Pioneer Elite UDP-LX500
mantis
Posts: 17,200
in Electronics
So Yeah I own a Oppo UDP203 and honestly it's absolutely fantastic BUT I can't just sit around and let the Pioneer Elite UDP-LX500 pass me by. So I ordered one and it should be here around Monday or Tuesday. I'm gonna directly compare it to the Oppo and see which one is actually the best fit for me. I honestly miss having Pioneer Elite in my system. When I switched to 4k I now have all Sony ES and XBR stuff in my system instead of Elite and in ways it bothers me. I'm also strongly considering replacing the Sony STRZ5000ES flagship AVR with the Pioneer Elite Flagship SCLX-901.
So when it arrives I'm gonna go deep into her and really give her some drive. I'm gonna test her on all disc relationships from DVD to 4k UHD to CD to SACD to DVD-AUDIO. She will get a full penetration of technologies to compete with the mighty Oppo 203. It's at all order to match the performance let alone beat the Oppo at anything. I can honestly say it's basically a perfect player in every single way. I have 0 complaints about it BUT I can't sit still you guys know that LOL.
So when it arrives I'm gonna go deep into her and really give her some drive. I'm gonna test her on all disc relationships from DVD to 4k UHD to CD to SACD to DVD-AUDIO. She will get a full penetration of technologies to compete with the mighty Oppo 203. It's at all order to match the performance let alone beat the Oppo at anything. I can honestly say it's basically a perfect player in every single way. I have 0 complaints about it BUT I can't sit still you guys know that LOL.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
Comments
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Wow: so Freudian lol.Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
Rock on Dan, I look forward to your impressions.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Wouldn't it be a better comparison if you put it up against a Oppo UDP 205 as they both have more in common with one another? The new Pioneer caught my eye in the latest Audio Advisor catalog and looks like something I might consider since I was not able to obtain a UDP205 before Oppo folded on thier universal players. Looking forward to your review on LX500.Home Theater
Parasound Halo A 31 OnkyoTX-NR838 Sony XBR55X850B 55" 4K RtiA9 Fronts CsiA6 Center RtiA3 Rears FxiA6 Side Surrounds Dual Psw 111's Oppo 105D Signal Ultra Speaker Cables & IC's Signal Magic Power Cable Technics SL Q300 Panamax MR4300 Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables Audioquest Forest USB Cable
2 Channel
Adcom 555II Vincent SA-T1 Marantz SA 15S2 Denon DR-M11 Clearaudio Bluemotion SDA 2.3tl's (Z) edition MIT Terminator II Speaker Cables & IC's Adcom 545II Adcom Gtp-450 Marantz CD5004 Technics M245X SDA 2B's, SDA CRS+
Stuff for the Head
JD LABS C5 Headphone Amplifier, Sennheiser HD 598, Polk Audio Buckle, Polk Audio Hinge, Velodyne vPulse, Bose IE2, Sennheiser CX 200 Street II, Sennheiser MX 365
Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin
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Having owned PE for over 30 years my move to Marantz was a weird one too.
I have multiple Oppo players but I get your thought process in doing this.
I look forward to your thoughts as well.Main room- RTiA9 x4, CSiA6, in ceiling Atmos RT-70 x4, SVS PC 4000 x2, Marantz 8805A, OPPO 203, Emotiva DR3 G3, Emotiva XPA-2 G3, Emotiva XPA-5 G3, Emotiva X300, Sony 75" 940E, Panasonic Plasma VT50, PS Audio Power Port X2, PS Audio AC-5 x8, AQ Rocket 33 Biwire speaker cables, AQ King Cobra XLR IC, Furman PFi20 W/Cullen cable, SoildSteel S4-4 rack, Gik room treatments
Office- Legend L600, in ceiling Polk RC80i, Marantz 7704, OPPO 203, Pioneer Elite PDF-59 CD, PSA Stellar 300, Sony 55" 800B, Gik room treatment
Master BR- Signature ES60, Signature S35 Center, Signature S15 Dolby Height, LSI700 in ceiling, SVS-SB4000, Marantz 5012, Emotiva XPA5 G2, OPPO 203, Pioneer DVL-919 Laser Disc, Sony 55" OLED
Patio- SDI Atrium8 x3, Emotiva A-100 amps x3 -
ModWright is working on a Tube mod for this player, very similar to the OPPO-UDP 205 Mod, except without the outboard Power Supply.
