This Sounds Similar to Bernarl's Thread, But...The Denon, Marantz or Oppo?

Mike LoManaco

It seems as though another member touched on this a bit in another thread (Oppo or Denon), but I wanted everyone's opinion about this comparison...

As I prepare to take my Blu-ray reviews to a whole new dimension via a replacement for my Panny 'BD10A :cool: I came across the latest issue of Crutchfield, which is now selling a Denon DBP-2010CI ($699) and a Marantz BD7004 ($799) both of which carry the Oppo's Anchor Bay chip for processing -- the exact reason I was going to go with the Oppo, for superior DVD upscaling.

Now that the Denon and its sister clone, the Marantz, carry the Anchor Bay chip, are these worth considering next to the Oppo, do you think?

I'm still leaving Samsung off my list, as well as Sony and the PS3.

Thanks, guys, as always!

Ron Temple

Mike LoManaco wrote: »

It seems as though another member touched on this a bit in another thread (Oppo or Denon), but I wanted everyone's opinion about this comparison...

As I prepare to take my Blu-ray reviews to a whole new dimension via a replacement for my Panny 'BD10A :cool: I came across the latest issue of Crutchfield, which is now selling a Denon DBP-2010CI ($699) and a Marantz BD7004 ($799) both of which carry the Oppo's Anchor Bay chip for processing -- the exact reason I was going to go with the Oppo, for superior DVD upscaling.

Now that the Denon and its sister clone, the Marantz, carry the Anchor Bay chip, are these worth considering next to the Oppo, do you think?

I'm still leaving Samsung off my list, as well as Sony and the PS3.

Thanks, guys, as always!

I don't know anything about the Marantz or Denon players, but it seems to me that on the video side both might match the Oppo, depending on software implementation for PQ. I doubt if they can exceed the Oppo in that category. Their top of the line players can't.

danz1906

Oppo hands down!

vc69

As has been said repeatedly:
For Blu-Ray, all playback platforms perform about equally.
For DVD upscaling, the proof is in the dozen or so reviews that have run the benchmarks and done the comparative analysis. The Oppo is the state of the art. The only competition it has is very, very expensive and seems to offer no clear advantage in the video department.
For those requiring analog output of audio and and onboard decoding of hi-def codecs, the high end Denon is a clear winner due to a better analog audio output section. Feature wise, they are equals. But at $4500, the added value is debatable and certainly out of reach for the common consumer.

The Oppo is an amazing bargain and totally lives up to it's reputation. I have one and it is by far the best value in home entertainment out there IMHO, it outperforms it's price in every way including 2ch analog.

Mike LoManaco

I understand it's been "said repeatedly" guys, but the reason I asked is because these players seem to share the Anchor Bay (ABT) chip for upscaling, so theoretically they should perform the same in terms of DVD upscaling; so I am questioning the "without equal" or "state of the art" claims of the Oppo.

Mike LoManaco

Ron Temple wrote: »

I don't know anything about the Marantz or Denon players, but it seems to me that on the video side both might match the Oppo, depending on software implementation for PQ. I doubt if they can exceed the Oppo in that category. Their top of the line players can't.

Thanks Ron,

Do you really feel the flagship Marantz and Denon cannot outperform the Oppo?

Ron Temple

Mike LoManaco wrote: »

Thanks Ron,

Do you really feel the flagship Marantz and Denon cannot outperform the Oppo?

In all the reviews I've seen, video performance, at the top is very tough to quantify. There is no clear winner, but there's been no offering I've seen that's beaten the Oppo video performance. Audio performance is where, subjectively, the non Oppo players tend to get some leverage, but not a $2000 to $4000 difference( unless you've got the money and that difference is of premium importance to you). What that tells me, is that if Marantz, Lexicon, Denon, Pioneer or anyone else selling an "audiophile/videophile" player at the highest pricepoints is going to have some space between these models and their lower midfi offerings...even if they share the same chipset with Oppo. Otherwise, how can they justify the price difference. I could be wrong, but I'd guess there's a speed and software differential, as well as, audio and features. Otherwise, they'd kill the value proposition of the high end stuff.

Mike LoManaco

Ron Temple wrote: »

In all the reviews I've seen, video performance, at the top is very tough to quantify. There is no clear winner, but there's been no offering I've seen that's beaten the Oppo video performance. Audio performance is where, subjectively, the non Oppo players tend to get some leverage, but not a $2000 to $4000 difference( unless you've got the money and that difference is of premium importance to you).

