I am considering buying an oppo. Would I be better served to buy the the 83se because of the upgraded dac or buy the basic 83 and look for a used dac on audiogon?
Agree with Kal. I had the Oppo BDP83 and then bought the SE version. The SE version is more resolving, smoother/less etched, goes deeper and is more controlled in the LFs. Overall, just better sonics. If you plan on using HDMI into a pre/pro for your music though than go with the basic Oppo BDP83 as obviously you would be bypassing the ESS DAC and beefed up analog output stage of the SE in that configuration. It does not sound like you are considering that anyway. Good luck.
I went with the SE as my Arcam AV-8 doesn't have HDMI. I use the analog outs of the SE to my AV-8 for Bluray, It has excellent sound and I use the HDMI out of the SE to my TV. Superb picture and sound,quite a big step up compared to my 139 Arcam,which is a excellent DVD player.
I had the 83 and upgraded to the 83 SE. I do use the analog outs for all audio output and the SE sounds better in every aspect. But the 83 is also a very high quality unit.
Elizabeth, in your case definitly save the $$$ and get the 83. Like I said it is avery high quality unit. As for the Audio Advisor selling the units, if the price is the same I would buy direct from Oppo. If you have any warranty issues which I did when I got my 83 SE they ask you if you bought from them or a third party, I am not sure what the difference would be but it may be that you would have to deal with Audio Advisor who would then deal with Oppo, I do not know that for a fact you would have to contact Oppo and ask them. I will say that Oppos' customer service is top notch my 83 SE had a problem when I received it, I contacted Oppo and discussed the problem directly with one of their engineers and his suggestions did not correct the problem and a new unit was sent out immediately with return shipping charges covered by Oppo.
I too have gotten great customer service from Oppo. They are a "classy" company, with good and fairly priced products. For that reason, I like to support them when I can. Buying directly from them clearly does that, i.e., they get all the profit instead of sharing it with Advisor or someone else.
It is my understanding that any OPPO purchase is shipped BY OPPO. I don't know of any 'stocking' dealers. Is this correct?
So, while you send someone else the money, the return address on the box is always the same.... I think that is called 'drop ship'. An unfortunate name when dealing with electronics.
Of interest is a recent post on www.audiocircle.com under the HiRez Music Circle titled "take SACD and Bluray Hirez directly to your DAC". Its a review of a $219 de-embedder box with an HDMI input that then splits the signal, sending the audio via an optical output to your DAC and the video signal via HDMI to your processor or TV. According to the reviewer, from an Oppo 83, the sound was better than from the RCA outputs. Being registered with audicircle, I took a look at the reviewer's posted pictures of his system. It is impressive and obviously the system of an experienced audiophile not only with sufficient funds, but with the knowledge how the set up a room properly - not just some guy with a mediocre system making a gee wow review. Obviously you need a DAC, and one that has an optical input. The discussion on Audiocircle is far more complete than I can report here.
The device reviewed on Audiocircle was the Atlona HD570, the Oppo tested was the 83SE, with signal sent through a Weiss DAC2. Anyone interested really needs to read the review and corresponding thread. I was interested because I own an Oppo 83, purchased recently when my Sony Bluray player quit working, that I use for Bluray only. Because of this, I decided not to spend the money on the se version. My DAC accepts optical, so I may now have a relatively cheap way to upgrade the Oppos sound. According to the reviewer, significant improvement when listening to Bluray was heard running the Oppo through the Atlona via optical vs. the Oppos analog outputs.
Yes, the Atlona functions similarly to most of these units like the Octava and, in fact, the Atlona looks identical to the old CLUX 11SA. For me, the lack of multichannel digital output (except for lossy Toslink) is a problem.
BTW, that the Weiss DAC2 or other high quality DAC makes an improvement is great but not surprising. (Similar results with my Meridian processor.)
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
