Logical. Streaming services are killing all forms of physical media...
Oppo to cease production -- Announced yesterday...
Sad day for those of us who loved Oppo for their high quality products that supported SACD, DVD-Audio, as well as Blu-ray and UHD Blu-ray formats. Oppo has also been loved for its industry leading level of customer support. Oh, well, at least my DV-980H, BDP-83, and UDP-203 are all still going strong!
https://www.oppodigital.com/
https://www.oppodigital.com/
35 responses Add your response
@unsound , Not really Oppo's guts but the same Mediatek chipset that is common to Oppo, Cambridge Audio, and a few more I think. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/oppo-bdp-105-versus-cambridge-azur-752bd Maybe CA will continue to mfr and sell their CXUHD player after Oppo is gone. Bill |
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First off, from what I can see the way Oppo did this seems very classy. MGA and RoomTune wish them all the best. Long before Oppo was born Jim Bookhard and myself started making the statement "High End Audio, as we know it, is done"(mid 90's). To us, the writing was so clearly on the wall it was hard to miss. However High End Audio kept being able to give the appearance of superiority for the following some few years. What was clear to us was that the younger generation was never going to buy into the over the top expensive products, when products for a fraction of the cost sounded better. Sure some people would remain loyalist to the High End Reviewers to the very end, or till their bank accounts ran dry, but there was more. Fact is what we knew as Mid-Fi or even low end caught up to High End in the sound department. High End Audio was so busy creating the next best over built and complicated product they didn't even care that their days were numbered. Most of them (designers and rags) still can't quite believe the new school has out done the old school. But, as time goes on the High End Audio is looking like the horse driven buggy vs the car. Technology slows down for no one. I'm not even talking about ear buds, smart phones and cans. I still believe the room rules and is the ultimate playground for serious listening. Put In-Tune the listening room is the final frontier, at least for this next level of audiophile. Using rooms as listening/living rooms may not cut it, but dedicated listening rooms are and will remain the cats meow. The daze of putting a very expensive High End Audio system in a room setup horrible and only being able to play "audiophile" recordings never was going to go anywhere and started loosing ground as soon as the listening buddy factor started. That world was never going to make it past the audio club ABA blind fold testing night. A group of geeky freaky old plug & play farts doesn't make a dent any more than poker night with the boys. Fun yet not relevant to the serious listener. How much longer will it take is the question. One answer to this is found on TuneLand where we took a $29.00 CDP and $100.00 receiver and beat up on some over $40,000.00 systems without breaking a sweat, proving it wasn't about the bucks, but the method. The other answer will be found with some of the younger music lovers teaching the oldie but goodie folks about new listening. Either way don't look for the survival of the over built, over complicated and over priced to make it much longer, except for a few strong willed believers of the original High End Audio boat anchor club. michael green www.michaelgreenaudio.net |
Its true does not cost much for good portable sound these days. A decent smartphone and a pair of $99 Grado headphones will be all most ever need. Add a good quality amp/DAC and you are really in business. Lots of tough competition for Oppo there. Plus streaming is gradually putting all forms of disc players to rest. So there you go. |
Based on Michael Green's post it would seem Oppo should be blowing and going, unless the point is that $1,300 for a UDP--All everything is High End Audio. I've listened to a lot of audio equipment and set ups, inexpensive and expensive. I haven't experienced $129 worth of equipment beating the living daylights out of $40,000 worth of equipment. |
I get the feeling Oppo isn't quitting because it's unprofitable, they just want to focus on other areas. Kyocera did this in the 90's. As far as the high-end's future, I think it's secure. I've been active in audio since the late eighties. Been reading the magazines religiously and have never seen so many new equipment providers I've never heard of. As long as there's a buck to be made, companies will spring up to make it. Yes, equipment costs used to seem more reasonable. A Bryston 4B used to sell for $1000 in the beginning. Now they're in the $6000 range. That $1000 adjusted for inflation is now $4500 (roughly). A 4B still costs a bit more but it's a much better amp. What's puzzling is why Oppo didn't sell the business to someone else (unless they're planning to after everyone scrambles to buy current inventory which will boost sales figures). We'll see... |
