UNIVERSAL BD PLAYER

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Half the industry seems to have super-charged Oppo’s benchmark universal disc player, with improved power and high-end DACs. This time it actually says Oppo on the fascia Review: Richard Stevenson Lab: Paul Miller

Oppo BDP-95EU (£899)

Oppo has been active in the US disc-spinner market since 2002 but until recently hadn’t made huge in-roads into the

established brands’ market share nor really targeted the European consumer. Then in early 2011 the company launched a stunning universal player and proceeded to go from being relatively unknown to one of the world’s largest premium disc-player brands in a matter of months. Its BDP-93EU really is that good and remains the mid-priced benchmark.

In an inspired move to both increase turnover and boost the company’s profile as a leading technology supplier, Oppo decided to license the ’93EU’s main board, firmware and video components to other brands. Two successful implementations that we have already raved over are the equally stunning Cambridge Audio Azur 751BD [HFN Aug ’11] and the truly lush Primare BD32 [Feb ’12]. The key differences between these models and the original BDP-93EU are improved power supplies, higher specification DACs and better analogue output circuitry.

moVINg UP A StEPSo what if Oppo itself decided to upgrade the ’93EU’s power supplies and DACs and create a super-charged version of its award-winning original? Enter the Oppo BDP-95EU. Using the same core board and video gubbins as the BDP-93EU, Cambridge and Primare machines, this up-spec player integrates a well-regarded Rotel sourced power supply and a redesigned audio board featuring a pair of top-class ESS Sabre DACs. One runs the multi-channel analogue audio output from Blu-ray, DVD, DVD-A or multi-channel SACD discs, while the other is dedicated to delivering stereo output from its fully balanced XLR connections. In addition to all that universal disc-playing

potential, the BDP-95EU is also a fully featured network player over hard-wired Ethernet connection or USB-powered Wi-Fi dongle supplied with the machine.

All music fed to the Oppo from your PC or server over the network, up to 24-bit/192kHz, is decoded through those Sabre DACs, making the BDP-95EU a high-spec front end for a serious server-based audiophile music system. And if you want to make things even simpler you could rip all your CDs to an external eSATA hard disk and simply connect that straight to the player’s eSATA port. What the Oppo really misses is an AES/EBU or S/PDIF input to leverage those Sabre DACs with other digital sources.

That aside, in specification alone the BDP-95EU looks like an all-encompassing home entertainment bargain, even more so when compared to the aforementioned £3500 Primare BD32. But audiophile beauty is more than specification deep, of course. For starters the BDP-95EU is no looker and its bland cosmetic does little to indicate the truly high-end performance

within. Its matte black fascia with glass panel is understated and the display is an old-school blue dot-matrix display. This has no text function, so all you get are track timings and a few legends that illuminate to indicate network connection and type of disc. The fascia buttons take a little getting used to as they are touch sensitive – and sometimes a touch insensitive.

fAN-tAStIcThe back panel is a different story altogether. Every connection on the Oppo is fitted with solidity and purpose. The vast space between analogue connections means you can use outrageously chunky RCA plugs without fear of the shells touching. Network, USB and eSATA ports are all part of the original Oppo main board and the dual HDMI outputs allow flexible system connection. Of note, the main Marvell Qdeo video engine only works on HDMI 1 with standard off-chip video processing on HDMI 2. Unlike the Primare or Cambridge models the Oppo’s rear panel is also home to a small cooling

Universal CD/SACD/DVD/BD player Made by: Oppo Electronics Corp., China

Supplied by: Oppo BD UK LtdTelephone: 0845 060 9395

Web: www.oppo-bluray.co.uk

RIgHt: Oppo’s main PCB is seen here flipped over to reveal the two 32-bit 8-channel ESS Sabre DACs feeding the eight single-ended and one balanced audio outputs. Note the Rotel-sourced power supply transformer

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SABRE RAttLINg

fan. This does not power-up very often but after several hours use it was whirring with some gusto. It is not particularly noisy but it’s by no means silent and could be heard during the gaps between tracks. The whole machine is quite heavy and solid-feeling giving the impression of money well spent.

Set-up via the on-screen GUI is polished and slick, although the bass management bug, identified by the Ed in the first Oppo BDP-93EU derivative [HFN Aug ’11], is carried over to this ’95 version [see Lab Report, p58]. Control over every facet of the machine and its output is comprehensive, and even network audio set-up was genuinely ‘plug and play’. Embedded smart services only include YouTube and Picassa at present but more are sure to follow with firmware updates.

Day-to-day operation is pretty good although skipping from track to track with audio discs took a little longer than ideal. However the Oppo is still a lot quicker than the Primare, which mutes output with relays between disc operations. The supplied Oppo remote control comprehensively eclipses both the Cambridge and Primare equivalents. It is a big beast, easy to use and hard to lose, with chunky buttons that will appeal

to those of us with savaloy-size fingers. It is brilliantly laid out too, with clear and concise legends and a back light beneath all keys. While not yet officially announced, HFN was exclusively informed that an Oppo BDP-95EU control App for Apple iOS and Android will be launched this summer.