Thanks Again, Ron.

An interesting note, however, is that Home Theater recently compared a flagship Denon universal BD player with the Oppo, and claimed that the Oppo couldn't really hold its own at all in this league -- the player was outstanding on its own, but compared to the Denon, it fell way short. Of course, the price difference is staggering.

What that tells me, is that if Marantz, Lexicon, Denon, Pioneer or anyone else selling an "audiophile/videophile" player at the highest pricepoints is going to have some space between these models and their lower midfi offerings...even if they share the same chipset with Oppo. Otherwise, how can they justify the price difference. I could be wrong, but I'd guess there's a speed and software differential, as well as, audio and features. Otherwise, they'd kill the value proposition of the high end stuff.

I'm just very curious, as was the point of the initial post, if the Denon and Marantz units utilizing the ABT chip will perform "as good" or on par with the Oppo, and if so, if it's worth considering these in the new player mix. Some are saying the Anchor Bay chip in the Denon/Marantz is a different implementation of the chip.

Ron Temple

Mike LoManaco wrote: »

Thanks Again, Ron.

An interesting note, however, is that Home Theater recently compared a flagship Denon universal BD player with the Oppo, and claimed that the Oppo couldn't really hold its own at all in this league -- the player was outstanding on its own, but compared to the Denon, it fell way short. Of course, the price difference is staggering.



I'm just very curious, as was the point of the initial post, if the Denon and Marantz units utilizing the ABT chip will perform "as good" or on par with the Oppo, and if so, if it's worth considering these in the new player mix. Some are saying the Anchor Bay chip in the Denon/Marantz is a different implementation of the chip.

Who knows...Cambridge just announced a Universal for $700 that should rival the Oppo with better SQ. They haven't hit the market yet and no reviews. Let it play out. Right now the Oppo is unarguably the best value Uni player out there...subjectively beaten out in audio performance by players costing **** times more. If Denon, Marantz or anyone can equal the video performance and better the audio performance at similar price points, then great. I'm not sure what that does for the $4K pricepoint players legs though.

Mike LoManaco

Ron Temple wrote: »

Who knows...Cambridge just announced a Universal for $700 that should rival the Oppo with better SQ. They haven't hit the market yet and no reviews. Let it play out. Right now the Oppo is unarguably the best value Uni player out there...subjectively beaten out in audio performance by players costing **** times more. If Denon, Marantz or anyone can equal the video performance and better the audio performance at similar price points, then great. I'm not sure what that does for the $4K pricepoint players legs though.

Wow -- interesting news. The players keep coming and coming in waves. Now that BD has been established mainstream, the esoteric companies are launching product like it's nobody's business, making me wonder where decks from Sony, Panasonic and Samsung will stand.

At any rate, I was just wondering about these said players because the Crutchfield mention of them was alarming given the fact that the Oppo carries the ABT chip as well -- the main thing for me is DVD upconversion from these players (aside from excellent BD performance, of course).

Bernal

Oppo...:D

http://reviews.cnet.com/blu-ray-players-recorders/oppo-bdp-83/4505-9991_7-33712796.html?tag=mncol;lst

Mike LoManaco

Sounds like you have your mind made up as well, Ber...I assume that's what everyone from your thread has suggested for you, as well?

What concerns me about the Oppo was this statement from the link you provided:

"Expensive; competing players offer comparable performance on vast majority of Blu-ray movies..."

Ron Temple

That was the worst review I've read about the Oppo. Cnet's audience is really toward more value oriented players. There's not much difference in BD playback between $100 player and a $5000 one. There's a huge difference in SD upscaling, the universal features that this review didn't even consider and it's ability to decode and pass hi rez codecs over HDMI and analog...not to mention timely firmware support, customer service and build quality.

Mike, I really don't know what you're aiming for. The two players that you've sited are more expensive and feature the Anchor Bay chipset, but are they universal, do they decode, what do they sound like? The only thing you've listed is that they feature the same chipset and should offer similar video performance. Are they fast? The only Denon or Marantz universal players that get compared to the Oppo currently are their top of the line players. They feature better analog sections, but they should at the $4G and up pricepoint.