Review and Measurements of Oppo UDP-205 UHD Player

[Wes]

Supposedly. Oppo says don't leave the player on. Every year I get a different excuse from them.

 

[tmtomh]

Supposedly. Oppo says don't leave the player on. Every year I get a different excuse from them.

If you're so unhappy you can sell your 205 for probably a good deal more than you paid for it, get another machine, and have money left over to buy more music!

 

[linger63]

Can’t help with the lip sync issue, but the digital volume control is nothing to be concerned about - done internally in the DAC at 32- or 64-bit precision if memory serves.

https://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/the-sabre-dac-digital-volume-control-better-than-analog/

 

[AudioExplorer]

Regarding the lip sync issue, the 205 manual says:
“A/V Sync: Allows you to add a slight delay to the audio so it is synchronized to the video. You may use the LEFT/RIGHT ARROW buttons on the remote to decrease/increase the audio delay. The delay can be adjusted in 10ms steps and within the range of -100ms to +200ms. The delayed time will be applied to all output terminals including HDMI, Coaxial, Optical, Stereo (or 7.1) outputs.”

This sounds like it is applied to the analog outputs as well? In any case I leave the A/V sync setting at 0 since there don’t seem to be any sync issues that bother us for most programming. Some YouTube material may be out of sync but it varies depend on the particular clip sometimes so I don’t bother adjusting for this.

 

[Wes]

If you're so unhappy you can sell your 205 for probably a good deal more than you paid for it, get another machine, and have money left over to buy more music!

That is under consideration. I am not pleased with something that makes music listening a hassle.

 

[amadeuswus]

I am not sure about the 203, but I recently bit the bullet and secured a UDP-205. I have a 5-channel system that was previously anchored by a Oppo BDP-105 going straight to amplifiers and with no height speakers for Atmos. I have been experimenting with 2-channel DACs and was considering a good receiver/pre-pro to be able to handle 4K video in addition to audio for the 5-channel system. But, it kept bugging me that the 5-channel options were so poor relative to the 2-channel options from an audio perspective. The UDP-205 is an amazing player that just checked all the boxes for my needs. It seems significantly better to me than the BDP-105 (subjective impressions) all around. It is excellent as a 2-channel DAC, a multi-channel DAC, as a home theater receiver with its HDMI input (no Atmos), a renderer for music served over Ethernet. Kills many birds with one stone. And all this just for audio. It is quite excellent on the video front as well. There simply isn't anything like it for a multi-channel system that also is used for music.

This makes me wish I had ordered the BDP-205 while they were still reasonably priced... I use a BDP-105 as the hub of my multichannel office system. Not as many birds killed with one stone as with your usage, but it still works well!

 

[Descartes]

Yep who knows maybe an other manufacturer will take up where OPPO left-off if only Panasonic could play SACD DSD I would buy one in an instant! Their video processor HCX Pro is probably the best in the industry!

https://www.panasonic.com/au/consum...eatures/hcx-pro-intelligent-tv-processor.html

 

[Robocop]

There is lip sync function, but according to the review it only affects the HDMI output.
There's also a bit of a letdown in regards of volume control, the Oppo has it, no problem, but it is a digital control.
The digital control is meant to be output at 100%, anything below that value, you will compress the signal, leaving less S/N ratios and dynamics.

I have a 205 from new when released.
Lip sync(random) only affects HDMI input depending on source. It came about after the 2nd or 3rd software update. Oppo was unable to resolve it. The only solution I found was to go into Oppo menu select Audio Output Setup select HDMI Audio format and change it from its current setting to another. Generally mine is either Auto or PCM. Doing this resolves it till the next.

The digital volume control works fine. Keeping it above 70% for best quality sound. I run the volume from my PC Audio program and the Oppo at 100% for serious listening. Analogue volume controls are problematic even the most expensive, best avoided like pre-amps.

