Oppo BDP-103

Do I have a dud? Or is the Oppo BDP-103 really overrated? I think the Oppo does a pretty good job with Bluray, DVD, MKV files (my DVD rips), and picture slide shows, but anything else I find the Oppo totally lacking. For instance, they have a very small subset of streaming services native for Video. Just really NetFlix, and for the longest time (over 1 year) it was almost totally unusable. In fact, I got a Roku 3 a while ago out of frustration with the Oppo, and I have stopped using the Oppo for much other than the above. The Roku 3 spanked the Oppo in usability for NetFlix, Amazon Prime, and others along with the video quality was surprisingly good (not Oppo good, but plenty good enough). But, when it comes to audio, I get very frustrated with the Oppo. Here are the things I found/experienced so far:

1) Audio drop outs, strange sounds, and/or pops or clicks using Flac files using DLNA , SMB, or a USB device.
2) DLNA is slow, and SMB is just "experimental" from their perspective.
3) Gapless is limited to USB devices only unless you want to merge all your tracks into a single file with a CUE file (which doesn't that defeat the whole gapless thing anyway?)
4) Problems reading flac files. They have released firmware updates which have improved things some, but the latest problem I had with a click at the end of a file playback Oppo claims it is a mastering problem with my flac file. This is actually quite humorous since I use the software (1.3.0) from the inventor of the Flac file format (https://xiph.org/flac/format.html). I would think he would know how to generate a Flac file that meets his own specification. In addition, my ancient (7 year old) Denon 3808CI receiver has no such problems decoding my flac files or any other player that I have.
5) There are also reports on the Internet showing test results about higher than expected jitter when using the SPDIF out.

I don't want to be totally negative about this product. I really like the Media Control app for selecting Music, and their Bluray, DVD, and MKV playback is quite good. I also use it for slide shows of pictures that have been stored on my home network, but I find that the audio support is really hard to like.

In short, a few things:

1) Does anyone else have these same reservations/problems with this player for audio?
2) What is a better alternative for around the same price point ($500) for a network player that can do Flac, SPDIF (coaxial), and is fanless to reduce ambient noise?
3) For the longest time, I was resisting using computers for serious audio playback, but I am slowly warming up to the fact that USB 2.0 with some care/caveats can be nearly as good as SPDIF and even better in some cases. So, is everyone here using PCs for serious audio playback instead of network players? If so, anything special required to insure accurate playback over USB?

 

Yes, I know that they are highly regarded that's why I bought one. As a pure Bluray player, I think that hits the mark. Even streaming MKV (DVD rips) over SMB, it does that very well. In fact, I have no audio problems with it when playing movies. It's just the audio flac file playback that is really lacking. In addition, their network apps were severely lacking (although I haven't used them in over year since I got my Roku). Their network apps feel more like most TVs that I have had experience with that they added NetFlix just so they could say they have that supported, but even my "Smart TV" did a better job. And my $90 Roku 3 does a way better job along with adding many other Internet channels including Amazon Prime. I have no qualms recommending it for video, but audio not so much. As for streaming apps, I wouldn't want to inflict that pain on anyone.

 

Yes, and that puzzles me... The Oppo is nearly 4-5 times the expense of any normal Bluray player these days, and that's not including their top of the line BDP-105 which is quite expensive. Many regular Bluray players also offer apps and local network access to Video, Picture, and audio files. But the Oppo seems to position themselves as a "high end" Bluray/network streaming player with even an emphasis on audio, and some of that is pretty good. But their apps and music playing over the local network is just poor. Instead of advertising their support for these things (just a me too feature) and doing a poor job of it, they would be better off not supporting these at all... For instance, can any network player really call themselves high end in audio without solid gapless support these days? Oppo still considers that feature experimental at best...

 

I own a 105. Don't use it as a network player; my system can energize the entire house. Same gapless issues as you encounter. Not a big deal in my case 95% of the time, but it would be a nice feature to perfect. No problems playing files of any kind. Frankly, it's the first digital machine that shares time with my turntable. I think the sound is phenomenal. The included apps? Couldn't give a flying fruck.

 

Yes, I understand that... But I'll say it again too. Why bother adding these other features for customers to just get frustrated with and ultimately taint their experience with their product? In fact, I'll state it right up front. It is a horrible idea for a manufacturer to release features that they specifically labeled as "experimental." They should test all features out, and release a solid feature or don't bother especially since this is a "premium" product. In addition with their newer HA-1 headphone amplifier, you would think they would want/need a decent audio source. Do they really only want customers that are disc spinners? I have no problem playing a CD through it, but that is hardly as convenient as having all of your music library selectable on the network especially if it is a large collection like mine. In fact, they have a really good Media Control app for selecting your music for playback on the network which is really cool, but since they have so many problems with audio playback on the network I don't bother using it anymore. In addition, is the future of audio really disc spinning? HDCD is dead. SACD is nearly dead. DVD and Bluray is really starting to be replaced significantly with streaming services either from service providers or people's internal network. In fact, is there a future disk format coming for Bluray? All indications are no, and Bluray is nearly what 8 years old? Also, a lot of stores around here don't have much of selection of CDs anymore. So, continuing to ignore network audio streaming, seems like a bad business decision in IMHO. All I see them doing in the future is significantly increasing their pricing for the same capability as their market shrinks and they become even a smaller niche player in the disc spinning business that is dying.

 

I bought a BDP-103 for video. It connected to the TV via HDMI and to an integrated hybrid tube/MOSFET amp via RCA. The audio hum was awful. I tried an a Sony BD/DVD player in the same setup. No noise. I disconnected the TV from the Oppo and still had the same noise. Lifted ground; still the same noise. Since now it's just connected to the amp via RCA, I tried the Bifrost in its place. Dead silent. Then I called Oppo. They said this is known to happen and I was advised to use a DAC between the player and the amp. What?! At least they were honest. Promptly returned the player, bought a Modi2U and placed it between the Sony and the amp.