Audio Video News

Oppo Digital today announced an audiophile version of the S&V Top Pick-designated UDP-203 Ultra HD Blu-ray player introduced last December.

Priced at $1,299, the UDP-205 4K Ultra HD Audiophile Blu-ray adds “top-of-the-line audio performance” to a universal player that delivers reference quality video performance and is compatible with a number of digital audio and video formats, including all forms of Blu-ray, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, SACD, CD, and others.

Featuring a brushed aluminum front panel and metal chassis with heavy-gauge machined feet, the player supports the HDR10 high dynamic range format, is upgradable to Dolby Vision via firmware, and has dual HDMI outputs—2.0 for UHD and HDMI 1.4 for audio—and an HDMI 2.0 input for external streaming devices and set-top boxes.

In today’s press release, Oppo described the UDP-205’s audio performance as a significant upgrade over the UDP-203 and previous generation players. Specific enhancements include “reference level sound quality” through the analog outputs, improved clock precision of the HDMI audio output, and increased power for the player’s built-in headphone amplifier.

The UDP-205’s upgraded HDMI clock includes circuitry said to significantly reduce jitter and eliminate timing errors at the audio-only HDMI output, improving the sound of PCM and DSD signals, according to Oppo. Compressed bitstream audio may also see improved audio performance depending on whether the audio decoder in the AV processor or receiver uses a synchronous or asynchronous clock scheme.

In addition to its 7.1-channel analog audio output, the UDP-205 has a dedicated stereo output processed by a ES9038PRO digital-to-analog converter (DAC)—flagship of the ESS Sabre Pro series—featuring specially designed buffer and driver stages. The headphone amplifier is also connected directly to the ESS DAC.

The player has both RCA and XLR balanced outputs—the latter featuring a differential signal path from DAC to XLR connector for improved common-mode noise rejection and signal quality—as well as a USB DAC with an asynchronous input that supports sample rates up to 768 kHz PCM and DSD 512, and coaxial and optical digital audio inputs.

By bypassing the typically poor quality DAC used in computer soundcards, Oppo says the UDP-205 can turn any PC into a high performing multi-media source in addition using its high-performance DAC to convert digital signals from cable and satellite boxes, TVs, game consoles, and other digital transports to analog.

The UDP-205’s audio circuitry is powered by a “massive” toroidal power supply, which is said to provide a clean and robust power source to the audio components, and a new double-layered chassis is designed to help cancel vibration. Oppo says the player’s internal layout and chassis promote healthy air flow so critical components can be naturally cooled with strategically placed heatsinks and ventilation grilles.

The UDP-205 is available now at oppodigital.com and will soon be available from specialty retailers and custom installers. For more information, visit oppodigital.com.