Cary DVD 8? Yes/No

I was intrigued by the DVD 8 until I saw a picture of one on ebay - I immediately noticed the Oppo remote. It appears to be a tweaked Oppo 970. The Oppo sells for $149 and you can get it modded if you want the improved power supply, etc. I have all Cary gear, so I wanted one , but this changed my mind. I got the Oppo. The Oppo has a amber display instead of the blue display on the Cary, but I use a universal remote with RF so the unit is hidden behind a door.

Mark

So is the Cary a modified Oppo970 or another model.
I saw a photo of the inside of the Cary and it looks like it has a switch mode PS. And a better case. Is the Oppo the same on the inside?

Inside:
http://www.caryaudio.com/products/cinema/photo/DVD8.html

I keep hearing about Oppo DVD players. Are they that good on cd playback?

The dvd 8 definately has an improved power supply and detachable IEC power cord and probably other tweaks as well. When I look at the front of the dvd 8, it looks like a oppo 970 - notice the placement of the power button and the three buttons to the right of the cd tray. The Cary also did away with the sd card reader too. I am honestly only using the oppo for a dvd player. I have a separate cd player. I may give it a try as well. I am unaware of what additional tweaks the Cary has. I'll look on www.oppodigital.com though to see if they have a picture of the 970 internally.

Mark

There were no internal pictures of the oppo 970 at oppodigital.com. What really gives the unit away as being an oppo is the remote. It is unlike any cary remote. It is exactly like my oppo 970 remote and my friend's oppo remote (971)

Mark

Inside of Cary DVD-8 from their site:
http://www.caryaudio.com/products/cinema/photo/DVD8.html

Inside of Oppo 970HD from a review:
http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/OppoDV-970HDDVDp2.php

It looks to me that the only differences are:
Cary has better case work.
Cary removed the card reader.
Cary shielded the PS, but who knows if its different under the sheilding. It is the same size so they couldn't have done much if anything.

Msf,

I would be real curious to hear your comments on the 970's sound playing CDs.

I'd be especially interested on how it compares to your cdp.

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/images/Oppo-DV-970HD-board.jpg

E-mail sent.

Mark

This is in response to an email I recieved.

I have had Cary products in the past and am truely disapointed this time. It is similar to what Rotel did on their first dvd player. They put a cheap JVC player in their own case and marked it up. But this is high-end Cary.

The Cary case looks great but I see few difference. If they only had modded it, like some are doing, I'd be really interested. I'm sorry, but I will be suspicious of their further products. Especially their HT and digital amps.

Inside of Cary (close-up)
http://www.caryaudio.com/graphics/products/cinema/DVD8/DVD8_inside_800.jpg

Inside of Oppo (close-up)
http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/images/Oppo-DV-970HD-board.jpg

The only differences I see are IEC socket, PS shielding, heavy casework, and removeal of card reader.

Mike

Wow - it's hard to argue with those images.

I wonder how long it will be before Cary discover they are doing themselves a disservice by keeping the picture of the DVD8 innards up on their site and take them down.

This is certainly very disappointing and really makes you wonder. At least I am pretty certain that my Cary stuff is actually made by Cary.