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=159645.0
With dedicated Analog Output, this could be a very nice Disc Spinner -
Any idea why Pioneer isn't bringing the UDP-LX800 to the US? Looking at the internal pics and the specs it is definitely a much better player than the UDP-LX500.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I have no idea. There is no word from Pioneer about the 800 coming here.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
I so look forward to your impressions..Polk Audio SDA 2.3tl Fully Hot Rodded. 😎
SVS SB16 X2
Cary SLP-05/Ultimate Upgrade.
Cary SA-500.1 ES Amps
Cary DMS 800PV Network
OPPO UDP 205/ModWright Modification
VPI Scout TT / Dynavector 20x2
Jolida JD9 Fully Modified
VPI MW-1 Cyclone RCM
MIT Shotgun 3 cables throughout / Except TT, and PC’s -
Should be here tomorrowDan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Open, Open, Open
I like to get your impressions on this unit also, I have the 85FD and by the specs they both are about the same except for the 4k. But the 85FD does upconvert to 4k were the 500 does not (per the info sheet)Family Room HT 7.2/i]:Vizio Oled55h1 Pioneer Elite SC-LX502 Pioneer Elite BDP 85FD Eversolo DMP A6 Panamax M5300-EXSpeakers Fronts Fluance XF8L Center Polk Audio S35 Side Surrounds Fluance bipolar Rear Surrounds FluanceXF8 Bookshelf Subs SVS PB4000 x2 Living room 2ch: Crown Xli 1500 amp x2, Teac EQ MKII FX Audio X6 Mk II DAC Squeezebox Touch Fluance Signature Tower Speakers Panamax M5100-EXOffice media room:Vizio M50Q6 50" Pioneer Elite VSX LX301 Eversolo DMP-A6 Polkaudio R600 Towers Polkaudio Center R300 Panamax M4300 Monoprice 12" subMaster bedroom:Vizio M55Q7 Pioneer Elite VSX LX302 Pioneer Elite BDP 85FD Squeezebox Touch Fluance Signature Bookshelf fronts, Rears Fluance Signature Bipolar Polk Audio CS10 center Monoprice 12" sub Panamax M5300-EX -
Any idea why Pioneer isn't bringing the UDP-LX800 to the US? Looking at the internal pics and the specs it is definitely a much better player than the UDP-LX500.
My guess is that Pioneer does not believe they will generate enough sales in the North American market for a $4,000 Blu-ray player. They might be right.
Going by the lessons Pioneer learned from the disappointing sales of their $2,200 BDP-09FD flagship Blu-ray player, I am not surprised they don't want to "waste time" offering "the good stuff" to North America again.
If Oppo was still around, it is doubtful that we would even be seeing the UDP-LX500 in North America.
Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
I also believe we are coming to an end of Disc players. Most people today don't want to be bothered to get up and put a disc in a player. Shame that streaming is taking over day by day. I'm not in on this.DarqueKnight wrote: »Any idea why Pioneer isn't bringing the UDP-LX800 to the US? Looking at the internal pics and the specs it is definitely a much better player than the UDP-LX500.
My guess is that Pioneer does not believe they will generate enough sales in the North American market for a $4,000 Blu-ray player. They might be right.
Going by the lessons Pioneer learned from the disappointing sales of their $2,200 BDP-09FD flagship Blu-ray player, I am not surprised they don't want to "waste time" offering "the good stuff" to North America again.
If Oppo was still around, it is doubtful that we would even be seeing the UDP-LX500 in North America.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
I was watching a streaming movie on Vudu last night with a strong internet connection on a high speed network. It crashed 40 minutes in and would not start back up. Discs don’t do that. I started the same movie on Amazon though and no problems.
The LX500 looks comparable to the Oppo 203 and the LX800 looks like the Oppo 205. For twice the retail of Oppo. I am wondering if Pioneer bought Oppo’s development material for these players or if they are clean slate designs. -
My guess is that Pioneer does not believe they will generate enough sales in the North American market for a $4,000 Blu-ray player.
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I thought the 800 was only $2k and the 500 was $1k?????Family Room HT 7.2/i]:Vizio Oled55h1 Pioneer Elite SC-LX502 Pioneer Elite BDP 85FD Eversolo DMP A6 Panamax M5300-EXSpeakers Fronts Fluance XF8L Center Polk Audio S35 Side Surrounds Fluance bipolar Rear Surrounds FluanceXF8 Bookshelf Subs SVS PB4000 x2 Living room 2ch: Crown Xli 1500 amp x2, Teac EQ MKII FX Audio X6 Mk II DAC Squeezebox Touch Fluance Signature Tower Speakers Panamax M5100-EXOffice media room:Vizio M50Q6 50" Pioneer Elite VSX LX301 Eversolo DMP-A6 Polkaudio R600 Towers Polkaudio Center R300 Panamax M4300 Monoprice 12" subMaster bedroom:Vizio M55Q7 Pioneer Elite VSX LX302 Pioneer Elite BDP 85FD Squeezebox Touch Fluance Signature Bookshelf fronts, Rears Fluance Signature Bipolar Polk Audio CS10 center Monoprice 12" sub Panamax M5300-EX -
recoveryone wrote: »
I thought the 800 was only $2k and the 500 was $1k?????
