Pio Elite vs Oppo BD players

Toxis

It seems everyone recommends Oppo over the Elite players but how much better is it really? I can get Elite at work for a decent price so it's almost half price of an Oppo. Is it really worth extra bucks for them? I am getting back into watching movies and want better audio/video than my PS3...

zane77

Check out the recent thread on the Pio bdp320, it has some interesting info on Pio players

MacLeod

I wouldnt think so. If you compared them side by side you could probably tell the difference between the Oppo and Pioneer but once you get it home, you wont notice anything but supreme picture quality. If the prices were similar then might as well get the Oppo but with that deep a discount I cant see why you wouldnt jump all over the Pioneer.

F1nut

I use a slightly older BDP-05FD for video only, couldn't be happier.

leroyjr1

I liked my older pioneer elite BDP-05 and bdp51 but there new stuff is made by sharp and I personally wouldn't touch it. I own the oppo 103 and its a much better all around player than any Pioneer I've owned. Super quick, outstanding DVD up converting, plays everything and has HDMI inputs. Guess it all depends on which pioneer elite you're referring to. Everything about the Oppo is better.

If price is a factor the Sony BDP 790 is outstanding and half the price of the oppo and its better than the Elites.

ViperZ

I'll agree with F1nut here. If you'll be using Oppo just for playing blu-rays, then Pio Elite at 1/2 price of Oppo is definitely a better deal. But if you want for the best all-around player, then absolutely go for Oppo. I can't stop raving about my BDP-93 since I got it a bit less than two years ago. Amazing video, great audio (even for stereo music playback), plays any format video files from attached external hard drive or over network (wired or wireless), plays DVD-A and SACD discs if you have them, has built-in Netflix (93 has 720p/2.1, 103 has 1080p/5.1 support), has 3D support if you need it (103 has 4K support). My 93 has replaced PS3. PS3 was doing everything I wanted, but it was doing OK. Improvements in video were visible, but not a huge change. CD audio playback improvement was VERY noticeable.
And obviously if you want a full audiophile package, take a look at 105.

Toolfan66

I don't miss my Pioneer BD players one bit..Everything the OPPO does is better by a mile..The Cambridge is one hell of a player as well..

cnh

I believe the problem is the price point. New Elites don't even cost as much as the older BDP51f (Elite BDP-05) which was the Non-Elite clone of the 05. And Pioneer also made a 2000 dollar player back then.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Blu-ray-Disc/Elite-Blu-ray-Disc-Players/BDP-09FD


The new Elites top out a $499 which is the price of a super "cheap" Oppo so that Oppo is, in a sense, no longer a bargain brand that also happens to be a good machine!

Don't know what Pio is thinking but those older units were great as F1nut states above along with a number of others!

cnh

pearsall001

Oppo. Nuff' said.

cnh

Oppo BDP 105. $1199 17.3 lbs. ??

Elite BDP 53FD $499 7.71 lbs.??

TOTL Oppo sure weighs and costs more, now doesn't it?

cnh

mantis

I picked up a Pioneer Elite BDP53FD. I posted about what happened. I really loved all my Pioneer Elite players until I got the 53. Not to mention I have never seen a broken Elite player until they started making cheaper Blu ray players. Honestly I'm gonna be raw here , THEY SUCK ****!!!.

Here is my thread on the 53.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?130826-Pioneer-Elite-BDP53FD-Discussion-thread.-Review-will-follow-soon.&highlight=Pioneer+Elite+BDP53FD

Stay away from Elite players , they are not true Elite players anymore. The grape vine says Sharp is making these players and I believe it due to build quality and high failure rate.
Really think about the price , do you really want a cheap player in your system that most likely will fail?

When Pioneer starts making their own players , I will revist one and give it a serious demo. Until then players like Oppo and Cambridge Audio are all that I would use. If my Cambridge ever breaks down , I would buy an Oppo , they are extremely nice and everything you read about how good they are is true. I've done enough of them now to judge them.

DollarDave

BTW, I bought a Denon over a Pioneer Elite based on Mantis' recommendation and I am very pleased with it.

There is a bargain on a DBT-1713UD in the FS section right now that is only a couple of months old.

tonyb

Agree with everything Dan said. The newer players don't even compare to the older ones. I have an older AVI59 universal thats solid, sounds good, and still throws a fantastic picture. Can't replace that quality for the 150 buck used price so I'm holding on to mine.

Toxis

Alright. Thanks guys! Now I'm leaning to an Oppo unless so done has another to be considered (Denon?). I'm going to move from my Denon to a Pioneer Elite receiver so I was considering having them match but I'll never own Sharp products. Thanks for the heads up.

Also, is there much difference in the 83, 93 and 103? I'm not looking for 3D and already have streaming Netflix on my TiVo, receiver will have pandora and whatnot so I'm not worried about network abilities. Any audible/visual upgrades? And for just watching bluray a, never doing any CD/SACD playback, is there a need to go to a 95/105?

tonyb

Depends, for video only I think the 93 should be more than enough. Here's a thought though, if you bought the top of the line oppo, and you have external amplification, what exactly do you need a receiver for ?

