Pioneer Elite UDP-LX500

mantis
mantis Posts: 17,032
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.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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Comments

  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    Wow: so Freudian lol.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,707
    Rock on Dan, I look forward to your impressions.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

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  • gudnoyez
    gudnoyez Posts: 8,056
    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
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  • dolbyd
    dolbyd Posts: 430
    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

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  • Mike Reeter
    Mike Reeter Posts: 4,314
    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
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,707
    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

  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    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.
  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 16,834
    I so look forward to your impressions..
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    Should be here tomorrow
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • recoveryone
    recoveryone Posts: 885
    edited March 2019
    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 Optimus LS30's Rear Surrounds Optimus LS30's Subs SVS PB4000 x2 Living room 2ch: Crown Xli 1500 amp 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 LX103 Squeezebox Touch Polkaudio R50 Towers Polkaudio CS 10 Panamax M4300 Monoprice 12" subMaster bedroom:Vizio M55Q7 Pioneer Elite VSX LX302 Pioneer Elite BDP 85FD Squeezebox Touch Polk audio RTi 6 fronts, Rears Dayton B652 Polk Audio CS10 center Monoprice 12" sub Panamax M5300-EX
  • DarqueKnight
    DarqueKnight Posts: 6,760
    edited March 2019
    F1nut 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.
    Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    F1nut 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.
    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.

    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    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.
  • recoveryone
    recoveryone Posts: 885

    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.
    [/quote]

    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 Optimus LS30's Rear Surrounds Optimus LS30's Subs SVS PB4000 x2 Living room 2ch: Crown Xli 1500 amp 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 LX103 Squeezebox Touch Polkaudio R50 Towers Polkaudio CS 10 Panamax M4300 Monoprice 12" subMaster bedroom:Vizio M55Q7 Pioneer Elite VSX LX302 Pioneer Elite BDP 85FD Squeezebox Touch Polk audio RTi 6 fronts, Rears Dayton B652 Polk Audio CS10 center Monoprice 12" sub Panamax M5300-EX
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,707
    edited March 2019

    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

  • DarqueKnight
    DarqueKnight Posts: 6,760
    edited March 2019
    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]
    F1nut 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.
    Emlyn wrote: »
    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 on
    Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    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

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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    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?????
    F1nut 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.
    Emlyn wrote: »
    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.
  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    @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.
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    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.
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    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
  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,288
    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? o:)
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    @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.
    DVD, Blu ray UHD , CD, SACD , DVD AUDIO etc. It's a complete universal player and 4k blu ray player. It's awesome.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    Emlyn wrote: »
    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.
    It's refreshing as I'm sick and tired of cheap crappy junk trash garage built 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.
  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    mantis wrote: »
    Emlyn wrote: »
    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.
    It's refreshing as I'm sick and tired of cheap crappy junk trash garage built 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 <3 alone ;)
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    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.
  • Grimster74
    Grimster74 Posts: 2,564
    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.
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    @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 :(