Originally Posted by Paul_SD (Post 13307190)

Thanks!

I got the 205 up and running after a little shaky start. Had to restore the factory defaults after I goofed up the settings the first time, but everything seems to be properly set now.

I was damn near giddy, when demoing familiar scenes last night just before I packed it in, to be able to discern definitive improvements via the better DACs in the 205 over what were already very good ones in the 103. Everything that already sounded amazing before has been kicked up another notch or three.

I was leaning to selling it after finally satisfying my curiosity as to what the fuss was all about. Now I'm going to be more than happy to keep it.

Haven't vetted the 203 through yet, but if it's anything like the 103 (and it should be even better), I expect it's a premium ride in it's own right.
I know that when people are used to paying $100-$200 for a player that $550 is a tough pill to swallow, but I sincerely feel the value there is going to be readily apparent in the long run.

But then again, I'm looking at these as sources for 1200+ pieces of legacy media. If I was primarily interested in the 4K capability, and didn't have to replace anything now, I'd probably be fine waiting to see what Panasonic or Cambridge (if you want a shot at something that might approach the 205), come up with.

The feeding frenzy is going to die down now with a backlash due to the speculators and with more stock on both units coming in the summer (Oppo just confirmed another run for the 205s). That means the finite stock won't be depleted for a little while yet. I won't be surprised to see units still available going into November.

Originally Posted by Sonic (Post 13307293)

Correct me if I'm wrong but the 205 is for audiophiles correct? I mean even if I have a great surround quality system and not much of a music listener the 205 seems overkill if I'm more into movies.

Is that why you was thinking of selling it because you not much of a audio music listener?

I'm still contemplating a 203. :D

Originally Posted by milo bloom (Post 13302161)

So I’ve been thinking about a 4k player for the living room but I don’t need top of the line model. Should I consider an Oppo at this point?

Originally Posted by morriscroy (Post 13302219)

I would be quite surprised if this ever happened. It would make it very easy to crack the aacs encryption system, if the firmware can be easily modified.

Originally Posted by melasnus (Post 13303789)

Obviously you've never had one.
Oppos are bullet-proof and have always had the highest technology available.
Ask ANY Oppo owner if they regretted their purchase...;)

Originally Posted by Why So Blu? (Post 13307967)

I like OPPO from a purely aesthetic point of view but will not pay a premium for it. Chip be damned. if my Sony region free player conks out then I pay another $99 for a replacement. That's about as far as I will go.

Originally Posted by melasnus (Post 13307973)

You have a $99 Sony 4K player?

Originally Posted by zyzzle (Post 13308025)

Fry's has had them for as low as $89....

Originally Posted by Why So Blu? (Post 13307967)

I like OPPO from a purely aesthetic point of view but will not pay a premium for it. Chip be damned. if my Sony region free player conks out then I pay another $99 for a replacement. That's about as far as I will go.

Originally Posted by Brian Shannon (Post 13308332)

Those are upconverting to near 4K, they are NOT 4K players

Originally Posted by jjcool (Post 13304083)

I havent, mostly because I dont spend money unnecessarily.

Originally Posted by Brian Shannon (Post 13308332)

Those are upconverting to near 4K, they are NOT 4K players

https://www.frys.com/product/8760251...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Would not waste my money

Originally Posted by Sonic (Post 13307293)

Correct me if I'm wrong but the 205 is for audiophiles correct? I mean even if I have a great surround quality system and not much of a music listener the 205 seems overkill if I'm more into movies.

Is that why you was thinking of selling it because you not much of a audio music listener?

I'm still contemplating a 203. :D

Originally Posted by zyzzle (Post 13309076)

No, those $89 players claimed to be true, native UHD 4k players.

Originally Posted by Pizza (Post 13308965)

Have you ever bought DVDs and Blu-rays? Any blind buys?

Originally Posted by Brian Shannon (Post 13309218)

Sorry, I do not believe that and would not touch that.