What we have here is an amazingly well specified machine that ticks all the right boxes. This could easily be a genuine panacea to High Def video and

high resolution audio entertainment in one box – and all from a brand you may not even have heard of. In fact, who is Oppo? Well, if you surf the web you would be forgiven for thinking that it is a young start-up company

based in Mountain View, California. In fact that is just the home entertainment face of the brand: Oppo is actually one of China’s biggest mobile phone manufacturers.

cLASS-LEADINgI can summarise the BP95EU’s HD video performance in one paragraph because it is simply class-leading. The image is superbly detailed, extremely sharp and boasts black levels that give even 2D content real depth and texture. Video processing noise and artefacts are non-existent and tricky scenes that pan diagonally move like they are on

ABoVE: A rather bland fascia, dull display, touch-controls and a USB port hidden under a rubber flap to the far right don’t even hint at the high-end technology inside this player

Secured to the underside of Oppo’s main audio PCB is its secret weapon in the audiophile performance war – a pair of ES9018S 8-channel DACs from ESS. The ‘Sabre Reference’ DAC is available in stereo and multi-channel guises and will accept 32-bit inputs via its I2S input as well as LPCM and DSD audio data. Its ‘Hyperstream’ architecture delivers the lowest distortion we’ve measured – on a par with the dCS RingDAC [see Lab Report, p58] – but, excepting Audiolab’s latest CD spinner, is typically only found in high-end players, including models from Moon and Chapter Audio. Oppo is using two of these fabulous chips, one driving the 7.1-channel single-ended RCA outputs, the other configured in a double-differential mode to achieve even lower noise and distortion through its balanced XLR stereo outputs. If Oppo ever intended to answer the likes of Cambridge Audio and Primare, currently offering upgraded versions of its ’93 platform, then the BDP-95EU is making its voice heard loud and clear. PM

rails (which is exactly how they are filmed). In the final chapter of Star Trek XI the scene pans down through a massive, highly detailed auditorium full of people – a scene that has most BD players juddering and stuttering. The BDP-95EU makes the clip as smooth as a rail-mounted Steadycam scene should be. Trust me, if your BD player is more than a couple of years old, the BDP-95EU is a worthy upgrade for the picture quality alone.

SPAcE AND cLARItYI do wonder how many people will actually use the Oppo’s multichannel analogue RCA outputs. Those set up for multichannel sound will have an AV processor or AV amplifier anyway, and connecting multichannel audio digitally over HDMI is very convenient. If you do go to the effort of using the seven RCA connections, you need to ensure that bass management, delays and channel level setting are not being duplicated in the player and amplifier. My own preference is for setting the amplifier to direct/bypass mode, keeping all channels large (so the sub only produces sound specifically recorded for the sub channel) and using the player to adjust relative channel levels.

The recent multichannel SACD remaster of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here powered into the room with surprising impact and volume, indicating fairly high analogue output voltage. This nicely buffed recording was delivered with greater space and clarity through the mid than my Denon AV processor could muster, with a notably more refined and yet slightly restrained bass. The top end too had more breathing space, the Oppo offering exceptional extension while drawing a little more attention to natural sibilance.

Perhaps more relevant for audiophiles is the Oppo’s balanced XLR outputs for stereo CD, SACD and network audio.

‘Wish You Were Here powered

into the room with surprising impact’

UNIVERSAL BD PLAYER

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HI-fI NEWS SPEcIfIcAtIoNS

Having had the eponymous first CD by Birdy stuck in my CD player for the last month the BDP-95EU did not disappoint, delivering Jasmine van den Bogaerde’s beautiful and haunting vocal with goose-bump-inducing precision. The Oppo’s stance is one of detail and accuracy, with a firm yet dry bass line and exemplary clarity from mid to top.

There were acres of space between instruments, creating a wide and three-dimensional soundstage that impressed from the first notes. The upper-midband and treble region was ruthlessly revealing, eking out every nuance of the recording and exposing any weakness in the mastering. This was never more so evident with SACDs remastered with a treble lift to make them sound ‘better’. Genesis’s Wind And Wuthering is a prize example and the Oppo makes it sound just what it is – bloody harsh.

A fEW comPARISoNSI just happened to have a Cambridge Azur 751BD and a Primare BD32 at home at the same time as the Oppo allowing direct A-B comparisons. Ignoring the huge price differential, the Primare is a more mellifluous sounding machine that delivers much of the Oppo’s hi-fi analytics but with a bigger and inherently musical sound. Playing ‘Skinny Love’ from the Birdy CD, the Primare exuded the passion in the song like no other universal player I have listened to, yet lost out to the Oppo’s midband clarity and top-end micro detailing.

