Oppo DV970HD

[madmax]

I just ordered one of these given all the great reviews I read. Now I can listen to those SACD recordings in all their glory! :D
madmax

[hearingimpared]

I like mine for redbook coupled with the Timbre DAC. For SACD, it definitely makes for good listening. I think for the price it can't be beat. I've been lusting over your Theta Data Basic II for quite some time.

[madmax]

I've been lusting over your Theta Data Basic II for quite some time.

Actually, being an analog guy you would like my particular example. The gear that controls the drawer movement broke in half and the disc motor sometimes doesn't spin up on its own. No biggie, I have it set up with the top cover mounted towards the back leaving the front open so you can see the drive. To play a disc you pull the tray out, lay the CD in it and shove it closed manually. Hit play then Give the CD a little push and it starts spinning and then plays. Even my digital stuff is manual... :D

I could fix it if I wanted but it has a certain appeal the way it is now. Not many people could see the beauty in a manual start CD transport I guess...
madmax

[polkatese]

Congrats, Chuck...have fun with it. Remember, the graphics/PQ was mostly the reason people bought it..;)

[jflail2]

I bought one after having it recommended here (fit my price rang well), and I have been blown away by the picture quality. It has made my sony tube look even better!

Enjoy; I'm sure you will!

[madmax]

Congrats, Chuck...have fun with it. Remember, the graphics/PQ was mostly the reason people bought it..;)

Stereophile seems to think it is pretty good, soundwise. ;)
madmax

[shack]

Stereophile seems to think it is pretty good, soundwise. ;)
madmax

Stereophile thinks EVERTHING is pretty good, soundwise. :rolleyes:

[hearingimpared]

Stereophile seems to think it is pretty good, soundwise. ;)
madmax

So does TAS.

[hearingimpared]

Actually, being an analog guy you would like my particular example. The gear that controls the drawer movement broke in half and the disc motor sometimes doesn't spin up on its own. No biggie, I have it set up with the top cover mounted towards the back leaving the front open so you can see the drive. To play a disc you pull the tray out, lay the CD in it and shove it closed manually. Hit play then Give the CD a little push and it starts spinning and then plays. Even my digital stuff is manual... :D

I could fix it if I wanted but it has a certain appeal the way it is now. Not many people could see the beauty in a manual start CD transport I guess...
madmax

If I recall correctly when you first recommended the Theta way back about 8 or 9 months ago you told me that they were having problems with it and were charging an arm and a leg to repair it. That is the reason I passed on a couple of them on the gon and epay.

[madmax]

If I recall correctly when you first recommended the Theta way back about 8 or 9 months ago you told me that they were having problems with it and were charging an arm and a leg to repair it. That is the reason I passed on a couple of them on the gon and epay.


Absolutely correct. However, still the best unit I've ever owned. They take care of the customers who buy them from authorized dealers but otherwise you have to pay.

[madmax]

Got my Oppo. Very impressive packaging with the black shipping sock with the "oppo" logo, not to mention a nice box design! This is quality packaging you expect with much higher priced equipment. As I said, very impressive. I hope this hasn't lead to an artificially perceived level of performance.

Right now I have it hooked up to my PC system for some burn in. Stuck in a disc and it played fine.

Nice looking unit for the cost. The display is "tube orange". :)

More later.

madmax

[hearingimpared]

Got my Oppo. Very impressive packaging with the black shipping sock with the "oppo" logo, not to mention a nice box design! This is quality packaging you expect with much higher priced equipment. As I said, very impressive. I hope this hasn't lead to an artificially perceived level of performance.

Right now I have it hooked up to my PC system for some burn in. Stuck in a disc and it played fine.

Nice looking unit for the cost. The display is "tube orange". :)

More later.

madmax

You need to hook it up to your monitor or TV to set it up.

[polkatese]

Chuck, if you are going to use it for Hi-Res audio, do upgrade its firmware, since the latest one resolved a couple enhancement/fix for the SACD issues.

http://www.oppodigital.com/dv970hd/dv970hd_support.html

unless if it's already at the latest version, of course. :)

[hearingimpared]

Chuck, if you are going to use it for Hi-Res audio, do upgrade its firmware, since the latest one resolved a couple enhancement/fix for the SACD issues.

http://www.oppodigital.com/dv970hd/dv970hd_support.html

unless if it's already at the latest version, of course. :)

I believe the firmware upgrade is already on the newer machines.

[madmax]

How do you tell what the current version in the machine is?

[zombie boy 2000]

This all makes sense now. I wondered why I couldn't skip tracks on SACD's.

[louthewiz]

The firmware is displayed in the setup menu...