I believe that is correct.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
recoveryone wrote: »My guess is that Pioneer does not believe they will generate enough sales in the North American market for a $4,000 Blu-ray player.
I thought the 800 was only $2k and the 500 was $1k?????[/quote]recoveryone wrote: »
I thought the 800 was only $2k and the 500 was $1k?????
I believe that is correct.
My mistake. It's $4,000 Australian dollars, $2,800 U.S.The LX500 looks comparable to the Oppo 203 and the LX800 looks like the Oppo 205. For twice the retail of Oppo. I am wondering if Pioneer bought Oppo’s development material for these players or if they are clean slate designs.
Going by weight, I would say the LX800 is in a class by itself and the LX500 is comparable to the Oppo 205.
UDP-203: 9.5 pounds.
UDP-205: 22 pounds.
UDP-LX500: 22.7 pounds.
UDP-LX800: 30.42 pounds.
https://intl.pioneer-audiovisual.com/products/blu-ray_disc_player/udp-lx800/
One thing I hate about my Oppo 205 is there is no Windows-based web interface for music playback, which means I have to use the crappy Android-based interface or navigate using the TV. If the LX500 has a better non-TV music playback interface, and the same or better audio and video quality...the Oppo's days are numbered in my HT (ain't selling it though
) However, acquisition of an LX500 is contingent on the LX800 never being available in North America, or a foreign unit not being modifiable for use in North America. Post edited by DarqueKnight onProud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
It's on. The Battle begins
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
I would be interested in some pictures with the tops removed on both units, and some of the rear panels.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
DarqueKnight wrote: »recoveryone wrote: »My guess is that Pioneer does not believe they will generate enough sales in the North American market for a $4,000 Blu-ray player.
I thought the 800 was only $2k and the 500 was $1k?????recoveryone wrote: »
I thought the 800 was only $2k and the 500 was $1k?????
I believe that is correct.
My mistake. It's $4,000 Australian dollars, $2,800 U.S.The LX500 looks comparable to the Oppo 203 and the LX800 looks like the Oppo 205. For twice the retail of Oppo. I am wondering if Pioneer bought Oppo’s development material for these players or if they are clean slate designs.
Going by weight, I would say the LX800 is in a class by itself and the LX500 is comparable to the Oppo 205.
UDP-203: 9.5 pounds.
UDP-205: 22 pounds.
UDP-LX500: 22.7 pounds.
UDP-LX800: 30.42 pounds.
https://intl.pioneer-audiovisual.com/products/blu-ray_disc_player/udp-lx800/
One thing I hate about my Oppo 205 is there is no Windows-based web interface for music playback, which means I have to use the crappy Android-based interface or navigate using the TV. If the LX500 has a better non-TV music playback interface, and the same or better audio and video quality...the Oppo's days are numbered in my HT (ain't selling it though ) However, acquisition of an LX500 is contingent on the LX800 never being available in North America, or a foreign unit not being modifiable for use in North America. [/quote]
@DarqueKnight By sheer, odd coincidence I was just controlling my UDP-205 using Windows Media Player from my computer on my home network the other day. My desktop computer is in the bedroom and the Oppo is in the living room and both are on my wired, gigabit network. I just selected a track or an album and hit “play to” and a list of potential devices drops down to send it to. The Oppo was on and playing something else and when I selected it, the player switched over and played what I sent to it from my computer running Windows 10. -
@mantis
What are the disc formats and music streaming formats is the Pioneer capable of?
There was a period of time going all the way back to the days of the Laserdisc that Pioneer was KING 👑 of the universal disc players. After a while they kind of gave it up and let someone else take the lead. -
I'm shocked that Onkyo/Pioneer put as much physical build quality into the LX models as they have. I thought that was something that ended more than ten years ago for the big manufacturers with disc spinning players.
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I don't speak the language, but this guy is in a way using the universal language of audio geek and diving deep into the LX500. Good stuff...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPLinVzEmcE -
nooshinjohn wrote: »I would be interested in some pictures with the tops removed on both units, and some of the rear panels.
