First Look: Oppo’s new flagship BDP-105 universal/Blu-ray player/DAC

Posted by: Chris Martens at 9:09 am, December 14th, 2012

Looking back over the last four or five years, you could build a strong case for the claim that Oppo Digital has worked harder than any other firm to produce versatile, affordable, audiophile-friendly, and undeniably overachieving universal disc players.  Indeed, those who are long-term readers of The Absolute Sound will already know that Oppo’s players have, over the years, won both critical acclaim and numerous awards for delivering killer performance at a budget price. More importantly, Oppo players have prevailed in the marketplace, earning an enviable reputation as the almost automatic go-to recommendation for those who want disc players that can provide “the good stuff” sonically speaking, but that don’t cost the proverbial “arm and a leg.” One even more telling indicator of Oppo’s success (and acceptance within the industry) is the fact that—at audio trade shows—surprisingly large numbers of exhibitor’s use Oppo players in their displays. My thought: there is probably no higher accolade than the respect and admiration of one’s peers.

Historically, many of Oppo’s most popular players have sold for roughly $500 or less (an amazing price point, really, when you consider how very many things Oppo players can do well). However, with the 2011 release of the BDP-95 universal/Blu-ray player ($999), the firm began to explore a more upscale market—one where players are evaluated not just in terms of value for money, but in terms of absolute performance. Despite its higher price tag, the BDP-95 was a runaway success, as evidenced by the fact that—at audio trade shows—one sees surprisingly large numbers of exhibitor’s using Oppo BDP-95’s in their displays (and frankly, more than a few high-end manufacturers keep one or more BDP-95’s at their factories to use as references).  If the respect and admiration of one’s peers is any indicator (and I think that it is), then Oppo’s BDP-95 has been held in high esteem indeed.

Now, however, Oppo has launched a replacement for the well-loved BDP-95 in the form of the brand new BDP-105 ($1199). The arrival of any new flagship is always a bit of a big deal, and that goes double for the BDP-105 since it has some very big shoes to fill. My review sample of the BDP-105 has recently arrived, so that I thought I might take this opportunity to share the unboxing experience with you, and then to briefly review the key differences between the BDP-95 and 105.

Unboxing: What’s In the Box

When you first unpack the BDP-105 you’ll discover that, at a hefty 17.3 pounds, it is the largest and beefiest universal player Oppo has produced to date and one that comes with a lot of cool accessories. Thus, the carton contains:

 - The BDP-105 player itself, complete with a protective fabric bag.

- A thorough and very well written product manual.

- An all-new, backlit remote control that looks like a cross between one of the earlier-generation Oppo remotes and the control for an AVR. (The remote comes, of course, with its own batteries.)

- A beefy power cord.

- An also beefy HDMI cable (not one of the those cheapie thrown-in-as-an-afterthought jobs, but rather a serious HDMI cable).

- A USB extension cable with small, pedestal type USB port (this accessory is handy if you’d like a remotely located point where you might plug in USB memory devices, a USB cable from a computer audio system, or the—included—USB Wi-Fi dongle).

- The aforementioned USB W-Fi dongle.

- An HDMI-MHL adapter cable (useful for those who wish to connect HD devices—for example, certain smartphones—that support MHL interfaces).

Oppo BDP-105 vs. BDP-95: What makes the 105 different and better?