Welcome to my audio review of the Oppo UDP-205, a £1,500 4K Ultra HD Audiophile Blu-ray Player plus a comparison with the renowned Oppo BDP-105D.

The Oppo UDP-205 is a class leading, award winning blu-ray player that does more than just play DVDs. It has best-in-class audio performance, Dual ESS ES9038PRO Sabre Pro DACs, reference quality video with HDR & Dolby Vision; 4K UHD, Blu-ray, 3D, DVD, DVD-Audio, SACD and CD.

The UDP-205 provides reference level sound quality through the analog outputs, improves the clock precision of the HDMI audio output, and increases the power of the built-in headphone amplifier. For the analog output stages, the UDP-205 is equipped with two ESS Technology ES9038PRO 32-bit HyperStream DACs for both stereo and 7.1 channel analog audio. As the flagship of the ESS SABRE PRO series, the ES9038PRO sets a new benchmark for audio excellence with its best in class 140 dB of dynamic range.

It also features –

– HDMI Audio Jitter Reduction
– Asynchronous USB DAC and Coaxial/Optical Inputs (asynchronous USB DAC input supports sample rates up to 768 kHz PCM and DSD 512. For additional convenience and flexibility, the UDP-205 can convert digital signals from cable and satellite boxes, televisions, video game consoles and other digital transports with coaxial and optical digital outputs to analog.}
– Dedicated Stereo Output with XLR Balanced Connectors
– Advanced Image Processing Technology – MediaTek produce and manufacture a specialized 4K UHD Blu-ray decoder SoC – the quad-core OP8591, which offers the most advanced image decoding and processing technology available for 4K UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD and user generated media formats
– Dolby Vision
– Upscaling to 4K
– Toroidal Power Supply – Clean Power for Clear Music
– Custom-Made 4K Loader
– Lossless High-Resolution Audio
– Support for the Latest Surround Formats
– Weight – 30lbs

Main Review

In case you still are in any doubt from the key features, the Oppo UDP-205 is a beast of a machine, whether talking about audio or video. It also has won many awards.

For the purposes of this audio review, I used the following albums:-

– Wallflower by Diana Krall – one of my favourites albums. With the Oppo UDP-205, Diana Krall’s voice was velvet smooth, full of emotion. The realism of her voice was fantastic. By contrast the BDP-105D sounded flatter and lacked the same level of emotion.

– Drones by Muse – another superb album. The Oppo UDP-205 produced wonderful bass attack and speed, with incredible separation of the instruments. The BDP-105D felt slightly congested in comparison.

– Greatest hits by Culture Club – With this album, vocals and instruments shone with the UDP-205.

– Les Contes D’Hoffman – The Tales of Hoffman – This is one of my classical albums that for some reason, I have never enjoyed until I played it using the Oppo UDP-205. The plan was to compare the first track between the 2 players, and then make some notes. I was 50% through the album using the Oppo UDP-205 when I remembered I had to listen to it through the BDP-105D. The Oppo UDP-205 delivered a musical masterclass. An epic masterclass. Energy, scale, soundstage, vocals and instruments just sounded brilliant.

So what do I think of the Oppo UDP-205 and how does it compare to the older Oppo BDP-105D. In its day the Oppo BDP-105D was magnificent. But time moves on, and the Oppo UDP-205 just rises to a whole new level. I can tell you now, you haven’t heard your CD collection properly until you play the discs on this player.

So now let’s take a closer look at the Oppo UDP-205 vs Oppo BDP-105D.

Video Review

Conclusion

The Oppo UDP-205 is something very special on the audio front as well as video. It also has so much more to offer that it gains the Gavin’s Gadgets “Highly Recommended” seal of approval.

Useful Links

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