The analog output is what I am interested in. I have an analog 6 channel preamp that leaves all the processing to either the on-board disc player or a separate DAC.

I got badly hooked on that darn multichannel audio a couple of years ago and am still paying the price.

Oppo has shown up in some really high end systems and the only "real" knock I have ever heard against them is based purely on the appearance of their equipment. I have never seen a bad review concerning the quality of the various unit's outputs.

Thanks for your answers.

If you haven't seen it already, you might take a look through the Secrets review of the 980H\'s audio performance . It is more in-depth than JEJ's review of the 983H's audio performance, and the 983H takes the 980H design and adds some refinements.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/dvd-playe...-the-story.html

John E finishes up the review.

Hey Gonk,

I was wondering what your recommendation would be on whether it is worth upgrading from the 981HD to the 983H. I am currently using the 981HD as my main player for my audio play back (CD, SACD and DVD-A) as well as for SD DVD. I have a BD player but for SD DVD the Oppo seems to be much better then my Sony BDP-S300. I seem to be watching less and less of the SD DVD as there are more BD DVD titles becoming available everyday. So my primary function is Audio playback. Therefore, do you think there is a substantial improvement in the Audio playback that would justify the upgrade.

On a side note, I notice that Oppo does not recommend the 981HD with DLP TVs. Yet I am using it with my Mitsubishi 65" Diamond DLP with absolutely no complaints. In fact I have been very impressed with its video performance. Will I really be able to notice a difference if I go to the 983H?

I wish uou guys would stop saying that SACD is dead. Some of the recording companies might hear about it and quit making them! ;

You guys have time to give this decision a little thought. According to Oppo website "Temporarily sold out".

govguru

I think that all of the pre-orders were shipped as of late yesterday. While you wait and think, here is some more light reading: I've posted my OPPO 98x comparison musings ...

If your objective was just audio playback, I'd get a 980H - it is very close to the 983H on analog audio performance. The 980H won't have as film-like a picture as the 981HD, though, although it may still be a better DVD upscaler than the S300.
You are not alone in successfully pairing the 981HD with DLP. However, OPPO is cautious about pairing the 981HD with DLP's because of the Faroudja' chip's macroblock enhancing tendencies. That tendency is not global (some DLP's never exhibit it), and it is often very reduced by calibration even in those that do exhibit it. The 983H is immune to that. You would see a difference between the 981HD and the 983H on a 50" screen (I saw one on a 32" CRT). The question is whether that difference is worth the cost of upgrading, especially if you are starting to spend more time with Blu-rays.

You might hold on to the 981HD for another year or so and see what OPPO does with Blu-ray. I think the odds are pretty good that they'll include DVD-A and SACD support in such a player (although they haven't told me so yet, and even if they ever do tell me one way or another it'll be under an NDA). Then you could potentially replace the S300 and 981HD with a single player...

Thank You Gonk for your reply.

I was thinking along the same lines as your comment about holding out until Oppo comes out with a Blu-ray player. And hopefully that player will support SACD and DVD-A with quality audio outputs.

BTW, I am quite confident that the 981HD produces a much better picture then does the Sony BDP-S300. In fact I am quite disappointed with the S300 in general. Once it is playing it seems to be OK, but not spectacular. The real problem is that it takes forever to load the DVD and get it playing. With some of the more advanced BD's it can take literally 7-8 minutes from the time you turn the thing on until you see the first frame of the movie! And God forbid you have a less then pristine disc (like most of the ones from video stores) the unit locks up at least half the time when it encounters any trouble spots. So my plan is to just keep limping along with the S300 until a better quality affordable unit (like an Oppo) comes along.

To Koyaan, I don't think that SACD is dead at all. It certainly isn't as widely accepted as I would like, but there are new releases coming out on SACD on a regular basis. In my area, both Fry's and Best Buy has several racks dedicated to SACD and DVD-A. I suggest that you do what I and several of my friends have been doing and that is requesting that these stores continue to expand the SACD selections. Let them know there is a market and then support them by buying their products. Nothing works better then voting with you dollars! BTW, if you are interested in what is currently available in the SACD format then check out this site as it has all sorts of news about what is going on in the SACD world.