Oppo 981H or Pioneer DV 610

[RAC]

I don't have a FHD (1080p) TV. Otherwise you can always set HDMI output to 1080p.

I had no idea how it works and so that's how to upscale. You can fix the settings for the output.
Do you change the upscale output settings from the DVD player?

 

[venkatcr]

You say that you have connected through HDMI @720p. Now is that good and what will it take to upscale to 1080i or 1080p?

RAC, if you are talking about the 610, it does upscale to 1080P and is really very good for movies. I use my Pioneers more often that my Oppo. I usually reserve the use of the Oppo for playing music.

Cheers

 

[reju]

I had no idea how it works and so that's how to upscale. You can fix the settings for the output.
Do you change the upscale output settings from the DVD player?

Yes, correct!

 

[spirovious]

RAC, if you are talking about the 610, it does upscale to 1080P and is really very good for movies. I use my Pioneers more often that my Oppo. I usually reserve the use of the Oppo for playing music.

Cheers

What abt CDP?

 

[venkatcr]

You say that you have connected through HDMI @720p. Now is that good and what will it take to upscale to 1080i or 1080p?

RAC, if you are talking about the 610, it does upscale to 1080P and is really very good for movies. I use my Pioneers more often that my Oppo. I usually reserve the use of the Oppo for playing music.

Cheers

 

[vishanv]

Thanks Venkat. I am not particular about USB. I will use it only with my Optoma HD65 projector. Do you know if the player works with 220 volts? And any US sites with lowest prices? Lower than Amazon?

Hi,

I'm very new to this forum. In fact, this is my first ever post on a forum. I'm in a similar situation as John - to go for Oppo or not. My current preference is 980H, coz sound is more important to me. It's highly reviewed and it's easy to make region code free (I believe other Oppos are not as easy to change region code...)

Has anyone used an Oppo 980H? what is your opinion on the audio performance, through their analogue outputs.

I used to have a Pionner DV3xx before changing that for a Denon. Of the consumer brands, I can bet Pionner has the best out of the box picture quality and playability. But CDP player of both DVD players (Denon and Pio) are not good enough; I never realized it untill I bought the NAD CD player. Just wondering if Oppo is any different.

Thanks for your feedback

 

[spirovious]

Pio 510 is without HDMI.

 

[venkatcr]

I'm very new to this forum. In fact, this is my first ever post on a forum. I'm in a similar situation as John - to go for Oppo or not. My current preference is 980H, coz sound is more important to me. It's highly reviewed and it's easy to make region code free (I believe other Oppos are not as easy to change region code...)

Has anyone used an Oppo 980H? what is your opinion on the audio performance, through their analogue outputs.

I used to have a Pionner DV3xx before changing that for a Denon. Of the consumer brands, I can bet Pionner has the best out of the box picture quality and playability. But CDP player of both DVD players (Denon and Pio) are not good enough; I never realized it untill I bought the NAD CD player. Just wondering if Oppo is any different.

Vishnav:

Let us clear a few things first. Player such as Oppo and Pioneer are what are called universal players. In other words, most of them will play literally any disc you insert excepting a Blu-Ray disc. Their primary task is to play DVD and focus on the reproduction of images well. For them, audio, particularly two channel audio, is secondary. Since all the electronics are there, they also play regular CDs.

Companies such as Pioneer do not pay much importance to the 2 channel audio in their DVD Player. Oppo on the other hand is supposed to have taken the help of a high end audio company to design the circuit for two channel and multi channel reproduction in their 980 model. They have the same circuit in their 983 model that I use regularly.

None of these DVD Players will come anywhere near a dedicated mid to high end CD player. At the same price point, a Dedicated CD will be much better in the delivery of sound from red book CDs.

I recently purchased a NAD 515 or a friend of mine, and it very easily thrashed the Pioneer 610 in the delivery of music. The NAD and Oppo were very close, but I would again say the NAD had a slight edge because of it's dedicated DAC and less complicated circuitry.

So your 542 will be better off than both the Oppo 980 and the Pioneer DVD Players.

I am not sure what you are looking for a Oppo 980 for. If it is for playing DVDs and for multi channel audio, it is a good product. But if you think it can compete with your NAD 542 for Redbook CD, think again.

Cheers

 

[marsilians]

Also to add to Venkat's note, the superior sound qualities will only come when you ahve a good set of speakers, connections, good quality CDs or DVDs, and ambient listening environment.

A good analogy is if you get the best tires, its does not necessarily make your car drive better.

 

[vishanv]

Vishnav:

Let us clear a few things first. Player such as Oppo and Pioneer are what are called universal players. In other words, most of them will play literally any disc you insert excepting a Blu-Ray disc. Their primary task is to play DVD and focus on the reproduction of images well. For them, audio, particularly two channel audio, is secondary. Since all the electronics are there, they also play regular CDs.

Companies such as Pioneer do not pay much importance to the 2 channel audio in their DVD Player. Oppo on the other hand is supposed to have taken the help of a high end audio company to design the circuit for two channel and multi channel reproduction in their 980 model. They have the same circuit in their 983 model that I use regularly.