Switching to the Cambridge you got a third take on Birdy’s reworking of the Bon Iver original. Although dependent on output filter setting (designed to confuse, I am convinced) this offered perhaps the most neutral balance of the three.

While it did not achieve the Oppo’s clarity or the Primare’s musicality, it is a well detailed and punchy sounding player with precious few weaknesses. Interestingly, the Cambridge uses a well-regarded Anagram upsampler with linear and minimum phase digital filters while the Oppo, for all its sophisticated DACs, has more traditional FIR filters.

Switching back to the Oppo was like taking in a breath of cold air. It stripped away any malaise or congestion in the sound, revealing each instrument in stark detail and delivering vocals with breath-taking clarity. Its analytical coolness may not be a perfect match for those wishing to recreate a rock festival, but the sound will certainly appeal to those wishing to sample the high end of high fidelity at a remarkably affordable price.

Eyes closed, if you had told me this was a £3000 CD player I would have said it was very good indeed, lacking only a little polish. As it is, the BDP-95EU is a £900 universal multichannel player with drop-dead stunning movie performance too. Absolutely outstanding.

ABoVE: Left to right – Ethernet and secondary HDMI ports, component/composite video, USB and eSATA connections, primary HDMI out, opt/coax digital audio and (above) 7.1 channel plus stereo RCA and balanced XLR analogue audio outs

LABREPoRt

While we have tested the Cambridge 751BD [HFN Aug ’11] and Primare BD32 [HFN Feb ’12], these are based on Oppo’s ’93 platform and not the ’95 featured here with its 32-bit Sabre DACs, bespoke analogue stage and Rotel-based power supply. In short, the BDP-95EU’s technical performance is exemplary – state-of-the-art at any price. Maximum output is 4.2V/2.1V with an A-wtd S/N ratio of 115dB/110dB (balanced XLR/single-ended RCA) while distortion collapses to a minuscule 0.00005% through bass and midrange with SACD, 24-bit DVD/BD and 24-bit digital inputs, rising to 0.00009% with dithered 16-bit CD and to 0.0003% at higher (20kHz) frequencies with all sources [see Graph 1, below]. SACD is not downsampled to LPCM and enjoys a response that extends to –0.3dB/20kHz, –3.4dB/50kHz and –23dB/100kHz. Jitter is just 28psec via SACD at ±2.45kHz [red spectrum, Graph 2].

Response with 44.1kHz/48kHz CD/DVD reaches –0.2dB/20kHz while 96kHz DVD/BD achieves –0.3dB/40kHz and 192kHz DVD-A manages a full –0.5dB/80kHz. Low-level resolution is good to ±0.1dB over a 100dB dynamic range with 24-bit LPCM sources and 110dB with SACD, the latter only –0.5dB adrift over a 120dB range. Jitter is less than 10psec with 96kHz media and 15psec with 48kHz media – astonishing figures [see Graph 2, below]. The Oppo bass management ‘bug’ is still present: its front channels clipped if either (but not both) centre/surround channels are ‘small’ with the sub ‘off’. The full gamut of CD, SACD, DVD, DVD-A, Dolby and bass management tests may be compared with those for the Cambridge 751BD and Primare BD32 via www.hifinews.co.uk. PM

ABOVE: High resolution jitter plot comparing 24-bit BD/DVD (black) with SACD (red) through XLR outputs

ABOVE: Distortion versus digital signal level over a 120dB dynamic range. 24-bit BD/DVD (1kHz, red) vs. 16-bit CD (1kHz, black; 20kHz, blue)

oPPo BDP-95EU (£899)

Maximum output level/Impedance 4.23Vrms/97ohm (XLR out)

A-wtd S/N ratio (XLR / RCA) 115.3dB / 109.6dB

Distortion (1kHz, 0dBFs/–30dBFs) 0.00005% / 0.0005%

Distortion & Noise (20kHz, 0dBFs/–30dBFs) 0.00035% / 0.0035%

Frequency response (20Hz-20kHz) +0.00dB to –0.18dB

Digital jitter (CD/SACD/DVD/BD) 120/28/13/6psec

Resolution @ –100dB (CD/SACD) ±0.2dB / ±0.1dB

Power consumption 27W

Dimensions (WHD) 430x98x311mm

Oppo’s high-end component choices and first-class engineering have resulted in one of the most revealing and articulate sounding universal disc players on the market irrespective of price. Add to this stellar video performance, wide-ranging disc compatibility and accomplished talents as a high resolution network audio player too. The bonkers-low sub-£900 price ticket makes the BDP-95EU an absolute bargain.

HI-fI NEWS VERDIct

Sound Quality: 85%0 - - - - - - - - 100