ROTEL / OPPO BDP-83SE or NuForce

[Ken49r]

Any ROTEL owners using the OPPO-83 taking advantage of the upgrade?

I'm curious if there is an advantage for ROTEL owners using non-hdmi pre-pro's or even those with hdmi?

Will it beat out the 1072 in CD playback?

[srb]

I don't have an Oppo BDP-83, but the upgrades on the SE version do not affect the digital outputs. The upgrades are only for the 2 channel and multi-channel analog outputs utilizing ESS Sabre DACs for both.

In 2 channel analog mode, I would find it hard to belive that the SE doesn't outperform the Rotel RCD-1072. The ESS Sabre32 9018 DAC is killer, so if it doesn't sound better, then it has somehow been poorly implemented.

NuForce's "BDP-83SE NuForce Edition" is supposed to take the analog a notch higher with power supply, capacitor and other upgrades.

It will probably be awhile before someone can report on side-by-side comparisons with the SE and NuForce editions, but perhaps an RCD-1072 owner can give us a comparison between that and the Oppo SE version if they decide to pull the trigger!

Steve

[rhinopilot]

This is an interesting question. I'm in the same boat and hoping someone provides a comparison!

[Ken49r]

The upgrades are only for the 2 channel and multi-channel analog outputs utilizing ESS Sabre DACs for both.

Yes, I guess the question I'm asking is will the multi analogue DAC's in the OPPO better the ROTEL DAC's using hdmi? I'm using RSP-1069.

In 2 channel analog mode, I would find it hard to belive that the SE doesn't outperform the Rotel RCD-1072. The ESS Sabre32 9018 DAC is killer, so if it doesn't sound better, then it has somehow been poorly implemented.

Then the OPPO could be my all in one digital source. :T

I'm going to send off my BDP83 in the next week or two, but I'd like to get some reviews before, so I can decide which upgrade to get.

[rhinopilot]

I'm going to send off my BDP83 in the next week or two, but I'd like to get some reviews before, so I can decide which upgrade to get.

I didn't realize until you had posted that NuForce was doing upgrades as well. I just went to their page and was checking out. Sheesh - I bought this thing as a way to upgrade from a receiver with HDMI to a Rotel and allow me to watch Blu-Ray with the lossless codecs. Man, this could end up being expensive. :roll:

[Ken49r]

I didn't realize until you had posted that NuForce was doing upgrades as well. I just went to their page and was checking out. Sheesh - I bought this thing as a way to upgrade from a receiver with HDMI to a Rotel and allow me to watch Blu-Ray with the lossless codecs. Man, this could end up being expensive. :roll:

rhino,
are you getting the $299.00 upgrade from OPPO before it ends on Dec. 31st? Seems like it would be perfect in your case using the RSP-1068.

[rhinopilot]

rhino,
are you getting the $299.00 upgrade from OPPO before it ends on Dec. 31st? Seems like it would be perfect in your case using the RSP-1068.

I think I probably will. I continue to hemorrhage cash into this hobby and haven't even gotten to the big speaker upgrade! Ha ha. 8O My girlfriend lives in the Bay Area and I will be visiting in a few weeks - I'm going to drop it off then. Sorry I can't provide any feedback sooner.

[rhinopilot]

Ken -

I paid for the upgrade to the SE. I'm going to the bay area in two weeks. Provided I have and RMA by then I'm going to drop it off. They said they are backordered and it takes a couple of weeks to get an RMA, but only one to two days to do the upgrade. I'll let you know my thoughts.

-Mike

[Ken49r]

Ken -

I paid for the upgrade to the SE. I'm going to the bay area in two weeks. Provided I have and RMA by then I'm going to drop it off. They said they are backordered and it takes a couple of weeks to get an RMA, but only one to two days to do the upgrade. I'll let you know my thoughts.

-Mike

I'm holding out until the end of December to make the upgrade. Glad to hear you will have yours sooner than later and looking forward to your feedback when you get it in your Rotel system.

[rhinopilot]

I dropped the BDP-83 off at Oppo Digital yesterday and will be able to test it out after the New Year! ...Just an update.

