Which is BEST?..Oppo 980/981/983 ?

Thanks Venkatcr.
Even my old pioneer dv525 does this. I was just wondering. I am thinking of getting one oppo from the US through a cousin. My movie watching is two channel stereo.

I see a lot of buzz around Oppo, especially the 983. I can see a lot of enthusiasts (read Satish, Sunil, Venkat...) the fan count is on a steady rise!

Accepting the fact that am not much of a videophile kind - have anyone had a chance to do a comparison with DV7001. I have very little experience with the Oppo range, that also I just heard a few SACDs. I have an ageing 1920 with me now. Saw the Marantz some time back, been thinking about the DV7001 for while now and it just got stronger after a very recent stint! [I can already see the grin on Dinyaar’s face]

An inevitable onsite trip is around the corner, don’t think I can escape it this time, so might as well make use of it this way. Any inputs?!

Congrats on joining the tribe of happy Oppo owners.

Un-Leash Me:

I have not seen the 7001, but for your sake I did a quick comparison of the two players. Here are the main differences:

1. VIDEO: The Marantz uses DCDi by Faroudja for de-interlacing and upscaling. Though this is an excellent option, with the 983, Oppo has gone one step ahead and uses seperate circuitry for de-interlacing and for upscaling. With the DV-983H, OPPO has incorporated Anchor Bay's latest VRS (Video Reference Series) technology. An ABT102 chipset provides AutoCUE-C, Progressive Cadence Detection, and Precision De-interlacing. An ABT1018 chip handles Precision Video Scaling, frame rate conversion, aspect ratio control and video zooming. These technologies combine to generate a clearer, smoother, and true-to-life picture free of artifacts.

In this, simply because of the technology used, the Oppo will be able to provide better video. And this has also been tested to be true. The 983 has been the only DVD player to get 100% in all video tests of Secrets of Home Theater. (Oppo Digital DV-983H DVD Player - Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity)

2. CD AUDIO: The Marantz uses Cirrus Logic chipset providing 192MHz/12 bit DAC for audio circuitry. The Oppo uses a Burr Brown providing the same capabilities. Which is better? Difficult to say - CD Players and Amplifiers from companies such as NAD use Burr Brown and are highly respected. Sony, Harmon Kardon, Kenwood, Nokia, Pace and Panasonic amongst others use Cirrus Logic. Marantz's own CD Players use Cirrus Logic and have an undeniable huge fan following. I have myself heard the famous OSD series from Marantz and have lusted after it. I have also heard the Cambridge Audio 640C that uses WM8740 24-bit/192kHz DAC from highly respected manufacturer Wolfson. That also sounds wonderful.

The conclusion? For universal players such as the Oppo 983 and the Marantz 7001 - comparing the audio circuitry (in my opinion) is not too productive. To get really good music, I would stick to a excellent CD Player with a matching two channel amplification. I would play all CDs through that combination.

3. SCAD/HDCD/DVD-A: Here the Marantz uses a 216MHz/12-Bit DAC while the Oppo uses a 108MHz 12-bit DAC. I am not sure what this means as as I have yet to hear any of these CD Types. But spec wise, Marantz may have an advantage.

4. DECODING: The Marantz decodes for 5.1 analogue output, while the Oppo decodes for 7.1 channels. Obviously you get one additional channel (surround back) and will be able to enjoy discs that have Dolby Digital Surround EX encoding.

5. DIGITAL AUDIO. The Marantz boasts a frequency response of 4Hz - 44kHz (DVD fs: 96kHz). The Oppo boasts a frequency response of 20Hz - 20kHz (±1dB). Both have nearly identical THD of >0.0008%. As I have said elsewhere, anything below 20Hz is just specification. The human ears caanot hear it at all.

In conclusion the Marantz may be slightly better for two channel or multi channel audio. But the Oppo is certainly better for video output. As I have mentioned elsewhere I would use a stereo CD Player / Amplifier combination for two channel music, and the specs of the AV Amp for multi channel music.

Am I biased towards the Oppo? I must say I am not. For me the Oppo was the obvious choice for the specs and capabilities it provided for the PRICE.

Hi,

First of all let me just say Am not here to say Marantz is good or Oppo ! I've not seen/heard both hence my absence in this from the beginning !!

I saw few errors and misinterpretations in Venkats post so thought to clarify that !!

