Oppo 981 versus Sony DVP-9000ES (First Impressions) - Tommart - Hi-Rez Highway

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Oppo 981 versus Sony DVP-9000ES (First Impressions)

I bought a Oppo 981 and before I could set it up, my 9000ES died.
I've listened to the Oppo 981 for about one week now, but I must use my memory to compare it to my six year old, stock Sony 9000ES.
Overall, both sound quite good, but they sound different. The Oppo seems to have greater overall clarity. The highs standout. But at times, the highs have an edginess to their sound.
The Sony seems to have a more solid bass and smoother highs, but the highs do not seem as extended.
It was nice to listen to 5.1 SACDs using the analog outs. However, even though I own over 100 SACDs, I was surprised as to how few are 5.1.
I have a 50" Vizio HD Plasma TV. The Oppo upconverted video (using HDMI) is slightly more detailed than the Sony (using component cables and 480P). However, the Sony colors appear more solid and rich. When I sit 12-14 feet away, I can't tell the different in clarity, but I can still tell the difference in color.
I know that my Sony is 6 years old and I didn't allow time for the Oppo to break in. But these are my first impressions.
Note that the Oppo plays CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, DVD-As (I had two), and 5.1 SACDs. The 9000ES could not play any of these.
In addition, the 9000ES cost and weighs over 5 times as much as the Oppo.

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Topic - Oppo 981 versus Sony DVP-9000ES (First Impressions) - Tommart 19:18:25 02/25/07 (13)

Re: Oppo 981 versus Sony DVP-9000ES (First Impressions) - Lew 17:12:39 02/27/07 (1)

Re: Video comparison - Croc 03:31:47 03/06/07 (0)

Does Oppo play Divx? - Duilawyer 09:14:19 02/26/07 (10)

What does that have to do with SACD? - Metralla 15:01:00 02/26/07 (7)

zippo, Divx is a format of movie, like mp3 for audio. nt - Duilawyer 18:31:25 02/26/07 (1)

He might have meant DIVX - Ted Smith 17:53:22 02/26/07 (5)

Actually, it's DivX ;-) - Christine Tham 18:51:21 02/26/07 (4)

Re: Actually, it's DivX ;-) - Metralla 20:32:06 02/26/07 (3)

Divx - tunenut 09:29:49 02/27/07 (2)

Metralla, that's twice. (1) Bald Mountain - Duilawyer 18:10:55 02/27/07 (1)

Mate, you are out of line - Metralla 21:45:00 02/27/07 (1)

Re: Does Oppo play Divx? - Ron D 09:34:25 02/26/07 (1)

Thanks, kind of a Swiss army knife. nt - Duilawyer 18:31:55 02/26/07 (0)

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