There is an excellent explanation of the Oppo 205 digital volume (also connecting to power amps directly) here by Bob Pariseau on AV Forums: https://www.avsforum.com/threads/of...er-owners-thread.2821841/page-8#post-52532505

 

[Robocop]

Panasonic and Pioneer have released 4k blueray players with specs similar to Oppo. I have not heard them but going on past experience soundwise possibly not as good as Oppo, picture no doubt better as technology keeps evolving. My 2cents.

 

[DimitryZ]

Panasonic and Pioneer have released 4k blueray players with specs similar to Oppo. I have not heard them but going on past experience soundwise possibly not as good as Oppo, picture no doubt better as technology keeps evolving. My 2cents.

I only use my 205 for music and occasionally concert DVDs on a small dedicated screen.

Too bad they left this business. Excellent design/engineering team.

 

[MacCali]

@amirm you should Reavon for there unit. I am very interested in purchasing that sucker.. getting crazy hype.

 

[rhollan]

Well, as part of a general theater/music upgrade, I splurged and got myself an almost mint OPPO 205. $3250 Sigh: supply and demand, though I do think it warrants that price. Looking next at Audiocontrol Maestro X9 and Purify amps. I moved so my inwall BG Radia surrounds will be replaced by Goldenear, probably AON3, with Triton 1.Rs and a Supercenter XL or XXL. The Radia 520s served me well over 20 years but were never serious full-range speakers. I augmented with dual subs but that is adequate for movies, not so much music: the Tritons blend the subs with the mids much better than I could, minidsp magic notwithstanding.

 

[Mp0wer]

I wonder how the OPPO 205 compares to the Topping D90SE

 

[DimitryZ]

Well, as part of a general theater/music upgrade, I splurged and got myself an almost mint OPPO 205. $3250 Sigh: supply and demand, though I do think it warrants that price. Looking next at Audiocontrol Maestro X9 and Purify amps. I moved so my inwall BG Radia surrounds will be replaced by Goldenear, probably AON3, with Triton 1.Rs and a Supercenter XL or XXL. The Radia 520s served me well over 20 years but were never serious full-range speakers. I augmented with dual subs but that is adequate for movies, not so much music: the Tritons blend the subs with the mids much better than I could, minidsp magic notwithstanding.

Congratulations!

Make sure to upgrade the player and DAC firmware to the latest releases. DAC required a MacBook connection, if memory serves.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

DAC required a MacBook connection, if memory serves.

I doubt that. (I don't use Mac but I do use Oppos.)

 

[DimitryZ]

I doubt that. (I don't use Mac but I do use Oppos.)

I meant a computer, of course . It couldn't be done via the player's own firmware update over the web. But it did work just fine with an external laptop.

 

[linger63]

I wonder how the OPPO 205 compares to the Topping D90SE

I have an Oppo 205 and........FWIW.........had a Topping D90 MQA
I preferred the D90 for DAC duties but still love my Oppo for it's dizzying range of other abilities.
Have since moved to Gustard X26Pro.

 

[tmtomh]

I doubt that. (I don't use Mac but I do use Oppos.)

You are correct. If connected to one's home network, the Oppo units can update their own firmware directly over the internet. I have done it multiple times with both a BDP-105 and a UDP-205.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I meant a computer, of course . It couldn't be done via the player's own firmware update over the web. But it did work just fine with an external laptop.

OK. I have never had a problem with downloading/installing the player's own firmware upgrades over the web but, assuming that the "DAC firmware" is a reference to the driver's for to communicate with the USB Dac input, it is only logical for that to be downloaded with a PC/Mac since that runs on the PC/Mac.

 

[DimitryZ]

OK. I have never had a problem with downloading/installing the player's own firmware upgrades over the web but, assuming that the "DAC firmware" is a reference to the driver's for to communicate with the USB Dac input, it is only logical for that to be downloaded with a PC/Mac since that runs on the PC/Mac.

This is a separate firmware, for the DAC inside or the FPGA or similar that processes incoming USB data.

It was needed to enable MQA functionality, so perhaps not essential for some.

But now I am thinking maybe there was another reason I was doing it with a computer?