, and other sites, are still fairly substantial and won't "free fall" anytime soon. Why pay $20+ for a digital "hi-res" download (sometimes with no booklet) when you can get the CD in v.g./excell cond for around $10 or less? Especially for stuff like older jazz and classical.

cheers

[James Tanner]

Its interesting as it brings up the question of whether our new CD Player has a future?

james

[CanadianMaestro]

I think a high-Q player like BCD always will have a future. Even if CDs go out (remember what they said about vinyl?), there are still a LOT of people with LARGE CD libraries who can afford/who need a high-Q player.

In short: don't discontinue the BCD.   

[poseidonsvoice]

Lol, that will never happen. Their products still sell for almost full price if not more on ebay. Even the BDP 83 still goes for  at least $300.

I got this email reply late last night:

Anand,

We will not be liquidating the remaining products as we anticipating that we will be able to sell out of all remaining stock, and the stock which we can't sell, can always be used for parts for replacing and repairing OPPO products which are in and out of warranty.

Best Regards,

Customer Service
OPPO Digital, Inc.
162 Constitution Dr.
Menlo Park, CA 94025Service@oppodigital.com
Tel: 650-961-1118
Fax: 650-961-1119

Best,
Anand.

[James Tanner]

Hi Folks,

It's a sober reminder of the every changing times in this industry.

One minute you are the 800 pound Gorilla and the next you are extinct !

james

[CanadianMaestro]

^ a bit like the current behavior of the Dow. 

[alexone]

Its interesting as it brings up the question of whether our new CD Player has a future?

james

...you should know it better than we do, James. are you satisfied with the amount of BCD-3 players that are already sold? if yes, you shouldn't worry about it, i think.
i bet you guys did your homeworks regarding the 'cd player market place' otherwise Bryston wouldn't have gone this road.
but there's one funny thing about beeing a Bryston customer: once you've got your system completed you are going to think that buying the next Bryston piece can take about 20 years...one might accuse the warranty for it.

keep up the good work

al.

[CanadianMaestro]

.... buying the next Bryston piece can take about 20 years...one might accuse the warranty for it.

The CDPs are 5 yrs.

cheers

[alexone]

The CDPs are 5 yrs.

cheers

...i know. and moving parts like the disc tray are 3 yrs .

al.

[OzarkTom]

Nobody really keeps accurate stats of sales, but I betcha that CD and LP sales (physical media) from places like Discogs, Amazon resellers, and other sites, are still fairly substantial and won't "free fall" anytime soon. Why pay $20+ for a digital "hi-res" download (sometimes with no booklet) when you can get the CD in v.g./excell cond for around $10 or less? Especially for stuff like older jazz and classical.

cheers

I like the yard sales. 10-50 cents each.

[CanadianMaestro]

...i know. and moving parts like the disc tray are 3 yrs .

al.

Well, my BCD-1 is doing great so far, considering the tray warranty.... 

[mav52]

Its interesting as it brings up the question of whether our new CD Player has a future?

james

Hard to say James.  It all depends on how good digital can get via ripping their CD's to digital files or the overall quality of digital downloads and then there is streaming.   There are so many good CD players out there from the cheap to the ultra high dollar that play CD, SACD and have a dac that supports rates up to 2.8/5.6 MHz DSD and 384 kHz/32-bit PCM.  Time will tell I guess.

[wushuliu]

Based on the resale value and their belief they'll have no problem selling their remaining stock, I HIGHLY doubt that the decline in blu ray and CD sales is why they are ramping down on new products. Not sure why that is the assumption.

[Calypte]

Well, a decline in physical media sales implies a decline in demand for players.  Oppo might reasonably decide to get out of the market before they end up taking a loss on unsold inventory.  But I agree with you that that doesn't seem to be the reason behind Oppo's business decision.  Maybe consumer electronics is only a small part of a much larger operation.  Since they've taken the players as far, technologically, as they are likely to go (setting aside possible 8K in the distant future), it may be that the company's masters in China view consumer electronics as a distraction from whatever they consider to be their main mission.  It's a good time to pull the chain on the operation. 

As for me, I have an Oppo BDP-83SE from 2009 that was recently serviced by Oppo Digital.  It still performs well, especially now that they've cleaned out all of the "animal hairs" (don't ask!).  I've had a very hard time bringing myself to break open the piggy bank for a newer model.  If I finally decide to spring for 4K, I'd probably buy a cheaper 4K Blu-Ray player to dedicate to that task, leaving hi-rez audio to the existing Oppo.  TBH, most of my listening since I got my BDP-pi earlier this year has been to the numerous CDs I've ripped.  The Oppo player doesn't get turned on very often these days.

I'm baffled by James Tanner's comment wondering about the future of CD.  Surely his company has already given much thought to this, and he has been party to the deliberations.

[geowak]

I had heard from many people that Oppo players wre great, although I never heard one or owned one. I also seem to have read somewhere that Oppo was planning to focus on the smartphone market. Given the fact that disc spinners seemed to be the only thing they made in audio, I can see why they were not expanding.

[Calypte]

I had heard from many people that Oppo players wre great, although I never heard one or owned one. I also seem to have read somewhere that Oppo was planning to focus on the smartphone market. Given the fact that disc spinners seemed to be the only thing they made in audio, I can see why they were not expanding.

Not true.  They also offer the Sonica DAC/network player.

[geowak]

“....seemed to be the only thing they made in audio”.I think they may not have wanted to do much more. Oppo SEEMED to be a Chinese company that could make quality gear. That went against a stereotype that Chinese audio is cheaply made. Most owners I had read had a very positive experience with the brand.

[rbbert]

Not true.  They also offer the Sonica DAC/network player.

Out of production and off their website for over a month