Review and Measurements of Oppo UDP-205 UHD Player

[Ra1zel]

So much time has passed and seems like there is still no alternative on the market with matching performance, so sad. I've seen someone selling a never unboxed one for 10 000€ recently, how crazy is that?

 

[MacCali]

So much time has passed and seems like there is still no alternative on the market with matching performance, so sad. I've seen someone selling a never unboxed one for 10 000€ recently, how crazy is that?

Honestly man the Panasonic 820 is great. I bought both[820/9000] to test, and realistically the CD player in the Panasonic isn’t amazing to me. I will say though I have never owned a high end or any stand alone CD player. So my opinion is fairly biased

But I mean it definitely might be a great CD player or mediocre one at least.

Point being I can’t see the oppo being so much better. We have decent priced stand alone dacs which you can feed a digital signal to which may be your go to dac or daily driver. So when I connected the Panasonic to that[my dac] it did not beat my streamer.

Seems like video wise the Panasonic is definitely high end reproduction and the reavon player is already virtually indistinguishable when it comes to video playback vs the oppo. But the reavon lacks in analog output if you are objective.

Unless you have a huge selection of cds the oppo honestly makes no sense to me. This would also mean a lot of SACD’s/DVD audio. Since that’s the only thing Panasonic can’t do

I’m fairly certain you would be hard pressed to find any crucial 10%+ difference audibly between the 9000 vs 205 analog or digital, so why would you spend 2-3k more really.

And if you are really interested I still know a vendor with brand new AKM/review measurement 9000’s which I confirmed via model # a few months ago

 

[Adi777]

So much time has passed and seems like there is still no alternative on the market with matching performance, so sad. I've seen someone selling a never unboxed one for 10 000€ recently, how crazy is that?

€10,000??? This is too much. 3 or max 4 but that's a lot anyway, but 10,000? Crazy people. If I remember correctly, a new one cost 2500 Euro or something like that.

 

[Robocop]

The Oppo 205 is old technology now even though I own one and love it. I wouldn't pay anything now to own one. Digital technology just keeps advancing even though subscribers to ASR say you can't hear the difference but it measures beyond hearing!!!!

 

[Adi777]

The Oppo 205 is old technology now even though I own one and love it. I wouldn't pay anything now to own one. Digital technology just keeps advancing even though subscribers to ASR say you can't hear the difference but it measures beyond hearing!!!!

Maybe old, but what is better for cinema room, for movies and concerts?

 

[MacCali]

The Oppo 205 is old technology now even though I own one and love it. I wouldn't pay anything now to own one. Digital technology just keeps advancing even though subscribers to ASR say you can't hear the difference but it measures beyond hearing!!!!

That’s what I was pointing out, they did excellent though. Seems like if you bought it when it first came out you got easily 8 years of use with no problems tech wise.

Unless the unit fails. The reavon is 2021 and possibly video tech hasn’t jumped crazy but it’s very similar. Also the reavon with inflation considered is cheaper as well.

We are just such a niche market. Audiophile is niche and clearly objective audio is even more niche. That’s why denon just bs’d with the 3800 and clearly it’s not only denon.

 

[MacCali]

Maybe old, but what is better for cinema room, for movies and concerts?

I think again, at our level of experience and market situation, that it’s a bit over thought.

The units have digital output. We have cheap well implemented dacs, just hook it up to that.

I bought the 9000 with no intention of using analog outputs. It’s jitter performance was better so I wanted to see if there was any noticeable difference using the same dac. The 820 and 9000 sound the same, no blind test so take it for what it is.

Movies wise it was the same. The odd thing is I noticed the 9000 would ghost on my tested play back and the 820 didn’t. Dune was the movie.

Besides that video quality was exactly the same. Also my tv isn’t cheap, so if anything the player is the bottleneck. Also it made hdr content better with the Panasonic hdr enhancement without degradation, as shown/tested in reviews.

