Has anyone heard the new OPPO BDP-83SE

Thanks Mr. Tennis

I have really been out of the loop with cd playback and have a dinosaur of a digital front end with an other wise highly evolved system. My impression compared to my own jvc 1050 cd transport/Bel Canto DAC 1.1 set-up was that harmonic textures were more believable and it wasn't subtle I probably need to get out more it seems!

I have had 2 Sony products over the years a 620ES from the late 80's which was highly regarded but was in the digital abyss of the time. Numerous changes over the years with minimal success to the point I am at currently, about 8 years. I later tried the Sony DVP-S9000ES and found it too smooth, boring lacking the dynamic energy of the JVC/Bel-Canto and overall not musically involving on redbook. I am a bit apprehensive of Sony other than the superlative build quality. What about the Sony 5400? Is this the best alternative in this price range? I'm apprehensive in spending too much for digital as it it seems to be a too much of a moving target but I really want to improve my front end. Just thought the Oppo seemed a great value at its price.

Tubegroover
I purchased an oppo 83SE a mounth ago and just got a Sony 5400es two days ago. For the $ rember that the Oppo does it all DVD BR CD SACD and more so as a all in one player with state fo the art video and great audio it's really hard to beat. The transport is a little crude compared to the silks smooth Sony.
If all you want is CD and SACD play back then the Sony is worth the extra $. I have only listened to the Sony for about 10 hours and the Oppo for about 60 hours.From what I have read the Sony needs several hundred hours to come on full song.
Haveing said that out of the box I like the Sony a little better and build quality is superior to the Oppo.
Either way both are well worth their MSRP.

Thanks Mystang, the Sony keeps on coming up at this price point. I'll have to check it out.

Mr. Tennis I checked out the review of the Audia Flight CD 3. At 3.9K it is a bit too pricey for me to consider. Beautiful and elegant design though. It seems there might be considerably more options at that price point. I'm more interested in keeping this to less than 1.5K. Thanks for your input, it is appreciated!

I see this thread is still continuing, so that's a good thing.

I have had the Oppo for not quite a week now, and called customer service today to inquire about the break in time. The rep said they didn't recommend any break-in time. I thought, he is not aware of the difference that break-in can make.
I'm using, for the moment, an Odyssey Khartago amp, Nordost interconnectrs (Tyr) and several speaker systems: Nolas (circa 2004) Sound Dynamics RTS-3s. I have others, but haven't hooked them up yet. My First Sound Presence -- nearly a Mk. II (I had it upgraded, but not all at once: I like to hear the improvements) will arrive tomorrow, so I'm going direct from the Oppo to the Khartago.
I haven't been thrilled with the sound, but I believe some components need break-in.
So far, the bass is...ok, but not distinct in the midbass. Upper bass (drums, marching and otherwise) are taut, but lacking weight.
Rhythm: com-ci, com-ca so far. Midrange....decent, but it certainly is not as saturated at my old JVC XLZ-1010TN CD player. I also have an Arcam FMJ 23, a Bryston BDA-1, an Arcam DVD 27, and a couple of others, including a SACD. I had a Cambridge, but it was too "polite" sounding for me, so I sold it after 2 years. I also have Hurricane amps, Audience AR 2-T (teflon version) conditioner and a Quantum line unit (Nordost distributes it), Shunyata power cords, CX series, Shunyata and Alpha Goertz cables (Divinity series for the Goertz, Andromeda for the Shunyata), so I know how "powerful" the music can -- and should -- sound.
My conclusion so far is that the Oppo needs a LOT of break-in. It's had 5 days. It's listenable, but that's it. Believe me, I want to love it, but even so, I bought it for my SO, who lives in California, so I'm breaking it in for him. I would imagine there should start being large improvements within the next week, but right now.....it's just nice.
HOWEVER, Christ Martens of TAS, whose writings I've followed, says it ranks up among 4k players, so I'm pretty sure I am not getting anywhere near the full capability of the player. I'm just giving you a baseline.
Oh right: the highs are very clear, but the ambience retrieval is lacking, and the sound is still "stiff" as in not-liquid in the way real music is. With real music, the sound just wafts thru the air (in a good hall: in a bad one, it sounds as though there are no harmonics, due to a lack of good acoustics).
I'm rooting for the Oppo, but I'll need to be patient. The Khartago was somewhat the same, although it's strong suit is its clarity, not its liquidity, and it, too, is a little bit lightweight, compared, especially to the Hurricanes.
We'll see!

high tubegroover:

i made an error the cd player i was thinkong of was the virtue audio m1, also reviewed by henry wilkenson on audiophilia.com, list price is $699. it may not be to your taste. read the review carefully.