None of these DVD Players will come anywhere near a dedicated mid to high end CD player. At the same price point, a Dedicated CD will be much better in the delivery of sound from red book CDs.

I recently purchased a NAD 515 or a friend of mine, and it very easily thrashed the Pioneer 610 in the delivery of music. The NAD and Oppo were very close, but I would again say the NAD had a slight edge because of it's dedicated DAC and less complicated circuitry.

So your 542 will be better off than both the Oppo 980 and the Pioneer DVD Players.

I am not sure what you are looking for a Oppo 980 for. If it is for playing DVDs and for multi channel audio, it is a good product. But if you think it can compete with your NAD 542 for Redbook CD, think again.

Cheers

Venkatcr,

I know abt universal players...reason for enquiring abt Oppo experience is for SACD. My current reciever does not have HDMI. Oppo sends out SACD output in its native DSD format via HDMI or analogue outputs. Since HDMI is not an option at this point, I wanted to know about their analogue performance. I wanted to know the opinions of existing users...as we always do in such forums.

Currently, in Dubai, I'm getting fantastic deals on NAD M55, Denon 3930 and some Marantz ranges going at heavy discounts. In normal times, these players are 10 times the cost of Oppo, but due to the clearance sale they are pretty much close. Hope you get the picture...

 

[vishanv]

Also to add to Venkat's note, the superior sound qualities will only come when you ahve a good set of speakers, connections, good quality CDs or DVDs, and ambient listening environment.

A good analogy is if you get the best tires, its does not necessarily make your car drive better.

marsilians,


absolutely, sorry if earlier post failed to give you some info.....speakers are B&W 603 S3 (LFE will be PSB subwoofer) connected by Straightwire 14 gauge cables. I use Van De Hul interconnects to connect the player and receiver. Power source is Marantz SR8500 (125w x 7 channels 8 ohms all channel driven; with current feedback circuit). Although not state of the art, it's decent souding system.

CDs - mostly A.R. Rahman (tamil) collections, westen classical (symphonic) - started moving to Linn & esoteric records for their stellar recording quality.

 

[venkatcr]

Currently, in Dubai, I'm getting fantastic deals on NAD M55, Denon 3930 and some Marantz ranges going at heavy discounts. In normal times, these players are 10 times the cost of Oppo, but due to the clearance sale they are pretty much close. Hope you get the picture...

There are both very good units and well worth the discounted price. Some points to be aware of:

NAD M55 supports only 5.1 audio out
NAD M55 supports only 1080i
Denon 3930 support only 5.1 audio out.

The Denon 3930 has HQV video processing by Silicon Optrix, that pushes it upto number one position for video processing amongst these competitors, leaving out the Oppo 983.

In terms of audio processing, I think these units will be close to each other with the NAD taking an edge because of it's legacy. Since you are already using a NAD, you may find the sound signature of the M55 to your liking.

Can you PM me the price of the NAD M55. IF it is attractive, I might ask my son to pick one up for me.

Cheers

 

[marsilians]

No apologies friend! Its a huge space you are traversing moving form ARR CDs to the Linn & Esoteric recordings.

Now heres my take after about 10 yrs toying between dedicated transports to universal players. Given the way the technology has evolved over the last few years, I personally think that the CDP's are at a great risk of being pushed to the periphery.

A bit of this happened when good quality universals came out such as the Oppo, Pioneer Elite & Denon (early generation) universal players. speaking to someone who has a business in the AV industry, I was surprised to see that their inventory was close to about 60% fo what it used to be even 5 yrs ago.

Now with BluRay & other HD media sources, this will be further hit.

It is a bit hard to digest this but one has to wake up to the times and embrace the changes in technology.

why this long post...my preference is to go for a universal player like the Oppo 980 or a Pioneer Elite 59 avi if you want music (sounds like) and still good video capabilities.

If you want to be old school and get slightly better audio performance, then go for a dedicated CDP. If you want to look for future proofing, PS3 (plays CDs, DVDs, SACD in addiiton to the newer HD formats) is the way to go.

To digress a bit -

Recently I came back from a few weeks on the the road and had a chance to listen to some very good quality players (Linn, Meridian, Mark Levinson, Theta ...) as well as BR players (Pio Elite 05FD, Sony S350 and PS3) for CD, concert DVDs & high res music. This was done over 2.5 days with lengthy sessions. I have to say it for good quality recordings, the PS3 delivers to about 95% of the Pio Elite for music and to about 85-90 of the Theta & Levinsons. (subjective results ofcourse)

Setup was :
Speakers : JM labs Micro Utopia, Rega R3, & PSB Synchrony 1 B.
Integrateds : Arcam FMJ A38, Simaudio Moon i3
Music : Lee Aaron, Ana Caram, Babatunde Olatunji, Dire Straits, Ray Charles, Clark Terry & Solomon Burke


This should give you an idea of how the new players are making out and hopefully help in your decision making.

marsilians,


absolutely, sorry if earlier post failed to give you some info.....speakers are B&W 603 S3 (LFE will be PSB subwoofer) connected by Straightwire 14 gauge cables. I use Van De Hul interconnects to connect the player and receiver. Power source is Marantz SR8500 (125w x 7 channels 8 ohms all channel driven; with current feedback circuit). Although not state of the art, it's decent souding system.

