[finsup]

It is.

And Oppo support is fabulous, in the off chance you were to run into any issues.

Agreed.  I have had the BDP-83 since May of 2009 and the 971H since it came out (and I can't remember when that was) and both have performed very well.  My few calls to Oppo were handled very professionally.

[davidrs]

The 93 has volume control via the remote.

Mike,

Thanks.

Does it control both the digital out and analog out? Also, any experience using it direct into a multi amp? That is, level of gain?

- David.

[ratso]

i don't think they have before, but can this be used as a standalone DAC?

[golfugh]

i don't think they have before, but can this be used as a standalone DAC?

Nope, no digital inputs of any kind

[davidrs]

Nope, no digital inputs of any kind

Correct.

My question is around bypassing the volume control downstream, that is, of a muti-pre or avr. It would be sweet if I could go direct to a multi-amp.

[ted_b]

i don't think they have before, but can this be used as a standalone DAC?

If that's what you want, get an Oppo BDP-83SE and have Modwright (Dan) mod it for both the analog section and put his very low jitter digital input board in.  Now you have a nice tubed DAC and a great universal player.

My question is around bypassing the volume control downstream, that is, of a muti-pre or avr. It would be sweet if I could go direct to a multi-amp.

The volume control is digital (affects the analog outs only, but operates in the digital domain, meaning it will eventually lop off bits), not something I'd use in a direct-to-amp setup unless your attenuation was slight, so as not to drop bits (resolution).  It's really intended to slightly adjust gain of the unit so it matches your other sources.  Personally, i wouldn't touch it.  Why spend $1k on a player and then screw with the resolution.

[davidrs]

The volume control is digital (affects the analog outs only, but operates in the digital domain, meaning it will eventually lop off bits), not something I'd use in a direct-to-amp setup unless your attenuation was slight, so as not to drop bits (resolution).  It's really intended to slightly adjust gain of the unit so it matches your other sources.  Personally, i wouldn't touch it.  Why spend $1k on a player and then screw with the resolution.

Thanks, Ted.

I figured as much. And your response firmly answers my question.

However, good to know that there is some adjustment of gain available.

- David.

[Watson]

The volume control is digital (affects the analog outs only, but operates in the digital domain, meaning it will eventually lop off bits), not something I'd use in a direct-to-amp setup unless your attenuation was slight, so as not to drop bits (resolution).  It's really intended to slightly adjust gain of the unit so it matches your other sources.  Personally, i wouldn't touch it.  Why spend $1k on a player and then screw with the resolution.

Yes, but the DAC itself is 32 bit. This means you have 96dB of fully digital volume adjustment for Redbook audio without lopping off bits.

There is essentially no downside to using the digital volume control with Redbook audio. It's actually a better solution for preserving the original signal than most analog solutions.

[ted_b]

Yes, but the DAC itself is 32 bit. This means you have 96dB of fully digital volume adjustment for Redbook audio without lopping off bits.

There is essentially no downside to using the digital volume control with Redbook audio. It's actually a better solution for preserving the original signal than most analog solutions.

You could be right, but I would debate this.  Doesn't the DAC's volume actaully live in the 24 bit world, so the headroom is much less?  Regardless, it's the same math and same chipsets as the Sabre32 DAC in the 83SE and that volume control does a world of hurt below say 90% (I know, I own it).

[Mike Nomad]

Mike,

Thanks.

Does it control both the digital out and analog out? Also, any experience using it direct into a multi amp? That is, level of gain?

- David.

David,

As the control lives on the remote, it controls _all_ audio output. I've messed with it only as a curio. In the little bit (sorry) I messed with the Oppo volume control, I wasn't noticing any loss of detail w/ volume adjustments. I guess I'll mess around with it a little more, and report back.

Mike

[davidrs]

David,

As the control lives on the remote, it controls _all_ audio output. I've messed with it only as a curio. In the little bit (sorry) I messed with the Oppo volume control, I wasn't noticing any loss of detail w/ volume adjustments. I guess I'll mess around with it a little more, and report back.

Mike

Mike,

Looking forward to hearing your impressions on this issue.

Thanks.

- David.

[Calypte]

Can any of you guys speak to the reliability of Oppo players?

I've had the BDP83SE since early Dec '09.  I've had zero problems with the hardware.  The firmware is something else.  I've had no problems playing Blu-Ray or DVD discs, but there are a couple of bugs with SACDs: (1) the changeover of the display from one track to the next (track number and timing) falls behind the actual track, and the delay seems to get worse as more tracks go by; (2) if there are too many tracks (and I don't know the limit), then the player may, at random, suddenly stop in the middle of a track, and there is no cure but to shut off the player with the panel button.  There is a beta update of the firmware that is alleged to cure the problems I've encountered, but Oppo has told me that they don't consider the beta release to be stable.  When will a new firmware release be available?  Last fall, they told me Dec '10, but I'm still waiting.  My old Sony SACD player had no problem with any SACDs.