Are we still talking about Blu-ray players?
Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's. -
DVD, Blu ray UHD , CD, SACD , DVD AUDIO etc. It's a complete universal player and 4k blu ray player. It's awesome.honestaquarian wrote: »@mantis
What are the disc formats and music streaming formats is the Pioneer capable of?
There was a period of time going all the way back to the days of the Laserdisc that Pioneer was KING 👑 of the universal disc players. After a while they kind of gave it up and let someone else take the lead.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
So some thoughts so far.
Last night I watched some UHD 4k Blu ray movies and to my surprise the video is on par with the OPPO 203. In some cases I thought the Oppo 203 has slightly better black levels and better contrast. I think this has something to do with Tone mapping. In the Oppo I can set the tone map to what NIT output I want. I have it set to 1600 nits. The Pioneer doesn't have these adjustments. The pioneer is still using it's old 1999 looking menu system they have used on their blu ray players since forever. The Oppo has a WAY better looking menu system.
Sound quality for movies was also on par with the Oppo 203. I think this is a complete tie. It's HDMI sent to my Avr and I couldn't hear any difference at all. I went back and forth and watched the same scene over and over and I came to the conclusion that they are a tie.
Tonight is going to be some SACD DVD AUDIO and some CD spinning. The Oppo is killer here and I expect the Pioneer to match or better the performance.
I'm also going to do some 2 channel listening over analog audio I have Audioquest Mackenzie analog RCA cables and I'm gonna test it with them. I heard from a friend who also has the Pioneer that the CD playback is incredible that I need to connect analog and use the internal DAC's in it. He told me it sounds like a cd transport with a killer DAC so I'm gonna have to dig in here.
The built quality size and weight goes hands down to the Pioneer. The Oppo is very nice, well built but isn't no where near as nice as the Pioneer. The one thing that really stood out is the quality of the tray. The Oppo is basic plastic and the Pioneer has a higher end feeling coating on the tray like soft suede. I love that as it makes you feel like your using a high end piece.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
It's refreshing as I'm sick and tired of cheap crappy junk trash garage built players.I'm shocked that Onkyo/Pioneer put as much physical build quality into the LX models as they have. I thought that was something that ended more than ten years ago for the big manufacturers with disc spinning players.
When I opened the box and pulled it out I felt like I went back 10 plus years and had a solid well built quality warming piece of gear in my hands. I didn't want to put it down LOL.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
It's refreshing as I'm sick and tired of cheap crappy junk trash garage built players.I'm shocked that Onkyo/Pioneer put as much physical build quality into the LX models as they have. I thought that was something that ended more than ten years ago for the big manufacturers with disc spinning players.
When I opened the box and pulled it out I felt like I went back 10 plus years and had a solid well built quality warming piece of gear in my hands. I didn't want to put it down LOL.
Awright I’ll leave you two lovebirds
alone 
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It's to close to pick a winner here. The Oppo is so damn good at everything it does it's hard to find any flaws with it. Sound quality playing music of all kinds is top notch over analog and over HDMI. But so is the Pioneer. If I had to pick one of these as my main player now and the price was exactly the same, I may pick the Oppo. My heart would tell me to pick the Pioneer but there isn't anything the Pioneer does better then the Oppo and visa versa. Looks wise the Pioneer is hands down. You can't buy a oppo today for retail price. Everyone wants at least double or more and people are paying it to have one. I'm so glad I was able to grab one before they where gone.
If someone today was looking for a superior player that does everything right, the Pioneer is a worthy piece. It's CD ability will satisfy any audiophile who is willing to use a Universal player. I hear no flaws at all with it. it's quiet and when you put a CD in the tray you get a little joy, this is one thing it has over the Oppo.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
I'll be interested to here your final thoughts. I'm in the market for a good 4K player like the Oppo (shame they got out of the business) but everything out right now just seems sub-par.Money Talks, Mine says Goodbye Rob!!!!
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@Grimster74 Panasonic is getting rave reviews for their universal 4K players. I’m happy to see that Pioneer is making some good universal players. So far from what @mantis has said it looks like the Pioneer comes about the closest to the Oppo when it comes to “universal play just about any and everything” ability. However it doesn’t look good for the lifespan of silver discs anymore, since everything is about streaming nowadays (the fact that streaming cannot compete with the disc for absolute picture and sound quality is irrelevant to most. Mainly because they either do not know this or do not care since the disc cannot compete with streaming when it comes to convenience and not having to have a need for storage space)
So if you’re gonna get a player you might not want to wait too long
