Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Oppo BDP-93

I have not noticed a huge improvement from my previous Sony (BDP-S550). I have the Oppo connected as a transport with HDMI 1 going direct to the Pioneer plasma and HDMI 2 going to the HD621. But I have made so many changes to my system recently that it is difficult to give a firm opinion.

The Oppo does have the advantage of playing SACDs and DVD-As, which the Sony did not.

Have you seen the Upgrades Nu force are doing to the BDP-93?

Have a look at

http://www.nuforce.com/hi/products/source/oppo_bdp9395ne/index.php

There is a distributor in the UK. Looks a great alternative to the missing Meridian Blu-Ray (sorry to bring that up again)

I guess it really depends on the requirement for analogue. It appears the NuForce and Oppo 95 (below) focus on upgrading the analogue stage and retain stock Oppo digital processing/digital output. Not sure what advantage either model provides in a "digital" M world setup.

It was interesting to read Kal's feedback on the Ayre DX5 "Oppo" a/v HDMI output compared to a stock Oppo product.

http://www.laaudiofile.com/oppo_bdp95.html

Avii

Dave,
What other kit do you have ?
Why do you think the Nu-Force changes to the BDP-93 / BDP-95 will improve them ?

What I find interesting is the Nu-Force starts off talking about jitter on HDMI but then seems to concentrate on analog improvements.

So the questions still remain for me:

Do any of the Improvements "improve" the HDMI pcm audio out signal? And is that improvement audible with a HD621?

Chris

Good point re HDMI.

And the answer to your question is, at face value, it seems to be no.

My interpretation is NuForce are suggesting to avoid the cost of getting the best from HDMI at the sink use analogue output from the player and benefit from their analogue mods -

"Extracting high-quality audio from Blu-ray players is problematic. The HDMI signal interleaves video and audio data which, upon decoding, produces an inherent jitter as high as 7nanoseconds (For comparison, a good CD player's jitter is in the picosecond range). In practical terms, it is difficult to properly decode HDMI audio without employing extensive reclocking circuits, thus pushing up the cost of a good HDMI audio pre-processor.

The simplest way to improve analog audio performance is at the source."

I think the reference to "jitter" relates to their DAC implementation and not HDMI or SPDIF output per se.

" * A sophisticated clocking scheme to suppress the audio data jitters � inherent in all video-based players � for all eight channels. An ultra stable VCXO generates audio clock that is completely asynchronous from the transport's clock. The result is a theoretical jitter of < 3ps (RMS) on both PCM and DSD streams."

Avi

I suppose I was looking at this from a more analogue angle, as I dont have a digital Meridian system. I use my G91A for all my surround sound needs out to my G56's, then driving my passive Spendors.

I was looking at a new Blu-Ray player as the PS3 isnt quite the best possible. As always there is a compromise on quality over functionality, plus I have reservations about using optical connections over electrical for high quality audio. Hope thats not too controversial.

Optical should be better, no electrical interferance problems or cable matching problems.
Enjoy, Chris

I have to say that when I have heard 'modded' spinners (including a BDP-83 in my own system) I have NEVER been able to reliably disinguish 'improvements' in the digital domain. Not saying there aren't improvements (although I am skeptical), or that other may not hear differences, just that I cannot. Consequently I have bought the stock 93 and plan to simply enjoy it.

I meant both, though I think the real improvement over the BDP-83 comes from PAL DVDs. Most BDPs are much of a muchness with 1080p24, and its the video processing that separates them. The 93 seems to me to have better de-interlacing than the 83; there are fewer artifacts or edge enhancement, and despite looking a bit sharper and less noisy, the 93 seems to have a less "processed" look. The colours and contrast do look a bit hot compared to the 83 on default picture settings so it needs to be backed-off a bit to compare like-with-like.

Nick

I wouldn't have thought so - the jitter reduction measures appear to be on the analogue audio board - the HDMI outputs are on the video board, which is carried over from the 93.

I was hoping that the 95 would use a linear power supply for everything, but from the LAAudioFile piece, it sounds like its only for the analogue board, which is a shame. I think the noise generated by a switching supply can corrupt digital audio and increase jitter, but it looks like there won't be any improvement there, which is slightly disappointing.

Nick