Oppo BD 105 Transport Problem

[richardfinegold]

My beloved Oppo has developed a nasty clicking sound. It still plays music, but makes this sound as a disc is being loaded, and intermittently while certain discs are being played. The sound does not come from the speakers but from the machine itself.
The BD 105 does not have a fan--apparently loud fans were a problem that people complained of in earlier Oppo Models--so after dealing with Oppo Customer support they concluded the issue must be the disc transport. I think they are right. The Oppo is a fantastic sounding unit and very versatile, but the disc loading tray has always struck me as being flimsy and out of step with the rest of the quality of the unit.
So tomorrow it goes off to California along twith the Fitzwilliam Qt Shostakovich Quartet disc that reliably produces the clicking sound (customer support requested the disc, which I burned to a hard drive before enclosing).
I won't be able to play DVD-A or Blu Rays, but I still have a Denon CD/SACD player in the system (and the computer, turntable, and Logitech Sqlueezebox) The Denon is also a great sounding machine. The Oppo is more revealing but not as warm. I had originally bought the Oppo so that I could play the DVD-A and Blu Rays that I have, and also used it as my DAC for a year. I was going to sell the Denon but kept putting it off because I prefered the sound of some discs on the Denon.
I am holding my breath on the 105, because I really love that unit and anxiously await it's return, hopefully safe and sound.

[PJPJ]

Fingers crossed with the repair. I am close to buying one of these myself.

Which receiver do you use?

[richardfinegold]

Fingers crossed with the repair. I am close to buying one of these myself.

Which receiver do you use?

i don't use a receiverwith the Oppo. I have 3 systems total in my house. 2 are Home theatre systems and are receiver based. In my dedicated listening room I have a two channel system with no video monitor and I use the Oppo in 2 channel only. It's analog outs feed a Parasound Halo Pre Amp/Power Amp combination.
My two receivers are a Pioneer Elite (chosen because it connects to a Pioneer Elite 'Universal' (CD, DVD-V,DVD-A, SACD) player through an "i" link (firewire) in the basement. In the living room, which is mainly for the telly/Blu Ray/Apple TV I have an Onyko.
You had mentioned your pre pro in an earlier thread, but I forgot what it was.

[PJPJ]

That's a very nice stereo system. My own is surround but not BD enabled, yet, and will need major alterations to hook in a player and get surround sound as my Unidisk SC is now rather old hat. I'm still faffing around......

[richardfinegold]

That's a very nice stereo system. My own is surround but not BD enabled, yet, and will need major alterations to hook in a player and get surround sound as my Unidisk SC is now rather old hat. I'm still faffing around......

I am 6 foot three inches tall. I drive a Honda Fit, which I can squeeze into just fine, but woe to anyone that sits in the seat behind me. My friends all drive much more expensive cars and if we go out as couples always insist on taking their cars. My friends wonder why I spend more on my stereo than on my car. I tell them that a car is just for transportation, but that my stereo takes me to places no car ever could.



I am afraid I don't quite follow the last part of your post; I think you mean that your processor, or receiver, has multichannel inputs and outputs, but lacks an HDMI interface.
Current Blu Ray players rarely are equipped to output video in any interface except HDMI. Older Blu Rays were equipped with 'legacy' outputs for video, so perhaps you could find one on the used market that does so, and later if you upgrade your prepro to one that has HDMI you can still use the player.
I use the Oppo for audio only, and the 105 has high quality two channel (32 bit ESS Sabre) chips in the output stages. The BD-103 costs half as much, has the same video processing, but lesser chips in the two channel and headphone outputs. You could get the audio benefits of either Oppo now, without HDMI.
The Oppo also has HDMI Inputs. Why anyone would ever need this is beyond me (presumably if you have a Blu Ray or DVD you would play it on the Oppo itself, rather than outputting another player into the Oppo--perhaps it is for camcorders, if anyone still uses those) but I did try, for the heck of it, to use my daughter's Windows Computer which has HDMI to play a disc via the Oppo. It sounded much worse than the same disc as played directly on the Oppo, but perhaps this was due to the computer and not due to any defect in the HDMI input of the Oppo.
The future of Blu Ray is iffy. I haven't rented one in months. We stream our movies through Apple TV in High Definition Multichannel. Blu Ray Audio will probably be less successful than SACD or DVD-A and will lose a format war to High Resolution downloads. If you are contemplating buying a Blu Ray primarily for Video, I would stick with a budget player--the two Sonys in my HT systems both cost around $100 and work quite well.