 

[Adi777]

I think again, at our level of experience and market situation, that it’s a bit over thought.

The units have digital output. We have cheap well implemented dacs, just hook it up to that.

I bought the 9000 with no intention of using analog outputs. It’s jitter performance was better so I wanted to see if there was any noticeable difference using the same dac. The 820 and 9000 sound the same, no blind test so take it for what it is.

Movies wise it was the same. The odd thing is I noticed the 9000 would ghost on my tested play back and the 820 didn’t. Dune was the movie.

Besides that video quality was exactly the same. Also my tv isn’t cheap, so if anything the player is the bottleneck. Also it made hdr content better with the Panasonic hdr enhancement without degradation, as shown/tested in reviews.

Do you know what the OPPO 203 or 205 have and what the Reavon 200 don't have? OPPO looks great because it has the ability to add subtitles from a flash drive.

 

[delta76]

not sure why anyone would pay 4000-5000$ for this, let alone $10.000. If you want the sound quality alone, audio HDMI out => extractor => a good DAC would beat this and cost ~500 or so

 

[Adi777]

not sure why anyone would pay 4000-5000$ for this, let alone $10.000. If you want the sound quality alone, audio HDMI out => extractor => a good DAC would beat this and cost ~500 or so

Okay, but what if we want good video player, not DAC? Like I wrote, subtitles from flash drive is great option.

 

[AdamG]

Okay, but what if we want good video player, not DAC? Like I wrote, subtitles from flash drive is great option.

It was a very Sad day when they announced that they were leaving the market. Still not a clear competitor for audio/videophiles. The options and configurations were major bonuses over and above the high quality Audio/Video processing. Still using my Oppo and love it.

 

[delta76]

Okay, but what if we want good video player, not DAC? Like I wrote, subtitles from flash drive is great option.

Throw ub820 in and you are still less than 1000$. And hdr optimizer would beat the subtitle flash drive any day. And if that is important to you, you might want to explore media player.

Sure some people might still buy an oppo 205 because they want it and they have the fund. But in all senses of p/p it makes no senses

 

[Ra1zel]

Unless you have a huge selection of cds the oppo honestly makes no sense to me. This would also mean a lot of SACD’s/DVD audio. Since that’s the only thing Panasonic can’t do

Indeed that's exactly why I feel there is no alternative, playing SACD is main feature for me and other players on the market are either ridiculously expensive high-end bs or poorly made with lackluster conversion performance

not sure why anyone would pay 4000-5000$ for this, let alone $10.000

1. Built like a tank, high quality components and transport mechanism
2. Plays everything even SACD
3. D/A performance is beyond the realms of human audibility, no need for external DAC
4. Flexible I/O

There is simply nothing that satisfies all of the above, always something missing in comparison.

 

[delta76]

Yes if you have to have it. It was sold for like $1000 back then so inflation adjusted it should be $2000. Your money your choice but paying more than4000$ for this without warranty (and spare parts might even very hard to find) is beyond me.

But well we have seen other things in audio industry so not so surprised

Just to be clear I understand this is an amazing Blu-ray player with no direct replacement after it is discontinued. Should it still be sold I would consider one on deep discount (yes I am cheap). But $10.000 is outrageous

 

[Ra1zel]

But $10.000 is outrageous

Of course, I would never spend this much on a disc player, that's exactly why I'm venting my frustration that there is currently nothing that matches Oppo 205 in all of it capabilities and features for a reasonable price. Why buy 4 devices when I could have all I need in 1 if only it was available.

 

[Descartes]

So much time has passed and seems like there is still no alternative on the market with matching performance, so sad. I've seen someone selling a never unboxed one for 10 000€ recently, how crazy is that?

Yes very unfortunate!

The Oppo 205 is old technology now even though I own one and love it. I wouldn't pay anything now to own one. Digital technology just keeps advancing even though subscribers to ASR say you can't hear the difference but it measures beyond hearing!!!!

