Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Restaurant at the End of Universe Hitchhikers - Meridian Equipment Oppo BDP-83 Universal Player with 4x SPDIF Powerbuy!

Simon, you are correct, the difference is very very small, only obsessed videophiles with large projection systems will likely see the benefit and we are only talking a 2 or 3% PQ increase if that, but 1% gets me excited as does it for others, more importantly HD-SDI goes around HDMI BS like HDCP insertion(so you can use analog out from a scaler), it also bypasses colorspace conversions internally and other things along those lines, lastly I personally use HD-SDI for video and HDMI for audio only

my opinion on the adapters is the same, the benefits are with a scaler and its HD-SDI inputs that pipe the digital untouched signal directly to the processing inside the unit

thanks

Curious update to my SACD issues with the Oppo BDP-83. The 'soft pops' that I hear with SACD only seem to occur on multi-channel discs, not on 2-channel discs. Further, the problems go away if I unplug the HDMI cable from the back of the unit. Go figure!

Oppo clearly need to try to fix this but for now keeping the HDMI cable unplugged when playing SACD is an acceptable work-around.

thanks for the report Simon

Thank you all for your comments on the HD-SDI option. Since I have a great scaler that does not have the SDI input option, I will not ask Gary to add this feature to my powerbuy order at this time.

On another issue: I saw the earlier discussion of the requirement NOT to use balanced power for the Oppo BRD-83 (modded or not). I just went through the ordeal (and significant cost) of connecting all my AV equipment to a single balanced power source (Equitech 7.5RQ). If the modded Oppo I ordered from Gary cannot be plugged into this circuit, it will with high probability have a ground loop and disturbing hum. So I am asking Gary, if he can provide a grounding post on the Oppo he is modifying for me, so I can ground it to the Equitech power station. Maybe an additional grounding post is a feature others, who have balanced power for their setup, will also need and Gary could add this to his basket of modding choices. Hope that does not add a lot of cost for the units. Gary, I would appreciate you commenting whether my unit will have such a grounding post.

Roger

Simon

This was a great heads up review.

I am very interested in the Oppo as a transport for CD playback, you have given it a rave review. Can you refine your review of the CD playback, I was concidering a G08, possibly Meridian graded stock, but would sooner get an Oppo which is cheaper and does many other formats of Optical Disks (More icing on the cake).

Have you compared to a lesser player than the 800, and If it was close to the 800 will it at least be as good as a G08 in real world listening.

Anyone else please jump in with your tests or thoughts on this.

Kind regards Simon

My CD listening through the Oppo was quite limited. On some level I don't want it to be the equal of my 800 for obvious reasons. Having said that, I plan to do a bit more comparisons of CD this weekend amongst the player I currently have on hand: the Oppo, 800 and a Denon 3910.

I used to own a G08 (and a G98) and frankly did not notice a significant jump when I went to the 800. Not that the 800 isn't a nice machine, but in hindsight I think I'd stick with the G98. So, if the Oppo is almost equal to the 800 with CD playback, my sense is it will be indistinguishable from the G08 as a transport.

But I'll play around a bit more and report on my findings.

I don't understand why the Oppo cannot use balanced power. I went through the Oppo manual and I also searched the big AVS thread and there was no such caveats. If the original Oppo can accept balanced power I'd think the modded one could too. From my experience I have not found any a/v components that cannot use balanced power, although there are probably some out there. Power conditioners are another matter and one must check with the manufacturer.

Since my system is all balanced power it would be disappointing if the Oppo could not use it and would mean I could not order one.

I think it's the isolation transformer in the Digital Transport Edition of the modded Oppos that can't use balanced power. So just don't get a DTE.

It was stated: "On another issue: I saw the earlier discussion of the requirement NOT to use balanced power for the Oppo BRD-83 (modded or not)."

Replacing the original transformer with a toroidal "isolation" transformer should not change the circuit; however, adding a ground pin to a previously non-earth grounded system could change things, possibly for the worse, depending what the new ground pin is connected to, but I would still like to understand what is going on. Some manufacturers prefer to avoid connecting to earth ground, which can add noise and/or hum to a system.

Gary, the restriction of the modded Oppo to unbalanced power is a serious problem for some of us. What solution can you offer?

ground connection is needed with the power supply mods, otherwise there is nothing to drain the noise to that is removed from the power line

Gary, the restriction of the modded Oppo to unbalanced power is a serious problem for some of us. What solution can you offer? [/quote]

any balanced power unit will have outlets that are for gear that cannot use balanced power, there are many examples of that, simply connect the modified Oppo to that power section

you can connect the modified Oppo units to any power system setup like a conditioner, UPS etc., just make sure and use a regular 120v/0v outlet on it instead of 60v/60v balanced outlets(this example is for 120v obviously)