[PJPJ]

I am afraid I don't quite follow the last part of your post; I think you mean that your processor, or receiver, has multichannel inputs and outputs, but lacks an HDMI interface....

No, it's worse than that. The Linn doesn't have any multichannel inputs of any kind. Unfortunately, the Oppo hasn't been designed to connect straight to power amps and needs a pre-amp/processor.

The need for an Oppo 105 hinges only on my wanting to play BD-A (multichannel not just stereo) whose future seems to me rather like you feel it's going to be. And, of course, at some stage I'll need a replacement SACD player in any case.

[richardfinegold]

No, it's worse than that. The Linn doesn't have any multichannel inputs of any kind. Unfortunately, the Oppo hasn't been designed to connect straight to power amps and needs a pre-amp/processor.

The need for an Oppo 105 hinges only on my wanting to play BD-A (multichannel not just stereo) whose future seems to me rather like you feel it's going to be. And, of course, at some stage I'll need a replacement SACD player in any case.

There is no way around it; you will need a multichannel preamp or receiver if you want to play in multichannel.
i think the Oppo is worth it in two channel because it sounds so great and can play so many formats, and be used as a DAC. i suppose it can be used as a streamer, although I haven't tried that.

[PJPJ]

There is no way around it; you will need a multichannel preamp or receiver if you want to play in multichannel.
i think the Oppo is worth it in two channel because it sounds so great and can play so many formats, and be used as a DAC. i suppose it can be used as a streamer, although I haven't tried that.

Streaming is the Oppo's weakness, I understand, as it doesn't play gaplessly, not conducive for listening to opera for a start.

[richardfinegold]

Got a call from customer service. They couldn't detect the loud noise the machine was making. The tone of the repair person implied that I'm crazy, of course.

[richardfinegold]

The Oppo has returned. I was told that the problem was dust accumulation in the machine. I have several other components on the same rack, in a room that I try to keep dust free if for no other reason than my Asthma, and They have never had a problem, so my first reaction was incredulity. However, the Oppo does work better now, so who knows.

[Dave2002]

I am 6 foot three inches tall.

...

We stream our movies through Apple TV in High Definition Multichannel. Blu Ray Audio will probably be less successful than SACD or DVD-A and will lose a format war to High Resolution downloads.

Seems I'm close to you height wise.

I didn't know that you could do multichannel with an Apple TV. Looking at ours it has an HDMI out and an optical out.

Really I just didn't think about audio - so presumably it can do the multi-channel via the HDMI out. Some devices can also do cinema style multi-channel using the optical output, but that's not reckoned to be good enough for audio. Also, will the ATV do multi-channel audio - or again is it simply cinema style audio for use with films?

I know others round here use an ATV for stereo sound - and have reported that it's good for that. I've just not got round to trying that. Indeed, I have been somewhat disappointed with the ATV as I haven't found much that I can't do just as well or better by other means. Still, it didn't cost a fortune, and it may eventually find a niche role - just haven't found that yet. One role could be to provide video on demand for some other TVs we have, but the world seems to have moved on - other occupants here often watch TV on iPads now, so that watching TV live on a real TV is just so old fashioned!

[richardfinegold]

Seems I'm close to you height wise.

I didn't know that you could do multichannel with an Apple TV. Looking at ours it has an HDMI out and an optical out.

Really I just didn't think about audio - so presumably it can do the multi-channel via the HDMI out. Some devices can also do cinema style multi-channel using the optical output, but that's not reckoned to be good enough for audio. Also, will the ATV do multi-channel audio - or again is it simply cinema style audio for use with films?

I know others round here use an ATV for stereo sound - and have reported that it's good for that. I've just not got round to trying that. Indeed, I have been somewhat disappointed with the ATV as I haven't found much that I can't do just as well or better by other means. Still, it didn't cost a fortune, and it may eventually find a niche role - just haven't found that yet. One role could be to provide video on demand for some other TVs we have, but the world seems to have moved on - other occupants here often watch TV on iPads now, so that watching TV live on a real TV is just so old fashioned!

The ATV plays in true multi channel