[silvermesa]

Hello!

I am considering an oppo BD 83 for a blue ray/dvd and cd player. What have been your experiences with the Oppo BD 83? Some say the BD 83 SE model is better for music? Would you consider the base model for blue ray then buy a separate cd player?

What are your experiences? What are you pleased with?

Thank You!

P.S. This will be used in a 5.1 Songtower home theater/ 2 channel set up

[coke]

The oppo works great for CDs.  You really wouldn't benifit from a stand alone CD player at that price.

Rather than buying a seperate CD player, invest in a good DAC.

[mathgeek97]

Rather than buying a seperate CD player, invest in a good DAC.

I'll second that thought.
I really like the Oppo (I have the standard version).  For 2 channel music, adding a great separate DAC would be great.  But, for 5.1 music, I'd assume the upgraded DAC chips in the SE version would be the way to go.  If you're only doing 5.1 for movies, I say buy the regular version and add the external DAC of your choice.

[greenhouseman]

Hello!

I am considering an oppo BD 83 for a blue ray/dvd and cd player. What have been your experiences with the Oppo BD 83? Some say the BD 83 SE model is better for music? Would you consider the base model for blue ray then buy a separate cd player?

What are your experiences? What are you pleased with?

Thank You!

P.S. This will be used in a 5.1 Songtower home theater/ 2 channel set up

I just received the upgraded BD83se yesterday and it is a very impressive unit. I think you would be quite happy with its analogue capabilities. It is significantly better than the stock unit in that regard and for simple comparisons it is a vast upgrade over my previous standalone Emotiva ERC-1. Overall a great unit for both movies and music.

[jd3]

I've had the BDP-83SE for about a month now and I'm really impressed with both its 2 channel and multichannel performance.  I've heard details in cd's and DVD-A/SACD discs that I'd never heard before.  (I've got it hooked up via analog connections for both 2 channel and multichannel ). 

[silvermesa]

Thank you for all your replies so far!

I am so new at this I hope I ask the questions correctly! Some background first though.

In the past I only listened to FM radio and only have a few cd's. The songtower 5.1, Onkyo 807 receiver and blue ray player set up will be used mainly for general tv, dvd,blue ray and either cd listening, internet radio and  possible streaming from my mac laptop or other device. Not sure how I will accomplish the streaming part but am learning and working on one piece at a time.

I have read this forum quite a bit and it seems some who have home theater set ups also have 2 channel systems combined in the same set up. I would like to do the same thing. ( My understanding is not a lot of multi channel music available?)

I am trying to do as some have suggested in earlier threads to buy the songtowers first and then try them with an avr and blue ray player and see if I'm happy. If not continue on with the upgrade path.

So questions are as follows:

1) For the minimalist approach is it wise to buy the Oppo Bd 83 standard version or the Oppo BD 83 SE or something else?

2) I assume I would have the blue ray player hooked up by hdmi cable. Not sure what it means to have it hooked up by analog?

3) If I try the minimalist approach and am looking for more I think i will look towards AVA gear since so many seem to have it and it is a known quanity. What do you think of the following two options.

A) Parasound 2100, AVA Dac (insight or ultra i think) and AVA Insight 240-2 and 240-3 amps? (I think Home theater bypass?)

B) New AVA Vision Dac/ Preamplifier Combo Unit and AVA 240-2 and 240-3 amps? (I think tape loop bypass?)

[mathgeek97]

possible streaming from my mac laptop or other device. Not sure how I will accomplish the streaming part but am learning and working on one piece at a time.

I'm sitting here listening to music streamed from iTunes.  The chain is
iPhone Remote App controlling: (Apple Lossless Ripped CD) -> iTunes -> Airport Express -> Receiver -> Salk HT2-TLs
Ideally, for me, the receiver would be replaced by AVA Vision DAC -> AVA T8+ preamp -> AVA Insight 440 amp.   Some day soon, I hope.  You can also play directly from iTunes without iPhone remote app.

[Nuance]

I'm with you, mathgeek; streaming is just sooooooo cool.  I'll never go back.   

[kip_]

2) I assume I would have the blue ray player hooked up by hdmi cable. Not sure what it means to have it hooked up by analog?

If you use analog (stereo RCA cables) to hook up the blu-ray player then you are using the internal DAC in the player rather than those in your receiver or a separate DAC. If you hook it up via HDMI then you will use the DAC in the receiver. There are no HDMI standalone DACs, as far as I know. If you use coax or optical out then you can use an external DAC like one of the AVAs or the DAC in your receiver.

If you are going to use the Blu-ray player simply as a transport then I would consider something cheaper such as a PS3 slim or even something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMP-BD60-Blu-ray-Player-Black/dp/B001V9LA44/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1264693575&sr=1-1

Please note that the PS3 has a built in wi-fi card and can stream music, movies, and pictures from any UPnP media server. There are dozens of different software packages for both PC and mac that can accomplish this.

Finally, you may already be aware of this, but you can use external amps without having to use a separate preamp, simply connect them to the preamp outs of your AVR. The sound quality will obviously suffer, but this is a much cheaper way to go.

Do you care about SACD or DVD-Audio discs?

[K Shep]

I'm with you, mathgeek; streaming is just sooooooo cool.  I'll never go back.

I listened to my CD player for the first time in 3 months today.  I removed a nice layer of dust.  There is nothing like playing files.

[fishinbob]

If your looking for an optical player your on the right track. I enjoy multi- channel recordings very much, now that I have the ability with the -83.
Streaming won't do your blu ray codecs or DSD audio AFAIK, so if all you want is plain vanilla then stream away.
The OPPO is a great buy for the price. I don't think you will be dissappointed.

I listen via HDMI, bitstreaming all codecs except HDCD which is converted to LPCM in the OPPO.

[(W)KRP]

1) For the minimalist approach is it wise to buy the Oppo Bd 83 standard version or the Oppo BD 83 SE or something else?

2) I assume I would have the blue ray player hooked up by hdmi cable. Not sure what it means to have it hooked up by analog?

If you intend the digital-analog conversion to occur externally, like in an AVA unit, then you do not need an 83SE, and in fact you do not need an 83. Get the new Oppo BDP-80, a cheaper version, then use the digital outputs (coaxial, optical or HDMI) into the receiver or preamp of your choice.

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-80/blu-ray-BDP-80-Compare.aspx

[audiotom]

check into Ric Schultz' upgrade mod to the Oppo

I love my older Oppo and will get the moderate upgrade

also DVD-a and Blu Ray concerts are killer on the Oppo
it's stand alone in my home theatre
and upsamples Dvd's nicely

Tom