Oppo BDP-95 as a pure two channel audio source?

Fellas, c'mon man. Is it just me, but why is it that so many Oppo owners feel the need to mod it? And Statman, you don't care "how good it sounds" as long as it does a good job of playing scratched disc? With all due respect, that doesn't exactly sound like a ringing endorsement. Actually I am looking to part with my beloved Bryston, in fact, it's listed on this very site at the time of this writing. I was hoping that maybe just this once, there was something to all the hype surrounding the Oppo. That it actually was a true giant killer and that just maybe, after twenty plus years of cd player technology, we had progressed to the point of allowing for a low cost, audiophile grade component to actually exist. For a minute there, my faith had me a bit excited about all the buzz, which in fact prompted the thread. Unfortunately however, my hopes have been dashed, because that's not what I'm hearing from Oppo owners. what I'm hearing instead, is that the Oppo is a great video piece with a whole slew of cool digital features and flexibility that happens to also play cds, almost as an afterthought, with the suggestion that while they really enjoy their Oppo, it does not compare to the best dedicated audiophile digital sources out there, e,g, Ayre, Esoteric. Cary, Copland, etc. Which for my needs and point of view, pretty much excludes the Oppo from consideration as a serious cd player. Thanks again, Jayh31 jayh31

I believe that the Ayre probably does not have as much error correction to try and give you as pure of a signal as possible. I would guess Mr. Hansen cares more about sound quality than playing uncared for disks.

I would assume that the Ayre does not have as much error correction in an attempt for a purist approach. I figure Mr Hansen cares more about the quality of the sound than his player working with uncared for media. That is also my priority, I would MUCH rather throw out the disks I purchased used than sacrifice any audio quality due to error correction.

Jay,
I was trying to convey the fact that the Ayre sounds good but the lack of error correction is a killer. None of you in your right mind would sit down and try to listen to a piece of music on a player that could not play a CD that every other machine with a CD drive including the one on my computer can play! You have not even tried the Oppo and you keep repeating that Oppo owners say only the video is good. I am going to have to call BS on that one! Who exactly said that in this thread? The people that own them enjoy them and are using them for music playback not sure what forums you peruse but the ones I visit have extensive feedback regarding Oppo players.

You refuse for some unknown reason to acknowledge that the player does sound good as a 2 channel unit even though you have never heard the unit especially in your own system! I have one in my system to back up what I say and not just theorize as you are doing over and over. Please visit the AVS forum and read the Oppo OWNERS thread. There is plenty of info regarding 2 channel playback and comparison from the owners and their existing units prior to Oppo. I was like you and said why do they hype this player so much? I needed a universal player that sounded good on 2 channel playback but not cost ten thousand dollars as the Ayre DX-5 does. The Ayre DX-5 is a modded BDP-83!

Harri 009,

Nice try with the smart ass comment about "uncared for disc/media. I take care of my media.I've got vinyl records probably older than you! I unfortunately have a disc in a box set that was scratched by me. The "uncared for media/disc" plays fine in other machines including my PC! I meant no disrespect to Ayre or Charles Hansen as I like the sound of his products.I was intoduced to them many years ago by Brooks Berdan.