[hearingimpared]

How do you tell what the current version in the machine is?

You can put an SACD of DSOTM in and if the first 5 tracks do not blend into each other, rather they sound like they skip a second and go onto the next tract, you have the old version. If it blends like you are used to hearing then the newer version is resident.

[madmax]

I went ahead and loaded whatever the latest version was. Still seems to work. :D

madmax

[polkatese]

So, what do you think? pass muster?

[madmax]

So, what do you think? pass muster?

Too soon to tell... Initial thoughts vary.
madmax

[Refefer]

Too soon to tell... Initial thoughts vary.
madmax

Did you make sure to change the default settings? If you're using it as a transport, which I assume you are, unless you change them, the sound is being processed then sent out the digital outs instead of it being sent raw.

Here's a nice guide in case you haven't: http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=31641.0

[hearingimpared]

Did you make sure to change the default settings? If you're using it as a transport, which I assume you are, unless you change them, the sound is being processed then sent out the digital outs instead of it being sent raw.

Here's a nice guide in case you haven't: http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=31641.0

Thanks for that link. I've been using my Oppo as a transport for redbook therefore the digital out is connected to my DAC. I am also using it for 2 channel SACD and have the Mix outputs (analog) going directly to my preamp. Using the SACD I can adjust the volume using the Oppo's remote control. I cannot adjust the volume when using just the transport therefore according to the link posted I have the player optimized for 2 ch audio use. Again thanks for the link in that it verifies my current settings.

[madmax]

Using the Oppo internal DAC, stereo only, audio DSP functions off, standard CD's, going through the rest of the system in my sig I made a few comparisons over the weekend.

I compared to a non-modified 3960, my dvd recorder and my Theta/AudioNote setup.

First of all, modified 3960's sound reasonably close to my Theta/AudioNote but have less bass extension and the detail is slightly less articulate. I didn't have one on hand for this match up.

Oppo vs non-modified 3960.
The Oppo had less attack on most sounds, sounded less dynamic and had less authority. In all frequency ranges the Oppo had far more definition. The Oppo was a clear winner here even with the shortcomings mentioned. The non-modded 3960 was just too rough sounding.

Oppo vs Theta/AudioNote.
Here it became obvious that the lack of attack on sounds hurt the performance of the Oppo a bit. This mellow attack had me feeling a little restless as I listened, a sure sign something is not quite right. The Oppo had more resolution in the higher frequencies and sounded more refined. The Theta/Audio note reproduced the bass with more authority and sounded much more real from the lower bass through the upper midrange. The Oppo made it obvious I was listening to recordings of bass, not the real thing. Overall the Oppo won here on the high frequency end but the Theta/AudioNote clearly won on the lower frequencies and overall attack. The champion would be decided by the type of listener.

My DVD recorder (forget the model) is fairly new and sounded reasonable. It was equal to the Oppo on bass and attack (not the best) but did not provide the detailed high end. The Oppo clearly won the battle here.

madmax

[hearingimpared]

Good stuff Chuck. My chief complaint with the Oppo's DAC is its thinness of bass response as well as its overstating of bass on any redbook CD. I also notice a "mellow attack" with the Oppo. When I use it simply as a transport those shortcomings diminish.

When playing the SACD of the Oppo, it does sound considerably better than most redbook CDs but I would not consider it to be used as a reference SACD player. I've heard one that I feel actually rivals vinyl and the Oppo's SACD DOES NOT give me this feel.

[madmax]

This review was done with standard CD's only, no SACD or DVD-A. Its my understanding that playing through a stand alone DAC is where this player really kills giants but I have to admit I'm pretty impressed at anything around $150 which can even come close to the Theta/AudioNote which retailed for around $5K. Of course it is several years old but up until a year ago I had not heard any new players even come close. I could actually live with this Oppo as a replacement if need be.

Compared to the vinyl setup, well, thats a different story entirely.

Oh, BTW, the video looks really good although I can't imagine what you would use that for. :D

madmax

[hearingimpared]

Oh, BTW, the video looks really good although I can't imagine what you would use that for. :D

madmax

Star Trek reruns!!!:D

[fatchowmein]

I've heard one that I feel actually rivals vinyl and the Oppo's SACD DOES NOT give me this feel.

Do you recall the model?

Sorry for hijacking.

[hearingimpared]

Do you recall the model?

Sorry for hijacking.

Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista. . .they go for around $3200. They are having problems with the transport on these. IF it does go, it can't be repaired.

[Early B.]

Why are you guys wasting your time by analyzing redbook CD playback on $150 DVD player? Forget about it. The most you can say is the 970 is a great DVD player, and it happens to do a decent job on redbook.