CDs - mostly A.R. Rahman (tamil) collections, westen classical (symphonic) - started moving to Linn & esoteric records for their stellar recording quality.

 

[hifiashok]

i seem to be in a similar boat.

i need to use analogue outs.

i use a dedicated CDP for redbook.

i use the Oppo 980H for SACD (audio only mode).

since my video setup is in a different room, i use the Oppo 981HD for DVD.

 

[vishanv]

No apologies friend! Its a huge space you are traversing moving form ARR CDs to the Linn & Esoteric recordings.

ARR recordings are great, haven't heard compression even at highest pitch in female vocals. can't recall other Tamil film musicians taking so much care. Symphonies....I ended up having 3 or 4 cds of the same symphony in different labels because of the recording quality. tried Linn & eso, liked their SACD/CD hybrids, then stuck to the labels.

Recently I came back from a few weeks on the the road and had a chance to listen to some very good quality players (Linn, Meridian, Mark Levinson, Theta ...) as well as BR players (Pio Elite 05FD, Sony S350 and PS3) for CD, concert DVDs & high res music. This was done over 2.5 days with lengthy sessions. I have to say it for good quality recordings, the PS3 delivers to about 95% of the Pio Elite for music and to about 85-90 of the Theta & Levinsons. (subjective results ofcourse)

Interestingly I had a different experience. When I auditioned for speakers (after months of searching, finally) I listened to a B&W 603S3, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP & Marantz 8002, song was "Love is all" from Yanni Live at Taj. Blown away by the resolution and quality of the output. Noise was non-existent, voice and instruments sounded clear and separate, strings were very accurately reproduced.

I was very much convinced its the speakers that made it possible, as I have read a lot of thread said the same results are achieved by sending digital signal to a good receiver. Ordered same speakers & marantz (1 gen older model, as they said its same but no HDMI), then took Denon 1400 (so-called) universal player at a offer price. Denon to marantz using VDH Optical cables; played the same CD, same song.....honestly, it was not the same result. the sound was clean and crisp, but the liveliness and presentation was not the same.
Then came the NAD; it is significantly better than the Denon + Marantz's Cirrus Crystal DACs combo, but still Rotel, to me, sounded a step above. Here, Rotel is priced 3 times that of NAD, so reserved it for future upgrade.

In short, I believe, there is a good advantage, at least in terms of audio quality, by going for better players. Just a hope, if Oppo achieved this performance at fraction of price.

John...sorry for pirating your thread.

coming back to topic, I think I got the answer for my questions. Pio may not be what I'm looking for. Oppo could be, but I need an HDMI enabled receiver. hmmm....upgrade receiver or invest in a expensive player...may be its a start of a new thread. will reserve it later.

thanks all for your advices.

 

[pnreddy]

I came across a site which said that Pioneer DV 610 will not play DVD movies when connected to the USB port even if the memory stick is formatted in FAT32. Can any of you who have the Pioneer 610 please confirm this.

Thanks

P.N.Reddy

 

[reju]

I came across a site which said that Pioneer DV 610 will not play DVD movies when connected to the USB port even if the memory stick is formatted in FAT32. Can any of you who have the Pioneer 610 please confirm this.

Thanks

P.N.Reddy

You mean from video_ts folder? I just tried. It doesn't play!
Simply says "Can't play this format"

 

[pnreddy]

Dear Reju,

Thanks for the prompt reply. I was about to buy the Pioneer 610. But if you cannot play DVD movies from the USB port it may not be such a good buy. Now I am thinking of buying a Philips DVP 3996 which I am sure can play the DVD movies thru the USB port.

P. N. Reddy

 

[marsilians]

You mean from video_ts folder? I just tried. It doesn't play!
Simply says "Can't play this format"

It looks like you are playing the wrong files possibly from not reading the manual. From page 32 this is what the manual notes

"This includes playback of DivX video/
WMV/MP3/WMA/MPEG-4 AAC/JPEG files
(except files with copy-protection or
restricted playback).
Compatible USB devices include portable
flash memory (particularly keydrives) and
digital audio players (MP3 players) of
format FAT16/32. It is not possible to
connect this unit to a personal computer for
USB playback"

 

[reju]

It looks like you are playing the wrong files possibly from not reading the manual. From page 32 this is what the manual notes

"This includes playback of DivX video/
WMV/MP3/WMA/MPEG-4 AAC/JPEG files
(except files with copy-protection or
restricted playback).
Compatible USB devices include portable
flash memory (particularly keydrives) and
digital audio players (MP3 players) of
format FAT16/32. It is not possible to
connect this unit to a personal computer for
USB playback"

Please don't assume anything. Firstly, I never wanted to play any video_ts (dvd) files. pnreddy wanted to know if it's possible to play these files as he had a specific requirement. I have told him it's not possible. The manual does not say this. I have read the manual even before I had purchased by player