Hi Astewart8944 On the TuneLand forum we welcome the comments from those who have explored this for themselves. I think maybe one person who experimented with the system I mentioned on the forum went back to their old system. The rest have moved on from their high mass over priced system or are in the process. I don’t want my comment to take this thread off topic. My point is, many companies are closing the doors on this chapter of the audiophile movement as they find systems that are a fraction of the cost out performing High End Audio’s recommended components. Keep in mind this is nothing new. High End Audio started it’s decline in the mid 90’s and has been decreasing ever since. another example We went to a local used shop here in Las Vegas last year and did a real time comparison with many expensive amps (mainly) vs a couple of low mass low priced amplifiers. Every person in the space chose the $200.00 amplifier over the others. The comparison wasn’t even close. I took this a step further and brought the good sounding lower priced amp home with me and allowed listeners to bring their amps to compare, the most expensive being $35,000.00 mono blocks. The listening I opened up to the public for an entire year using 6 of my listening rooms, including one of my Tunable Reference Rooms. One of the listeners that was converted, then placed his amp here on Audiogon for a very low price. A day or two later the amp company itself bought the amp back so they wouldn’t get questioned on their sound. These amplifiers got beat up by several companies’ entry level products. I try not to name names as to not hurt peoples businesses or reputations, but I haven’t been shy about naming the products who cleaned house in these demos. As I said their listed on the TuneLand forum. |
Money moves around the world .The fact that US $ has declined 25% against the Euro in past year has a bearing on prices of many things . Outside the EU as well as in it . I was privy to a conversation in German at Berlin Audio show . Several big-wigs in Audio referred to USA as the sucker(Saugorgan) market . |
Too much doom and gloom. What happened to OPPO is just a symptom. Weren't they actually the last DVD player manufacturer that did not offer things like "Streaming", and "Apps" other than a remote? None of that and no new innovations? And they were how much?? I knew Oppo was doomed when my friends kid wanted to know why he couldn't use it to listen to "Spotify" while watching "The Lion King", on the screen. He wanted to hear the, "Big, Giant Speakers" Most high end audio is seen by the youth of today as unreachable. While the small area specific storefronts have all but disappeared. The youth have no way to listen to anything beyond what is available at the box stores and they, "Big Box", have nothing ever set up that you can actually hear the difference in. The audio market is simply evolving just as everything else is, has and always will. The "Audiophile" isn't born that way. And it's up to the market to decide what it wants. All that I see is an vast and largely untapped market that everyone here seems to think is unreachable. The people seem to think that the gear is gone that they can afford. And I think they are right. I haven't heard a set of speakers where the masses shop that sounded as though the set was worth anything even near the asking price. And I've looked. Trying to read the market. I believe that it's the industry that has let itself become alienated from most people and especially the young. Why is the music still mixed in "just" stereo? Why isn't there 11.2 channel mixed music to download so that I can use my $1500 "State of the ART", surround system with? You still have CD's??? BEFORE, you all attempt to clobber me to death at once...... Those are questions I've been asked recently. And I listed those particular questions because each has been asked of me more than once in the last two months. Stereo isn't dead, it has simply become too stuffy. So it's "Lead, Follow or get the %$@ out of the way", for the industry I think. But what do I know? ..... I do happen to own a fledgling audio company that's doing quite well currently. And by the way, I LOVE my Oppo, UDP-205........... |
My two cents, if OPPO was going to sell it most likely would of happened before their name and reputation took a PR hit and the panic buying started. I am holding out great hope that they are just 'cocooning' themselves to ride out the current political environment and 1018 days, at the latest, from now things can get back to normal. |