Toxis

I'm going to run a 9.1 setup so I need all the processing, second zone for outside speakers, AirPlay for the second zone... An app to control it all is intriguing.

mantis

tonyb wrote: »

Depends, for video only I think the 93 should be more than enough. Here's a thought though, if you bought the top of the line oppo, and you have external amplification, what exactly do you need a receiver for ?

You think like a DAC man .

Sherardp

If you can get the Sony S790, I would choose that over the Oppo. Does an amazing job with upscaling and the AQ is superb. I personally felt it surpassed my Oppo. Build quality is superior with Oppo, so Oppo for the win there. Everything else I would save the coin and go with the S790, and it also does 4K upscaling, Dual HDMI outputs, does an excellent job at streaming with built in apps, Iphone control and more. Definitely worth a look.

Toolfan66

The 93 will give you all you need..

Toxis

I can get the 790 at work but never considered that or the Panny's. More research ahead apparently.

Toxis

Found a smoking price on a Sony S790 at work. Hooking it up tonight...

B Run

Toxis wrote: »

Found a smoking price on a Sony S790 at work. Hooking it up tonight...

I've never had an Oppo to compare to but I really like the S790.

Sherardp

Congrats bro.

timalan

Does anyone have a Sony BDP-S590 to compare to the S790? ... it lacks the 4K upscaling, but that's a non-issue for several years for most of us. It's $150 cheaper and still seems to have 95% of the functionality. For less than $100 on the street it seems like a great value...

ZLTFUL

I use the S590 and have to say that it completely blows away the "high end" Sharp, Samsung and Panasonic models I have had up to it.
Like you said, it lacks a few of the extra bells and whistles of the 790 but for a sub $100 BD device, it is hard to beat.

jon s

If you are thinking about Sony players, you should wait for the new models releasing next month.

Regarding Oppo and Pioneer, there is a reason why Oppo keeps getting awards as best players of the year. They are that good. But it's not only the video quality, its the audio as well. To be frank, you cannot see much difference in video quality in any of the players.

But the Oppo has hands down one of the best sound from any player. If you are planning to buy an Oppo, look at the BDP95, not the BDP105. Although the BDP95 is last years model, they used double stacked Sabre DACs which really was detailed. The BDP105 unfortunately only has single stacked DACs which degraded the sound quality a tad.

A friend lent me his Pioneer BDP09FD for a bit after he got the Oppo. He said the Oppo blew away the Pioneer which was no slouch in the audio department. I tried the Pioneer with an older Oppo BDP85SE, and even the older Oppo was better sounding than the Pioneer.

Toolfan66

OPPO for the WIN!!!








Yes I am a big FAN!! LOL!!

cnh

jon s wrote: »

If you are thinking about Sony players, you should wait for the new models releasing next month.

Regarding Oppo and Pioneer, there is a reason why Oppo keeps getting awards as best players of the year. They are that good. But it's not only the video quality, its the audio as well. To be frank, you cannot see much difference in video quality in any of the players.

But the Oppo has hands down one of the best sound from any player. If you are planning to buy an Oppo, look at the BDP95, not the BDP105. Although the BDP95 is last years model, they used double stacked Sabre DACs which really was detailed. The BDP105 unfortunately only has single stacked DACs which degraded the sound quality a tad.

A friend lent me his Pioneer BDP09FD for a bit after he got the Oppo. He said the Oppo blew away the Pioneer which was no slouch in the audio department. I tried the Pioneer with an older Oppo BDP85SE, and even the older Oppo was better sounding than the Pioneer.

I don't doubt your conclusions, it's just hard to believe that that Pioneer (weighing in at 30.42 lbs) would not equal or exceed the Oppo in sound quality?

ESPECIALLY the "older" Oppo? BTW, try and find internal shots of the New Elites and compare them to the incredible engineering "below"!

Pioneer internals below:


cnh

leroyjr1

cnh wrote: »

I don't doubt your conclusions, it's just hard to believe that that Pioneer (weighing in at 30.42 lbs) would not equal or exceed the Oppo in sound quality?

ESPECIALLY the "older" Oppo? BTW, try and find internal shots of the New Elites and compare them to the incredible engineering "below"!

Pioneer internals below:


cnh

I'm guessing the heavy transformer would be the weight difference.

cnh

leroyjr1 wrote: »

I'm guessing the heavy transformer would be the weight difference.

Probably right. But Pioneer lit. also indicates that there is a lot of "structural" engineering for vibration and jitter correction, etc. A very RIGID, reinforced chassis among other things.

cnh

mantis

cnh wrote: »

I don't doubt your conclusions, it's just hard to believe that that Pioneer (weighing in at 30.42 lbs) would not equal or exceed the Oppo in sound quality?

ESPECIALLY the "older" Oppo? BTW, try and find internal shots of the New Elites and compare them to the incredible engineering "below"!

Pioneer internals below:


cnh

I've Installed this Incredible player many times and it's awesome after it's on. It's slow as hell on boot up but not compared to things in it's day. Incredible built quality. I would love for Blu ray players to bring that back. They are all so damn cheap today.