Introduction
This is not so much a review as an introduction. Dorpo, if you’re not familiar, comprise some of the former OPPO Digital guys, the purveyors of the fantastic BDP-105 and 205 Blu-Ray Disc players, the HA-1 headphone amplifier and the PM-1 & 2 headphones. All of them were classics, and my CDs spin on a BDP-105, still one of the best audiophile CD players in town these days.
Dorpo X3
This is a quick look at the Dorpo X3, which is an 8K Smart Media Player. This means, as a non-AV expert, it is like an Apple TV on steroids. It can handle up to 8K, YouTube, Netflix, Disney, Apple, etc, but it has storage access too. This affords you the opportunity to back up your Blu-Ray discs and free up space on your groaning shelves. Or the opportunity of collecting your favourite videos from other sources (ehem!).
From my perspective on the Audio side, the X3 can stream Qobuz, Tidal, and Spotify. This means browsing Qobuz Playlists on my projected cinema screen with complete comfort and ease. The X3 has Bluetooth, which is a bonus, though as I say, with this level of functionality, it seems a fraction superfluous.
There is a classy remote and an App, though with the screen it seems unnecessary if I’m honest.
Video – Upscaled 8K samples
The upscaled sample provided for me of the scene from Pulp Fiction at Jack Rabbit Slim’s Twist Contest is mind-bending and wonderful. Though my projector only delivers HD visuals, the 7.2-channel sound from the Focal Sib EVOs is impressive and highlights the strong audio quality.
I was given a run-through of how to create 4K and 4K UHD (it could be 8K, I guess) backups from my Blu-Ray library. First, though, I needed to buy a USB-C Verbatim Ultra HD 4K Blu-Ray Writer from Amazon; this cost £100.
After downloading the MakeMKV App, I was backing up John Mayer’s Into the Light Blu-Ray and my copy of Blade Runner 2049, which is a 4K Blu-Ray. The Mayer Blu-Ray took about 40 minutes, and the 2049 rip took a fraction longer. Confusingly, I had two folders containing 1425 files.
Moving these files onto an SSD, then inserting it into a USB into my Router, enabled the dorpo X3 to see my networked Blu-Ray backups.
A quick bit of file access on the screen using the Funplay UI home screen and the Blu-Ray films look and sound spectacular in this setup, with full Dolby DTS 5.1 surround sound delivered with ease. It really couldn’t have been easier.
The Dorpo X3 is £449 in the UK.
Audio – Qobuz and Networked Audio Files
With the Focals in place, the Qobuz experience is excellent, scrolling is seamless, and as I’ve already mentioned, browsing music has never been easier. Using my Networked Melco Server was similarly easy to manage, though playlist building has been difficult thus far. Although. really you might as well use Qobuz at this stage.
Dorpo DMP-A1
Of potentially more interest to audiophiles is the news of the incoming DMP-A1, their entry into the world of streaming Digital Music Players. The DMP-A1 is a streamer, DAC, preamplifier, and headphone amplifier with balanced output.
The DMP-A1 has a thick aluminium alloy high-precision CNC-machined chassis with rounded corners for strength. It features a 5-inch HD 1080p LCD colour touch display with a matching smart volume knob! The device offers screen mirroring with your smartphone. And yes, there are VU Meters built into the UI options!
Inside the A1 is a Quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A55 processor with 4GB of memory supporting a third-generation XMOS 316 audio processor with an ESS ES9039SPro High-Performance DAC. On top of this, the A1 features a Qualcomm QCC5181 Bluetooth 5.4 module supporting numerous codecs, including AAC and SBC. There is an M.2 SSD slot in the chassis to take up to 4 GB of stored music data.
Finally, the A1 supports network music streaming and push playback from mobile devices via Roon Ready, Spotify Connect, Qobuz Connect, AirPlay, and DLNA, as well as Bluetooth.
Other Products
Other products coming from dorpo include a couple of storage devices with prodigious volumes of space. The UHP-3001 Universal 8K UHD Media Player is a full-width media storage device with 8 GB of internal storage and a 3.5-inch SATA drive slot for additional storage. Processing speeds appear to be off the scale.
The X300 is a half-width 8K UHD Media Player with the SATA drive storage option as well.
Thoughts
It is fairly clear that the 8K and 4K reproduction is classy with this Dorpo X3. I particularly like the Qobuz and Tidal modules that are very easy to use. I could see myself backing up my Blu-rays, too; the access speed is lightning-fast. A super remote control and accessibility make this an interesting media hub. There’s nothing not to like here. I like this one; I’m very interested in the DMP-A1 based on this audio performance.
Love
- Audio performance
- Flexibility
- Qobuz & Tidal on the TVB screen
- Networked audio and video access
Like
- Sleek design
- Blu-Ray backups
- Remote Control
Wish
- to hear the DMP-A1
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