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!

I do not understand this statement. How do you drain noise to the earth ground? Won't it depend on the impedance of the earth ground? Isn't the earth ground already noisy from all the other components on it? How do you keep their noise out? Don't people use cheater plugs to avoid connecting to earth ground because of noise and hum problems?

Doesn't this also mean that all people with two-prong outlets should not use your modded Oppo?

Also some of us are using balanced transformers at the head of our systems with dedicated lines. Unbalanced power is only available using the dirty circuits, the last thing I want to connect to. Also only the newest PS Audio Power Plants are unbalanced. All previous units are balanced.

You certainly should provide a much clearer warning that balanced power and apparently two-prong outlets are not acceptable for your modded Oppos.

Gary,
All my equipment is connected to a single balanced power supply that does not have unbalanced outlets (which would not make a lot of sense since the balanced circuit has its own ground that is different from any other unbalanced ground). Using a single source of balanced power solved all my previous ground loop/hum problems.
So the only way I can use the modded Oppo is to ground it to the balanced power supply and plug it into an unbalanced separate circuit. That is why I ask whether you can provide a grounding post on the Oppo for customers who need this solution. If that is not possible I have to switch to a stock Oppo BDP-83 with the 4xSPDIF addition.
I agree with GGA that a clear warning re the incompatibility of the modded Oppos with balanced power is warranted.

I spent quite a bit of time comparing CD performance on the Oppo with my 800 and Denon players. I remain of the opinion that the 800 is the superior player - and it should be, given the price - but the Oppo performed really very well. Certainly the equal of the Denon player, and really close to the 800. My only quibble, really, is that on occassion the Oppo seems to impart a slightly harsh edge to CD. I need to live with these players for a bit to see if that remains true, but for now I will stick to the 800 for CD.

The Oppo remains a superb Bluray player and, depite a glitch in SACD playback as noted in this trhead, my new reference for that format as well.

Apologies for the stupid question, but were these observations on the CD performance about the modded BDP-83's own analog outputs, or using it as a 4xS/PDIF transport?

Best,
KJ

Simon, thanks for the update.
The slightly harsh edge you speak of, is this something that can take the enjoyment out of listening or just noted in the comparison between the players. I.E. if you only had the Oppo and nothing to compare would you be happy with CD reproduction.


Regards Simon

Not a stupid question at all. Most of my comparisons were are the three units as digital transports - 3xSPDIF in all three cases. Since I will never use the analog outs of the Oppo (or the other player for that matter) I did not bother to continue to test them beyond just determining that the Oppo is good enough on the analog outs.

Certainly I would be happy with the Oppo as a CD player. Incidentally, I thought I heard occassional harshness from the Oppo when playing SACD as well, and this was as compared to my Denon (since the 800 obviously does not play SACD).

I need to do some more side-by-side comparisons before I am completely comfortable with what I think I am hearing. No question the Oppo is a keeper for Bluray and DVD - just not yet completely convinced on CD or SACD.

I still haven't made it around to trying DVD-Audio, although I did attempt to listen to one of my HDAD discs that are recorded in either 24/96 or 24/192. I note that the 24/96 tracks played flawlessly and sounded very nice, the 24/192 tracks did not play (which makes sense as the 861 doesn't take in 192, right?).

Simon, I use my Meridian G98 transport primarily for DVDA and 7.1 multichannel playback (concerts, movies etc.) I was wondering if you can comment on the Oppo BDP83 vs. Meridian 800 comparison specifically for DVDA and 7.1 music.

Also, the Oppo can play back the new Bluray 24 bit lossless audio formats like TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Do these sound any better on your system than the traditional DVD 16 bit compressed audio formats?

Thanks very much for your review. Much appreciated!

A fellow Connecticun!

Sound quality via Bluray lossless formats through my modified Oppo BDP-83 are much better than the same titles via DVD from my Oppo 980. Easily heard!

I still have to try DVD-A on the BDP-83, but I'll do that shortly and report back on comparisons to 800. Not sure what you mean by 7.1 music as all Meridian players can output 5.1 max.

On the off-chance that we're thinking alike: did gautam27 mean the TrueHD/DTS Master HD track vs the Dolby Digital/DTS track on the same Blu-Ray disc? This would rule out mastering differences over time.

Simon, glad you're part of the great state of CT - "The Constitution State".

You're right, Meridian players output 5.1 and I have a 7.1 setup-so I guess the G68 must "create" the side channel sound with the algorithms in their presets.

On the Bluray TrueHD / DTS-HD MA formats, I wonder if the Oppo allows you to switch audio codecs for playback on the same disc - from lossless to tradition DTS "lossy" so you can do an accurate A/B comparison.

Look forward to your DVDA review and following your comments on this board.

Cheers,
Gautam

Good question, I would also be interested in knowing this i.e. how much better are these new formats on the Oppo relative to normal DD and DTS?