[ajzepp]

I've had the BDP83SE since early Dec '09.  I've had zero problems with the hardware.  The firmware is something else.  I've had no problems playing Blu-Ray or DVD discs, but there are a couple of bugs with SACDs: (1) the changeover of the display from one track to the next (track number and timing) falls behind the actual track, and the delay seems to get worse as more tracks go by; (2) if there are too many tracks (and I don't know the limit), then the player may, at random, suddenly stop in the middle of a track, and there is no cure but to shut off the player with the panel button.  There is a beta update of the firmware that is alleged to cure the problems I've encountered, but Oppo has told me that they don't consider the beta release to be stable.  When will a new firmware release be available?  Last fall, they told me Dec '10, but I'm still waiting.  My old Sony SACD player had no problem with any SACDs.

Thanks, man

[Mike Nomad]

David,

As the control lives on the remote, it controls _all_ audio output. I've messed with it only as a curio. In the little bit (sorry) I messed with the Oppo volume control, I wasn't noticing any loss of detail w/ volume adjustments. I guess I'll mess around with it a little more, and report back.

Mike

Well, the first part is not correct. When I messed with this the first time, I now remember that I was playing an SACD. I let the player do the conversion to PCM, so, I was using the analog outs. Ted's original post is indeed correct. My apologies.

Testing the volume control on the analog side, it was difficult to tell if there was any loss infidelity (bit loss). The volume control scale is 0 - 100, but in increments of 5. The volume changes are so drastic, I simply can't tell.

Sorry if I got anybody's hopes up.

Mike

[davidrs]

i don't think they have before, but can this be used as a standalone DAC?

If that's what you want, get an Oppo BDP-83SE and have Modwright (Dan) mod it for both the analog section and put his very low jitter digital input board in.  Now you have a nice tubed DAC and a great universal player.

Ted,

In your answer to ratso's question, are you saying that the USB and/or ESATA ports cannot be used to feed digital audio for conversion?

If ESATA is being used to stream files stored on an external hard drive, isn't it essentially doing this?

Also, since it is Netflix and Blockbuster streaming ready, is it also Pandora, etc. ready? And if not, are these additional functionalities planned with future firmware updates?

Thanks,

David.

[ted_b]

David, No I am only saying that Dan Wright will add digital inputs so that you can use your music server to feed the modded 83 various sample rates.  I have no idea what sample rates are supported via the rather simple home menu setup of the 93.  The USB and e-sata ports are not meant for streaming, they are meant for static hard drives, and they don't seem yet to be able to use FLAC's metatdata so all you get are file names.  I could be wrong....just what I gleaned from a couple user reviews.  I know the 93 supports streaming from DLNA etc but not sure what that entails.    No one I've read has commented on whether you can feed the 93 a hirez file and what it does to it.  I will peruse AVS some more (200 page thread), but it's not at the top of my list.  I use a dedicated DAC.  It would be great if you could simply add an e-sata drive and use the 93 as a standalone DAC for 24/192 (Sabre32 chip's high end)....

[davidrs]

It would be great if you could simply add an e-sata drive and use the 93 as a standalone DAC for 24/192 (Sabre32 chip's high end)....

Ted,

Yes, that would be sweet.

I've got a couple of emails on the topic out to Oppo. I'll post if they respond with something on these issues.

I did not think of the DLNA angle, so will have to explore that as well. DLNA should open up additional streaming options.

- David.

[ted_b]

UPDATE:  What I could discern from some searches on AVS is this:  FLAC is poorly supported at this time, in that the 93 seems to throw up on large folders (even 1000+ songs), misses some files and misses most-if-not-all metatdata.  However, aside from these growing pains it seems to work at a basic level, and seems to support up to 24/192 (incl multichannel FLAC).  I've not found any post yet that says "it played my 24/88 file fine" so no real specific instances, just general info from users and from Oppo support.

Edit:  here's one specific user's feedback..from two weeks ago
"I just got mine a couple of days ago and started playing FLAC files with it. I have an external HD connected by e-sata to the Oppo. The FLAC files I have are stereo only so I cannot comment on the multichannel ones. However, it seems to output full resolution PCM stereo up to 192 kHz from the coax. I tested the coax connection for high-res playback with an outboard dac (a Wyred 4 Sound DAC2) and it locked perfectly at 176 khZ using some HRx test samples from Reference Recordings. I can say that it sounds exceptionally good as a FLAC player (or transport if you will) via its coax output. The FLAC decoding player inside oppo seems to be pretty good. Even with 16/44.1 files, at least in my system there is great air, reverb and separation in the music. Will do more listening when I find some more time. The only issue, is that it cannot see files downloaded from Linn Records or HD Tracks. I think I read this in a previous post too. I dont know if Oppo's file browser has a folder tree length limitation. I will save the files somewhere else (higher in the folder structure) and try again."

[davidrs]

Thanks, Ted.

I'll investigate as well.

If this is a software issue, hope Oppo does the right thing, but I can see them not wanting to step on too many toes.

- David.

[davidrs]

Update: Not much here from Oppo Support, but figured it was worth putting down for reference.

Oppo is only committing to Netflix and Blockbuster as 'certified technologies' they support (for obvious corporate reasons) currently, on the BDP-93/95 platforms.

They are in the process of 'aligning' with additional partners (to be expected) but cannot confirm which ones until their process is fully in place (for obvious reasons X2).

Still waiting on responses regarding the eSATA, USB and Wireless dongle, DLNA issues/questions.