Buggy firmware, no updates, HDR 10 or Dolby vision? Were they closeouts of poor performing models? Even if true it would not be worth the risk for me to try and play a real 4K disc on a questionable player.

Originally Posted by Alan Smithee (Post 13309153)

Subtitle shifting is another thing I love about these players- on discs that have forced subtitles, including 'bugs' (as some Passport Video and Platinum Disc titles did) or "Promotional Use Only" text, you can move most of them completely off the screen.

Originally Posted by melasnus (Post 13307394)

The 205 improves the audio of ALL disk sources (that includes movies).
Only high-end surround processors can compete.

What audio equipment do you have?

Originally Posted by Paul_SD (Post 13309149)

If your main concern/priority is 4K UHD and you don't need a player right now, you might as well wait.

While I'm fully confident that Oppo will continue to provide fw at least midway into 2020, the only real driving reason to get one, IMO, is to get the most out of the legacy formats.

If you've dumped all your DVDs and gave up buying Bds and only collect or watch 4K now, the premium price for the Oppos doesn't make a whole lot of sense.




Yeah, the 205 was marketed to audiophiles primarily because of the analog outs which take advantage of the on board DACs (there are two- on for the dedicated stereo out and headphone amp, the other for the 7.1 channels out).

The DACs inside are the SABRE ES9038PRO. Up till the release of the Oppo, the only place this DAC had been used had been the Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty D/A processor which is a $9000 digital hub.

Like you, I'm more into movies too. In the HT where the Oppos are hooked up, I listen to almost no music - with one big exception. All of my favorite movies, along with hundreds more I just like, usually have a musical score that contributes greatly to the film's effectiveness.

I started upgrading the audio portion of my HT a few years back with the front speakers in 2016, and then last year I replaced the surrounds.
Over the next couple years I was going to upgrade my 2002 era AVR, and then in the following year get whatever was the current audiophile version of the Oppo.
Or vice versa.

The reason I was thinking about selling it was because 12 hours before I ordered it, I had ordered a 203. As much as I wanted the 205, I wasn't comfortable with dropping that much money just yet, so I kept vacillating while over the course of a couple days the price just kept going up.
Someone advised me to simply get the 203 and put the money saved towards a new AVR, which I had to admit made a lot of sense.

But I couldn't help myself. When it looked like everyone was sold out, and the dealer I was doing business with still had a "live" order page for it, I threw caution to the wind and ordered it, fully expecting the odds of the order actually going through would be next to nil.

But once I got a tracking number, I suddenly had buyer's remorse. The more I thought about it, the wiser that earlier advice seemed. It looked like I was fixing to make a costly mistake. The audio performance, which I'd built up in my mind over the last couple years, was almost sure to end up being a big let down. Once again I was going to fall for a whole lot of marketing sizzle that wouldn't translate into much of any discernible difference in practical use.

So now I was on the hook for two players, and it just made sense to sell off the one that was more expensive and in higher demand/shorter supply.

Fortunately the audio performance turned out to be, for me, everything it was cracked up to be. Like any good DAC, the end result is more air between sounds which translates into a more expansive soundstage (in every dimension); more precise, pinpoint imaging; a more pronounced and nuanced dynamic range which gives the low end a lot more authority (especially beneficial for me as I don't run a sub) and on and on.
It helps that I now have a calibre of speaker that can take full advantage of these higher quality sources. I really stretched my budget for those, and now I finally feel like I've fully justified that decision.

As long as my geriatric AVR can keep limping along, I'm going to be enjoying what this player brings to the game quite a bit.

For anyone with a more modern AVR, especially one that offers room correction, the 203 would more than fine.
It shares the same Mediatek chip for processing/scaling non 4K sources as the 205, and offers the same full feature set for video settings- along with a bunch of other little tweaks that come in handy
As someone who has more than a few foreign films in their collection, and who has a constant height set up, the ability to shift subtitles is almost a deal-sealing perks in itself.

Yeah. I'm a fanboy.