New Oppo BDP-95 better than the McIntosh MVP-881?


For the money, the 29 lb. McIntosh MVP-881 Universal Blu Ray player is one of the biggest rip offs in Blu Ray DVD history.
Looking inside the unit reveals not much under the hood for
$ 8K. The power supply is skimpy and it has three cooling
fans. One on the bottom, one on the rear, and one on the inside. Very, very hot! What I call Scrooge engineering.
The Mac uses the Sabre32 ESS9016 24x Dacs. Five total. The new Oppo BDP-95 coming out in February uses the Sabre32 ESS9018's 32x Dacs. Two total with a beefy power supply, selling for $ 1K. I hope the Oppo knocks the hell out of the McIntosh, Marantz, Denon, Ayre, and Lexicon Universal players selling between $4 and $10K. For McIntosh to put out a player that is hotter than any other high end player
on the market, is a sign that their engineering has gone down hill and their glory days are over.
audiozen
My experience seems different. I own an Oppo 83SE and my nephew has the Oppo 95. My Oppo using HDMI or the analog outputs for movies sounds thin in the midrange. The 95 is better but I still hear this problem. No question picture quality is great. So I purchased a new Sony 5000ES 500.00 from 1500.00. Right out of the box the sound is much sweeter and fuller in the mids. The top end is great without sounding too bright. Just for fun I bought the Marantz UD8004 and was not happy with that one. Start up times were so slow you could make pancakes before a movie started. If I did not have the Classe 800 processor and had to use analog outputs I would send my Oppo to Modright for their upgrade.
Oppo is top of the heap for video but middle of the road for 2 channel. But to have something thats as good as it gets for video on the cheap side is still something special.
Yes, there are brands out there that charge big bucks for pride of possession. I have toured the McIntosh factory several times. Many of their products are world class in build and design, the MC-275 tube amp is a fine example. That said, on one of my tours I saw Denon DVD players unboxed and readied for rebadging for resale at more than double the Denon price.

Another comparison can be made with Jewelry. A Rolex is a fine watch that is very expensive. Yet a Seiko or Casio digital are more accurate and reliable.

The Oppo is an amazing piece, and an amazing piece for the money.
Ah, but the Seiko and Casio watches are not as indestructible as a Rolex. When I was younger, I'd go through a Timex in weeks, but the Rolex graduation gift lasted for three decades, before being lost when sent to Switzerland for repair. With the insurance and a bunch of money I bought another that I've had now for more than two decades.

But I plan to buy an Oppo 93, because I don't think the watch analogy is apt.

db
Jwm, when did your nephew get the Oppo 95? I didn't think they were shipping yet.