Best 4K Player in Terms of Transport Mechanism


I was a late adopter to a 4K display, as the last TV I bought was right when they were coming out and I wanted to let the technology mature and come down in price. It was also a Panasonic plasma and looked better in many ways to what was out at the time. I finally moved up in size and recently bought a 4K OLED. Now that physical media is dying, I’ve begun to collect some discs and want to upgrade to a 4K player (Oppo 105D now).

 

I have a fairly nice HT setup and will probably never go back to a separate 2-channel system due to space and money--Vandersteen Quatros, VCC-5CT and VSM-CTs, Theta Casablanca 4a, Theta amps, Acoustic Zen Absolute cabling... My emphasis has always been on audio over video, and I still have a substantial CD collection. My question is which 4K player I should be looking at in terms of having the best transport and digital output components (jitter), ignoring the internal DACs (assuming the Extreme 3 cards in the CB would best anything in even a current high-end player, which they had darn well better for the price!). To be honest, I have no idea why they even make BDPs with DACs since every AV receiver or processor already has them. My BDP will also function as a CD transport (separate topic, but I might someday invest in a strictly CD transport, although I would just assume rip them and be digital at that point and eliminate the mechanical elements).

 

I guess I am down to an Oppo 203 (unless the 205 is better from a transport standpoint and not just for its DACs), the Panasonic 9000, or these Magnetars, which I never knew existed until recently. I’m assuming Arcam is never going to make a 4K version, Levinson, or anyone else high-end. I haven’t gotten too much into hi-res audio simply because most of the music I like to sit down and listen to isn’t available in higher than 16/44. There is some, though, and I might start getting into streaming or downloading files. Thus, having the BPD also function to stream or be a server interface would be a plus so that I don’t have to get a separate box.  Oh yeah, HDCD decoding would be great, as the CB doesn't do it but can apparently recognize it in the bitstream.  I have more than a few and can definitely tell the difference

I appreciate anyone’s thoughts/experiences/comparisons.

jwseitz

My Dad has the Panasonic UB 9000.  Awesome machine.  Sounds great as a CD player too

Following for recommendations on 4k dvd players.

I don’t use my player at all for audio, just movies. You don’t have to give up your 2 channel system for HT. I have my 2 channel amp and my digital system on the rack with my HT stuff. I run a preap signal for the 2 front speakers to my 2 channel amp’s second input for HT. I switch to my other amp input for 2 channel music.

I am also a huge fan of 4K oled I bought a 70" when it came out and am thinking about going bigger.

Jerry

It is like audio. Physical media is dying out. Switch to streaming and you can avoid a mechanical device that is likely to break. Streamers are inexpensive. I standardized on Apple for purchase. But we have Amazon, and several other services. 

If you can get an Oppo 205, it has the best analog out and uses separate power supplies. I had the 203, then sold it after I heard the 205.

Thanks, adsell .  I won't be using the analog outs or its DACs.  I did see where the 205 has a better clock and supposedly less jitter.  Could you tell any difference between the digital sections?  I think I'm going to do a Panasonic 9000, but if I ever found a cheap enough 205, I'd probably still get it.