I agree that technology changes very rapidly but if you look at Amir’s review and measurements for the DACs used in the OPPO and more importantly the implementation of these DACs it still is one of the best players out there, having said that I would never buy one on eBay at these absurd prices! Glad I bought mine from OPPO and it is still functioning very well.
In addition owning over 200 multichannel SACD it is very useful.

A cheap alternative for a a multichannel 4K Blu-ray player that also plays SACD is
Sony UBP-X800M2

Sony UBP-X800M2 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player Review - HomeTheaterHifi.com

Sony’s UBP-X800M2 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player packs tremendous functionality and performance into a slim and inexpensive package. For under...

hometheaterhifi.com

The only issue is it doesn’t switch Dolby Vision automatically?

Sony Premium Home Entertainment - 4K Blu-ray Players

sonypremiumhome.com

 

[Neddy]

?? Search shows most sell for $2-3K, with a few in the $5k range (one for $6k AUS) but none that have actually sold for $10k??
And, Apple to Apples. Even my 103 will split audio from HDMI, so I use it for hdmi audio surround decoding only (hdmi video goes straight to projector from appleTV). And with several HDMI Inputs, I can switch between TV tuner, Bluray disc, or Apple TV streamer (or even play audio files from PC/LAN).
I think the 205 supports more surround format decoding than my older 103, too.
So, i'd want to do a very deep dive into 'modern' BR players for a real comparison.

Is it worth the going rate? Depends on the size of your wallet vs your perceived need.
I could kick myself for not buying one when they first came out ($800 or so ?), even though I suspected it was End of Days for Oppo even then!
OTOH, the 103 has served me reliably and well, meets all my streaming video needs (for those movies that I can't playback/decode on the PC).
Atmos? Yah, there's that.

 

[Ra1zel]

?? Search shows most sell for $2-3K, with a few in the $5k range (one for $6k AUS) but none that have actually sold for $10k??

The one I saw sold for 10k was "new", as in never even unboxed.

I could kick myself for not buying one when they first came out ($800 or so ?), even though I suspected it was End of Days for Oppo even then!

I think it was 1200$ on launch

 

[DimitryZ]

The one I saw sold for 10k was "new", as in never even unboxed.


I think it was 1200$ on launch

I got one from the first batch!

I even use mine to stream from my phone.

 

[MacCali]

I just feel over all it's just a hype train. Not dismissing the quality of the unit or its potential, but seems like a lot of things about are extremely exaggerated vs todays day and age. If this unit was still dominating in every aspect sure, I could give it that. However, I personally feel there's nothing extremely special going on and digital has come a long way clearly.

My streamer, pi2aes, was about 275 total. Earlier versions when it first came out before the hype was 200. So when I mention a streamer I am not implying I own a 4000 dollar streamer. I own a volumio primo streamer as well, and I purchased this prior to knowing about the topping streamer and it's main utility to me was USB output to a dac from a streamer. I wish to use my own dac in my second system and there's no way for me to have my pi2aes reach that distance besides physically moving each and every time and generally I listen to both my systems on a daily basis.

Even though I do have a level of gripe with ESS dacs, which the volumio posses, even the internal dac on that unit is great and has definitely created improvement.

I am certain even the blue node is good enough to beat out a cd player as well, even though it's been shown measurements wise the pi2aes is better than probably anything near it's price range. Golden sound said it's better than a 4000 dollar streamer he has heard.

My somewhat false hope was that so many people have told me CD playback is the ultimate digital experience, and this wasn't from the ASR community. But I am certain some people here would definitely feel that way too if they never had a quality streamer. Man you can get away with just a basic pi streamer and get decent performance for 30 dollars.

So really what's left is just video and audio playback using hdmi and your AVR or processor gets the final say, so not really sure what this is all about. In addition, personally I only run audio to my AVR and video directly from the player to the TV. I am not trying to add another step of possible degradation