For those of you with older receivers lacking HDMI connectivity, or perhaps for audiophiles with stereo home theater systems, the Oppo BD-83 Special Edition player is for you.
You see, the new Oppo player handles the digital-to-analog conversion at a higher standard than the original--and still available--BD-83 player. So rather than use its HDMI connectivity you hookup the Special Edition's eight analog (7.1) outputs to the multichannel inputs on older receivers or sound processors. Don't worry if your receiver is limited to 5.1, the Special Edition will work perfectly well with those systems. The Special Edition would be the go-to player for HT 2.0 (stereo) systems.
(Credit:
Oppo)
The BD-83 is known for its exceptional audio and video performance, the BDP-83 Special Edition is upgraded with an all new analog audio stage and improved power supply.
The Special Edition uses the Sabre32 family of Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs) from ESS Technology. Stereo lovers take note: the player's dedicated stereo output uses another 8-channel Sabre32 DAC chip by stacking multiple DACs for the left and right channels "to achieve even greater audio performance" in stereo. The Special Edition's HDMI output bypasses all that good stuff, so it would be a waste of money to use it that way.
The 7.1 analog outputs are the reasons to buy the Special Edition player.
(Credit: Oppo)Just like the BDP-83, the Special Edition is a Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player featuring bitstream and full decoding capability for Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio.
Too many jacks?
Today's receivers are so jam-packed with features they can be a hassle to set up and use. Even entry-level models boast features that flagship models from even just five years ago never had.
Is that a good thing? No manufacturer offers a receiver that's dead simple to use, sounds great, and has adequate connectivity to hook up a cable box, Blu-ray player, and one or two other sources.
Do you base your buying decision on the features lineup? Does the one with the most features win? Does your receiver really need to be THX Ultra2 Plus-certified, with four or more 1080p HDMI compatible inputs, and have Internet radio streaming, Pandora, Rhapsody, Sirius Internet Radio, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby PLIIz, Dolby Volume, DTS Master Audio, Audyssey DSX surround processing, Audyssey MultEQ, Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume, iPod-dock-ready--plus front and rear USB inputs?
Sure, it's tempting to go for more rather than less stuff, but at what point does the technology interfere with actually using the thing? And no matter how much stuff is in there, next year's models will have more. Have you used even half of the features your receiver has right now?
Can you slog through the hassles of "auto" setup, or even manual setup? Or do you even try? Today's receivers are incredibly sophisticated devices, so getting them to just do the basics--playing a CD or a movie--can be a trial. Or it worked yesterday, but now, even with the correct input selected, you're not getting what you wanted.
So would a receiver with fewer, but easier-to-use features be an attractive alternative? Or do I have this all wrong and you want even more stuff in your next receiver?
If you have any horror stories about receiver setup or just getting the damn thing to play, please share them in the Comments section below.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm guessing 70 percent to 80 percent of you have a maximum of four sources hooked up to your AV receivers.
You've got a Blu-ray/DVD player, cable/satellite box, maybe a game and a VCR wired up, and you're done. Most of the jacks remain empty, nothing wrong with that, but all that extra capability adds to the complexity and cost of the receiver. Has connectivity gone wild?
(Credit:
Pioneer Electronics)
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