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The OPPO 970 and the Panasonic XR55 make a great combo for $300.

Posted by BarneyT (A) on October 2, 2007 at 17:27:39

In Reply to: Any better than Oppo 970 for under $500? posted by sanman on October 2, 2007 at 07:45:40:

If you do a Google search for the OPPO 970, you will find several favorable reviews touting it as good as or better than many universal CD/DVD players costing hundreds of dollars more.

I will not repeat their rave reports except to say that I have had my 970 for about four months, and, after letting it "burn in", am so pleased with my OPPO 970 that I use it instead of a much more expensive Marantz CD player in my main system.

I cannot comment on the 970's video or surround sound capabilities since I use it solely for 2 channel audio. Most of my CDs are either classical or Jazz and I now can appreciate the details in the instruments and vocals that were missing prior to my listening to the 970.

Some years ago, I had aspirations of being a professional violinist. But lack of time for instensive practice and probably the requisite talent reduced my violin playing to small amateur classical and jazz groups. However, I still managed to accumulate a large selection of recordings by violin virtuosi of the past 60 or more years.

When I listen to these recordings, I am very sensitive to the details of fingering, bowing articulation, harmonics, pizzicato etc that can sound muddied or nonexistent on some CD players. The OPPO 970 does a great job of bringing out all these details and dynamics without sounding harsh or edgy.

Recently, I acquired Panasonic SA-XR55 digital reciever with digital inputs that I connected directly to the optical output of the 970. After allowing the XR55 time to "burn in", the results were truly amazing. I was hearing even more details in my orchestral and solo recordings.

Despite their budget price, the XR55s are also receiving rave reveiws on many forums. Connecting the XR55 directly to the optical output of the 970 gives you a pure digital audio up to the output stage.

Since speakers and room acoustics vary, I use both AKG K701 and Sennheiser HD650 headphones that are considered reference standards by many audiophiles to verify these results. The XR55 has an excellent headphone output with plenty of power.

When you consider that both the OPPO 970 and Panasonic SA-XR55 can be purchased for a total of around $300, you have a great budget system for all your video, surround and 2 channel audio requirements.

For a few dollars more, you may want to consider getting the new OPPO 980 in which some of the electronic components have been upgraded.

Good Luck.

Barney

Edits: 10/02/07

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