[madmax]

Why are you guys wasting your time by analyzing redbook CD playback on $150 DVD player? Forget about it. The most you can say is the 970 is a great DVD player, and it happens to do a decent job on redbook.


Why not? Of the three I reviewed, only one could sit in for my reference CD if need be. Each has their own specific character and faults. Not everyone can (or wants to) afford some $1K to $5K CD player so it is certainly nice to know which ones stack up and which ones don't. :)

madmax

[snow]

The one thing that I noticed throughout this thread was a lack of bass response with the oppo. I noticed the same thing, even more so with SACD playback.

I changed the interconnects I was using and the bass came back in spades it was like listening to a different player.

I cant say that it will be the same for anyone else but with different interconnects the bass improved greatly. with redbook cds, SACD, DVDA, even the tuner I am using. I noticed the difference on them all.

Of course I am sure that these test were done using the same interconnects so the results would stay the same. But it might be worth a shot if you have diiferent styles of interconnects of switching a few around to see if the bass improves.

REGARDS SNOW

[Refefer]

The one thing that I noticed throughout this thread was a lack of bass response with the oppo. I noticed the same thing, even more so with SACD playback.

I changed the interconnects I was using and the bass came back in spades it was like listening to a different player.

I cant say that it will be the same for anyone else but with different interconnects the bass improved greatly. with redbook cds, SACD, DVDA, even the tuner I am using. I noticed the difference on them all.

Of course I am sure that these test were done using the same interconnects so the results would stay the same. But it might be worth a shot if you have diiferent styles of interconnects of switching a few around to see if the bass improves.

REGARDS SNOW

Were you using it as a transport or the internal dac?

[snow]

Were you using it as a transport or the internal dac?I was using the internal DAC.

It is supposed to become world class if you use it as a transport to a better seperate DAC.

I had it hooked up to my lexicon MC-1 using the second room analog inputs in 2 channel so it bypasses all the digital conversion in the lexicon.

REGARDS SNOW

[madmax]

In the comparison I used the MIT S1 interconnects. The bass response was not noticeably weak, just not real well defined and didn't sound as real as the Theta/AudioNote.

Funny, the one set of interconnects cost maybe six times more than the DVD player... :D
madmax

[heiney9]

Good stuff Chuck. My chief complaint with the Oppo's DAC is its thinness of bass response as well as its overstating of bass on any redbook CD. I also notice a "mellow attack" with the Oppo.


IMO, these 3 shortcomings are pretty significant (maybe not for $150 unit). Correct bass w/o bloat and overhang and the "leading edge" attack of many instruments is what really stands the hairs on the back of my neck up. A player or dac unit that exhibits these shortcomings gets very tiresome very quickly.

That being said I have yet to hear the Oppo, but then I probably wouldn't expect much of it anyways. Benn down this road too many times with these proclaimed giant killer electronics and I always come away disappointed.

The subtleties, finesse and musicality is usually missing, meaning the heart of the music is gone.

H9

H9

[heiney9]

It is supposed to become world class if you use it as a transport to a better seperate DAC.

Of course it does, the heart of any digital unit is the digital to analog conversion. I have a flimsy Pioneer DVDp that becomes a world class player when hooked to a seperate dac. :)

H9

[hearingimpared]

Snow, good to see you back on the web.

I disagree with your statement about the SACD being thin in the bass. I played Roy Orbison, "Black & White" SACD and the bass and kick drum had more than enough attack and slam. The same with any SACD where bass is present. DSOTM, JATP, Norah Jones, and a couple of Living Stereo SACDs.

Again I wouldn't call this a reference player but when I am on the laz and just want to sit and listen and not go through the gyrations of cleaning records and stuff this SACD player works just fine. It maybe that I have the proper analog ICs on it. . . I believe they are Signal Cables.

H9, I can live with my current redbook set up using the Oppo. Until I can get the cash together to buy a world class CD/SACD player like F1nut or RT1 I'm just going to keep listening to my vinyl collection and known good redbook CDs. I've never listened to the Oppo's DAC, unless I was just comparing it to another player or A/Bing it with its transport going through the Timber DAC.:)

.02 complete!;)

[madmax]

Things just don't stay the same for long with me. I completely disassembled the Oppo and added dynamat. I covered the inside bottom, nice big piece on the lid and all over the transport. It was easy to disassemble EXCEPT the ribbon cable going to the transport was glued to the bottom. I almost broke it before I realized.

All back together and seems to still work. :)
madmax

[hearingimpared]

I think I'm going to Dynamat all my gear this weekend!!! It never stops!

[snow]

Snow, good to see you back on the web.

