Life After Oppo
Those of us who still have a sizeable CD/ Dvd/blu-ray disc collection are wondering who will replace Oppo, if anyone. In contrast with Oppo’s near-perfect players, every current model I’ve looked at has drawbacks. I was about to spring for a new one when they pulled the plug on production. Michael Oleson Fort Worth, TX
I’m 63 and have been into Stereo Review (and its subsequent incarnations) since high school. I’ve never paid attention to who the editor was before, but must confess to really liking the awesome new changes in editorial direction (reasonably-priced equipment, two-channel audio), the aesthetics of the mag, the new columns, and—most important of all—tone. Well done!
I’d like to make a plea for you to consider two issues at some point. The first has to do with a paradox. As A/V equipment becomes more complicated and sophisticated, user manuals have become less readily available…if they even exist at all. The second has to do with average picture level when displaying HDR. In my room, an HDR picture looks very dark compared with the non-hdr Blu-ray version of the same movie. I use an Oppo 203 player and can easily strip metadata or convert video (in multiple ways!) from HDR to SDR, but find I have to set the TV’S target luminance to 250 nits (yikes!) to get an acceptable picture. Jon Links via email
Thank you, Jon Links (and Henry Tardif), for the kind words on the magazine’s new format. We’re happy to hear from you after all these years! I fully agree that the trend toward pushing user manuals online, or eliminating them altogether, is an alarming one. We will try to make note of that situation in future product reviews. (Fortunately, some manufacturers still make an effort to include a comprehensive printed manual with products. Such is the case with the PS Audio Sprout100 integrated amplifier reviewed on page 68.) Also, any reader looking for a good Oppo disc player alternative, and one that also does an excellent job processing HDR signals to match the capability of a specific TV or projector, should check out Kris Deering’s comprehensive review of the new Panasonic DP- UB820 UHD Blu-ray player on page 48.— AG