There are a multitude of reasons (or any combination thereof) why a company can choose to close the doors, halt production and/or go out of business - willingly or unwillingly. What a company discloses for public consumption may or maynot encapsulate the entire situation. Opening a business is a huge hurdle… staying in business is never easy. I feel a deep loss when companies or dealers close - competitors or not. I agree this Industry narrowed over the years where some are saying High-End Audio lacks younger blood, however we are seeing and hearing from more youthful audiences who are becoming aware of good, better and higher levels of sonic and musical qualities that are available, just like a lot of us discovered in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. After spending my lifetime in audio, music and live sound, I remain an optimist. Based on my experience, people who love music, sound, video, entertainment and the live performance will continue to repopulate the High-End Audio marketplace and for the same reasons we all share in common. Regards to the statements made here concerning much lesser priced electronics costing in the low hundreds; if cheaper $200 components could “consistently outperform” those offerings from many companies costing tens of thousands of dollars… would everyone of us require a new set of ears or better yet - exactly the same hearing standard? Would the acceptance of this phenomena also include a new mindset to deal with our failed investments and years of working on our systems getting them to sound more musical and closer to the live performance? That $120 amplifier should be in every household, studio, theater, etc… please someone contact marketing! To say High End Audio is declining or dead is rubbish. The marketplace is just getting much tougher. Any one can observe the multitude of new name brands being presented along with the many historics we have come to know overtime. From our company’s standpoint business has never been better. There was a boom in the nineties, then a loss followed by recession but that’s the way business trends. What goes up will come down and vise versa especially over time and there will always be companies that come and go. Heck, I’m in my mid-sixties and just getting started. Long live audio and hoping to see all of you in Chicago this weekend. Robert - Star Sound |
Here-here, "the proof is in the pudding" when speaking of vinyl and higher end audio gear and it was very hard to go back once I had experienced it. OPPO is a prime example of a high end video/audio company that has set the bar very high, and quite frankly their gear would be be sorely missed from my system. |
I don't get streaming. My nephew does that he being an IT guy so he knows what he is doing and too me it does not sound all that good. My turntable and BD player puts any streaming I have ever heard to shame and my hearing is not all that good but I can easily discern quality. Had too get a 203 as they were out of the 205. Right now I use a Marantz 7007. I yes I think something is fishy about this whole affair. The best player on the market and they quit making them and sold out in a few day's ? |
Highend is dying. Younger folks want portable and not sitting in one spot. They spend more on gaming. Audio that was our thing. You can see by marketing of high end gear, most market towards the 5% of income. There is a reason no much sales in the middle class who have other needs like raising kids, and education. Most audio shows I go to have a lot of gray hair folks. Not saying some younger folks won’t get into the hobby but never the amount of us boomers where cars and audio was the thing. Streaming tracks now is the thing and in the billions, a whole album no where near as much and vinyl is a spec in total sales. |
My 2 cents I think consumers are just beginning to be educated on room acoustics. Cheap equipment can sound better than expensive equipment when properly setup and in a better room for acoustics. BUT put good equipment in a good room with the cheap equipment and no contest. My magazine of late just changed their name. They are now including a bunch of articles on room acoustics. Long overdue. But not as easy as just putting absorbers at first reflection points that absorb a select few frequencies like an equalizing adjustment. It has to be done properly with measurements. The equipment already is at the level of perfection where our hearing gets off you know limited bandwidth. S/N distortion and so on and so on. The last and biggest pain in the u no what is the room. I hope someone will be the first to adopt a new construction policy of putting in a sound room just for music or movies. The answers have been around for a long time. I think the need is there in todays world. Would be cheaper to do in the beginning rather than remodel. I love my Oppo 93 and noticed right off the build quality and performance. It did have a few apps and can stream from Netflix and Vudu. I think they got out now because optical storage media is going away. The internet is changing the way we all consume signals and buying and storing physical discs is expensive and takes up space. I am having trouble keeping up with upgrading because it is happening faster and faster. Hats off to Oppo and thanks for making benchmark quality products. |