[Armbender]

very excited to hear about this....unfortunately ill be running multi-ch. with mine..and prob wont be "allowed" to upgrade...lol....WAF!!

[rhinopilot]

Well Fellas,

I finally have it home and was able to have a listen. It has been killing me because Oppo was very fast on the turnaround and I have been traveling for the holidays.

When I walked in the door the first thing I did was hook up the BDP-83SE Upgrade and put on a CD while I was opening mail, unpacking, etc. I put in a disc I wasn't too familiar with, except for the first song that I use to audition speakers, Tori Amos "Crucify" from the album Little Earthquakes. As I hit play and started to walk away I had one of those, "Holy Sh*t" moments. I will caveat the entire review with the fact that I have been away from my system for almost three weeks and I was listening to CD's on my parents' Bose system. As the CD started to play I turned around and made sure that all the settings were correct and I wasn't doing any unfair evaluations. It was a bit of a pain in the ass because my Harmony One battery was dead and so I was fumbling through remotes. :roll:

The first thing I noticed was that at the volume level I normally listen the CD was playing noticeably louder. I sat down on the middle cushion of my couch and started to really listen. I put in CD's I was more familiar with and could make some honest comparisons. After listening for a short while I realized the bass was quite heavy and I had to turn down the subwoofer - something I have never done. Previously I was always turning the blasted thing up, trying to get more bass. I also noticed a more full soundstage. I have always been able to place instruments well but it seems bigger. Probably the most interesting thing I noticed was that I felt a more emotional bond to the music... this is strange to type because I have never had a reaction like this to music. I was listening to Sarah McLachlan and then Susan Boyle and felt more emotionally attached. Strange. I had to put in some Metallica to hate that reaction out of my body with an injection of testosterone. :W

Anyway, my bags are still packed and I haven't done all the chores I planned on doing when I got home... I keep listening to CD's. I will set everything up for movies and have a go at some familiar scenes and get back to you guys in a few days. I am really impressed with the upgrade and am quite happy with it. Well done, Oppo!

-Mike

[Ken49r]

Thanks for updating Mike.

Your running the OPPO through the rsp-1068 right? Any difference between stereo and bypass - because you said your running a sub as well? What CD player do you have to compare to?

Keep us posted when you get more time to break it in and compare.
Hope you had a good holidays.

Ken

[rhinopilot]

Your running the OPPO through the rsp-1068 right? Any difference between stereo and bypass - because you said your running a sub as well?

Yup - Oppo through the 1068. I listen to CD's via the Stereo Audio Out RCA and BLU-RAY through the 5.1 CH Audio Out, mainly because I was having trouble learning the setup for the Rotel/Harmony One when I bought it and have just stuck with that.

I listened to a CD through both the Stereo Audio Out and the Bypass from the 5.1 CH Audio Out. The Stereo plays louder for some reason - I have to turn the volume up listening to Bypass to get the same SPL. That being said, I for whatever reason liked the Stereo sound better. Fortuitously, I have been listening to the better output and will stick with it now.

As for the Subwoofer - I may not have everything setup for the response to your question. I must have the LFE directed to the sub in the Rotel because the Sub plays for both outputs, again much less for the Bypass.

What CD player do you have to compare to?

I am new to this crazy Audiophile world and the only other piece of equipment I had to listen to a CD was an old Toshiba DVD player, so I hooked it up for grins. Anyway, the soundstage seemed much smaller with the Toshiba - the extremes were there but it was thin throughout.

Also of note, I used the AIX disc for audio setup for movies last night. I had previously set my Rotel to a volume level of 75 and then setup all the channels to 75 db. When I tried that last night all channels were off the scale. With the trim from each channel set to the min (-10 db) the needle was still pegged on the right of my RS SPL. I didn't even think of it until now to try the higher db knob just to see what it was actually at - I'll do that tonight. Anyway, I set the volume on the Rotel to 70 and adjusted all the channels to 72 db, this was still in the -8'ish db range for trim on most channels.

As I said, I am an audiophile neophyte but can try to answer any other questions.

-Mike

[TommyV]

SE all the way. The Nuforce is overpriced.