OPPO UDP-205

Hmm, this looks lovely doesn’t it, this is the new OPPO UDP-205.  OPPO Digital has announced that the OPPO UDP-205 4K Ultra HD Audiophile Blu-ray Disc player is available now in Europe. This model will be a step-up from the recently released UDP-203, the UDP-205 brings top-of-the-line audio performance to a universal player that supports 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and many other digital audio and video formats. I have the 105 that I still use as my CD player in my review room and it is a blockbuster, see my review here.

Reading the blurb, the upgrades to the 205 seem to be largely audio upgrades which makes this a very interesting CD proposition to me.  OPPO says, “the OPPO UDP-205 is a significant upgrade over the UDP-203 and previous generation players”.

The OPPO UDP-205 provides reference level sound quality through the analogue outputs.  OPPO goes on to say “the OPPO UDP-205  improves the clock precision of the HDMI audio output, and increases the power of the built-in headphone amplifier. For the analogue output stages, the UDP-205 utilizes two ES9038PRO DACs, which are the flagship of the ESS Sabre Pro series, delivering best-in-class audio performance”.

OPPO goes on to say “stereo listening accounts for a large part of audiophile usage of a universal player, and that is why the UDP-205 offers a dedicated stereo output in addition to its 7.1-channel analogue audio output. The stereo audio output is powered by a dedicated ES9038PRO DAC chip and specially designed buffer and driver stages. It provides both XLR balanced and RCA single-ended connectors. The balanced output features a true differential signal path all the way from the DAC to the 3-pin XLR connector. By transmitting a pair of differential signals, the balanced output provides better common-mode noise rejection and improves signal quality. For a more intimate listening experience, headphones can be connected directly to the UDP-205’s built-in headphone amplifier. The headphone amplifier is connected directly to the ESS SABRE PRO DAC and offers a unique performance advantage over standalone headphone amplifiers. Compared to the built-in headphone amplifier in our previous generation BDP-105/105D players, the new design offers more power and higher performance”

This is sounding all rather special, with the addition to the above playback capabilities, the UDP-205 adds a USB DAC as well.

Priced in the UK at £1,399 including VAT, the UDP-205 will be available from independent AV retailers.