[Joe11554]

After 25 years my Krell 20i kicked the bucket and I am looking for a replacement.

However, I am presently converting my system to HT but trying to maintain the capabilities of a 2 channel system. I will be less dependent upon the CD player since I recently incorporated a Innous Zenith III music server into the system. I was thinking a multi-disc player may make more sense since it offers both 2 channel and HT audio/video.

I have read great review on the Oppo UDP-205 but it has been discontinued. My Question - Is the Oppo UDP-205 worth the escalated prices presently being asked for on the various used Audio sale sites or is there some other units (with the same flexibility) that would be a better choice. Would an Oppo UDP-205 give me equivalent or superior 2 channel performance than what I got from my Krell 20i?

Rest of system - Bryston SP3, YBA 2 amplification and Genesis Technologies V speakers

You comments are welcome.

 

[Joe11554]

Is there a replacement for the Oppo UDP-205 on the market?

 

[Da Wiz]

It depends on what you mean by "replacement".

First... if you aren't using the multi-channel analog outputs of the Oppo 205 in favor of an HDMI cable, you wasted a lot of money on the 205 because video-wise and HDMI-Bitstream audio-wise, the circa $650 cheaper 105 Oppo player will provide the same video and audio performance of the 205. Few of us use anything but HDMI these days because in the processor, you're likely to digitize the sound and process it again, then convert to analog again unless you take steps to stop that like using pure-direct mode and NOT using speaker distances, crossovers, etc. because all of those things will digitize the analog audio so why send analog audio from the disc player? And you can't do immersive sound with analog audio as there aren't 12 or 13 channels of D/A conversion in disc players (at least not yet).

If you just want an expensive disc player for no particular reason... Pioneer has one for $1000 and Panasonic has one for $1200 ish... the Panasonic has an HDR adjustment in it that is a huge deal for projectors that did not include a similar use of the Contrast conrol (many UHD projectors don't use the Contrast control that way so some UHD discs look too dark and others look too light... the Panasonic player lets you fix that. It's not an issue for flat panels since UHD/HDR was designed for flat panels and projectors struggle trying to make that look good (this year Epson's Contrast control works as the Panasonic machine's control. The Pioneer machine lets you set the player for max nits of the display device, but you are limited to the multiple-choice settings of 400, 600, 1000, 4000 nits (if I recall correctly) and can't customize the Pioneer for a display with 1400 nits for peak white or 210 nits for peak white. Whether either of those has 7.1 analog out that matches the 205? Not sure, I don't evaluate analog out on disc players any longer since I never use it, and haven't used it since changing-over to HDMI and digital audio processing circa 2007. Oppo was even careful to discuss this in their product info, trying to keep people from buying the most expensive model because they assumed it would have better video and audio (otherwise, why would the expensive model exist?).

As far as video image quality goes, there is just simply no difference between the video images produced by a properly working/designed $200 UHD disc player and a $1000 player (this applies to HD Blu-ray also, for DVD the video out was still analog until Blu-ray appeared in 2006 and machines started appearing with HDMI). For Bitstream audio, the only requirement is for the player to keep the bitstream in-tact as it is transferred to the AVR/processor and allow the processor to do its thing in digital mode, convert to analog, and send the signal along. That's not a very hard job with the chipsets that are out there today.

 

[Joe11554]

I am using a Panasonic 65" TC-P65ZT60 Plasma TV and love it, so I do not anticipate replacing it at this time or nor do I see a need for a projector in my immediate future.

You said that the Oppo 105 will provide similar performance compared to the 205 from a video/audio standpoint since I will be using the HDMI connection between the player and the Bryston SP3 for video/5.1 audio and 2 channel stereo audio? If I understand correctly, an inexpensive player should provide the video equivalent to the Oppo 205, thus minimizing my need if the purpose is primarily video only.

My reference to the Krell 20i being on its way out, is that the new player can also serve as a CD player/transport for 2 channel music. From the great reviews of the OPPO 205, my hope was that the transport would be of equivalent quality to the Krell 20i transport. If that were the case, I could simply feel a signal to the Bryston SP3 for 2 channel stereo without compromising the sound quality. I know a dedicated transport is always best but I do not want to spend money where it’s not necessary. The CD player would function as a backup to the music server that I am presently incorporating into my system.

So be it if I need a dedicated transport to achieve the 2 channel sound quality I am looking for but its always nice to save a buck to spend on other equipment.