I disagree with your statement about the SACD being thin in the bass. I played Roy Orbison, "Black & White" SACD and the bass and kick drum had more than enough attack and slam. The same with any SACD where bass is present. DSOTM, JATP, Norah Jones, and a couple of Living Stereo SACDs.

Again I wouldn't call this a reference player but when I am on the laz and just want to sit and listen and not go through the gyrations of cleaning records and stuff this SACD player works just fine. It maybe that I have the proper analog ICs on it. . . I believe they are Signal Cables.

Thanks for the welcome joe. The reason I was experincing the almost non existent bass with the oppo was not the fault of the player but the interconnects I was using. The moment I switched interconnects the bass was there, I even had to turn down the bass on some SACDs and tracks on my preamp.

It was kind of odd because I remembered SACD sounding so much better before on a different player and simply thought it must be something with the oppo. But I have noticed not only on SACD playback but DVDA and cds also the bass was greatly improved with the new interconnects.

REGARDS SNOW

[madmax]

I did many of the same comparisons last night with the dynamatted player as I did for my original review. The dynamat really helped the attack issue. It made a reasonable difference in the bass and got more intense as you get into the higher frequencies. It is now much quicker than it was previously and that uneasy feeling it gave me has gone away. This was a noticeable difference without a direct comparison but I did one anyway because often we hear what we want without a reference to prove us wrong. I highly recommend the dynamat on this unit.
madmax

Edit: BTW, I don't know exactly why this helps but I noticed the same effect with other players I've modded so I gave it a try.

[hearingimpared]

Things just don't stay the same for long with me. I completely disassembled the Oppo and added dynamat. I covered the inside bottom, nice big piece on the lid and all over the transport. It was easy to disassemble EXCEPT the ribbon cable going to the transport was glued to the bottom. I almost broke it before I realized.

All back together and seems to still work. :)
madmax

I'm not familiar with CDP transports. Could you give some details on where to put the Dynamat. I'm going to Dynamat every piece of gear I have. CDPs are not my forte'.

[madmax]

I removed the power supply board, main board and transport unit. Each is held onto the chassis with a few screws. (main board also held with some screws in the back). In the bottom of the case it drops down a little. I cut a piece to fit the whole dropped down area. (you can see it if you look at the bottom of the player). Make sure its all stuck down so the PCB doesn't come into contact with it. I also cut a piece and put on the top cover. Maybe 6x10" or so and put it over the drive.

Now, on the drive itself I put it all around the outside edges, on top of the assembly that covers the CD, in all the holes on the bottom, at the back of the tray, around the main motor that spins the CD, little thin pieces on the metal frame on the bottom. (pretty much anywhere it would go without affecting the tray opening or the laser moving). Find my 3960 pics. (search forums for "madmax 3960" or "madmax 3950")

Then you just put everything back together and it might still work. :)

[Early B.]

The HDMI cable that comes with the Oppo -- is it a good quality cable or do some of you Oppo owners recommend upgrading it?

[polkatese]

I am using that cable to connect LCD and DirecTV DVR. It appears as good as any other HDMI. But that is an interesting question, I am not sure if HDMI cable makes any noticeable difference, and I am a cable believer otherwise. I tell you what, why don't you get an upgraded HDMI (even SignalCable sells one), and let us know what did you find out. I'll be right behind you if you can "see" the difference, and get one. :)

[ohskigod]

I think I'm going to Dynamat all my gear this weekend!!! It never stops!



just dynamat your listening room and be done with it. :p

[ohskigod]

sad thing is, I still haven't dynamatted the jolida. I am such a lazy audiophile!!!!!!

[madmax]

I dynamatted the inside of a set of bookshelf speakers once. Seemed like a waste of time (and dynamat) but I might have noticed a little cleaner bass. I tend to think it was playing mind games with me though.
madmax

[bikerboy]

Hi Madmax,
Are you going to hotrod the oppo? I havent looked into this player but I would think it would improve like the Toshiba did. I am still using my 3950 but am thinking about better player. Good to hear your impressions. Thanks.

[Early B.]

I tell you what, why don't you get an upgraded HDMI (even SignalCable sells one), and let us know what did you find out. I'll be right behind you if you can "see" the difference, and get one. :)

Actually, I was hoping one of you guys would have already taken the plunge and upgraded the HDMI cable.;)

[madmax]

Hi Madmax,
Are you going to hotrod the oppo? I havent looked into this player but I would think it would improve like the Toshiba did. I am still using my 3950 but am thinking about better player. Good to hear your impressions. Thanks.


I might try a few things later on. If I get any decent results I'll post them.
madmax