The above spec is for the Video not the Audio ! for the Audio default standard for the SACD/DVD-Audio is 192Khz/24 Bit so there will no change in that from any company ! its the Video DAC that some companies use the higher 216Mhz/12 14 Bit and some choose relatively less 108Mhz ! where most of the normal ones use 54Mhz !!

The Dolby Surround Ex Uses Phantom surround channels not actual as the DTS ES which is discrete ! but even otherwise the most probable usage of these players will be with an AVR ! So that already has all the decoding facilities so one should not bother bout these untill and unless they want to use it with old AVR which does not have any decoders onboard !! or use multiple stereos amps for said purpose (which is very very rare)

Agreed without a doubt that below the said frequency one cannot perceive the sound ! but thats not the point !! the point is the bandwidth !! the higher the bandwidth the higher the data packed ! thats the reason why the SACD and DVD-Audio chose the frequency response of 5Hz-100Khz !! its not meant to be for some super humans but for us the normal listeners ! in short if I have to say bout this,Its like compressing and song into MP3,now one can convert it from a decent 128 Kbps to 320 !! now how many will say 128 is good enough we don't need 320 ??? the same way though the Audible frequency is from X to Y but if you have the additional bandwith to pack the data,the data can be packed into a much more detailed manner then the compressed bandwith !! thats also the reason why the difference in the data usage of all these formats !! where a simple 128Kbps MP3 takes about 1 MB per minute and a CD takes about 10 the same SACD or DVD-Audio takes in 10 times more !! so more headroom and more ambience and more of everything,Hence sounds more natural !

Hope the above point is understood ( everyone ) !!

Regards.

SoundsGreat, my apologies for the errors. Here are my two bit for those points:

Regarding SACD/HDCD... my apologies. I forget to mention Video DAC.

Regarding decoding, if you see my post, at the end I have mentioned that decoding and amplification is best left to the AV Amp.

Regarding digital audio, I do agree that more the bandwidth, the more data you can pack. I have nothing against your point.

Even personally, for my IPOD, I compress all my music using lossless AIFF format and don't use the MP3 format at all. I have done this after comparing the compressed format with the original CD format and chosen the one I like best. For my PC connected to the audio system I plan to use FLAC.

At the same time you cannot deny that there are millions of users who are tapping away to MP3.

I have read innumerable debates about this and have seen the results of blind tests. There are various arguments for and against both sides. I just wanted to mention that anything less than 20Hz (or for that matter above 20KHz) is not audible to the human ear. It was just a data point.

I have gone thru Marantz website and checked the spec of DV7001 after I saw all your debates..It seems this is also very good player...But Oppo beats Marantz in price.Oppo is $399...Marantz is $799....Oppo is exactly 50% low price compared to Marantz..I think this makes lot of difference from the price point of view..Similar features less price...

Hi Kams,

Where did your order the 980 and at what price? Can you also indicate the prices of 981 and 983. Thanks

regards
Anand S

venkat ,i agree that the our ears are not good at freq below 20Hz.But bass below 20Hz also adds to the overall experience ....because it can be felt! (probably with outer skin)

Found that info in many places also in magazines like AVMAX/july08...so added here !

Please look up OPPO Digital - Up-Converting DVD Players - Buy Direct from the Manufacturer. You will get all information. In India, get in touch Prithvi of Absolute Phase. The 983H is not available as of now in India, but is expected very soon.

What you say is true. A lower a sub woofer goes, the better it sounds. So it must be affecting our senses in some way. What I don't like about some sub woofer is the resonance that they create which is completely artificial. A subwoofer sound must be flat and the sound must die immediately.

Some companies are also trying new tricks to increase the sensation. Have you heard of the ButtKicker? (ButtKicker®) It actually physically shakes you in sync with your movies. I am sure people will come up with new ideas. There are some theaters in the US that have chairs that move with the sound and the screen. So if you are watching a flying aircraft, your chair will turn every time the aircraft banks. These are very popular in places such as Universal Studios, and Disneyland where they take a short film, and roll and shake the seats along with the movie.

They also have small shower curtains that throw a fine mist of water on you when the screen displays a waterfall or heavy rainfall.

They are now experimenting with smells, to see how they can dispense a jungle smell or the perfume of a leading actress. Imagine that!!

Cheers