There are a lot of reasons to choose a specific player over another. Lexicon chose to repackage the BDP-83 in a different box and sell it for $3000 more than OPPO did. This slick marketing move was discovered rather quickly and says a lot about what the industry thinks of the OPPO products. I just sent my 5 year old BDP-83 back to OPPO for a repair of the disc loader tray because it would not open. OPPO told me of this issue on their website and when I requested an RMA it was issued 4 hours later. The player was out of service for about 3 weeks and when it returned it was repaired, cleaned and the latest firmware was installed. It arrived looking brand new in new packaging. The totsl cost to me was $40 for shipping. Not only did they repair it for free they shipped it back to me at no cost. This is the 4th firmware version I have installed in it and all were super smooth installs with no issues which actually took less than 30 minutes. I am sure the BDP-103 has had a lot of firmware changes including at least one that fundamentally changed the players performance for the better. I would like to hear about any other company or gear that has this much support more than 4 years after it warranty expired and gets the kind of reviews the OPPO gear gets. We have all heard the horror stories about other manufacturers support for their equipment once they have cashed the check and for that reason my next player will definitely be an OPPO product whether it is the BDP-103D or the next version.

I apologize if the conversation between me and XM confused things. I think you will see improved results running HDMI from your OPPO to the M-975. Analog out of the M-975 to your amplifiers/subs just as before.

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on any differences. I find the M-975 and OPPO to be an impressive combination.

Sorry for hijacking your thread. Back to the original question, the 975/7700 combo will be as good or better than the 990/7700 combo and much more flexible because of the HDMI interface.

You replied at the same time I was typing so we overlapped on this one. Outlaw gear paired up with Outlaw gear should be as happy as it gets.

You are correct XM that the customer service at OPPO is outstanding by any measure. I saw the deal with Lexicon when it happened and thought it was hysterical. I know a guy who designed equalizers and custom notch filters back in the 70's who talked about companies ripping one another off as a regular course but to just repackage one into another is over the top.

A whole four firmware updates without issue? Wow. Sorry for being snarky as that is never polite but you need to stop reading reviews and start hitting the tech papers. The BDP-103/105 has now had 22 firmware updates counting betas. The last one from October of last year can be found here.

https://www.google.com/search?q=OPPO+BDP-103+downmix+issues&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

If you look at the list of addressed items you will find one offering anything like a new feature. Everything else is to fix a customer reported issue. I pre ordered and have had mine since November of 2012 so have gone through every single update. Many offer new features and improvements to function or compatibility. Others have shot it right in the ass requiring full resets. It can be argued the majority of this sort of thing should be in the past and I think for the most part it is but there have been issues. I use mine primarily as a network hub and can assure you there are format and decoding issues associated with file types as well as source input. There is a HDMI limitation relating to inputs that could be a deal breaker for some users who might wish to stream high def media in such a way. Same for the USB.

It has not been all Rainbows and Roses. You are also correct when you say different users have different reasons for buying a certain unit. If a persons main requirements are DVD/BlueRay CD/SACD then any OPPO model would be an excellent choice connected however the user wished. If networking is in your future there have been and still are issues and limitations that can matter. All I am trying to say is be informed.

Can't comment on the networking/streaming aspects of any of the OPPO players. My point was that of all the players out there, how many would get that kind of support and how many are as capable as the OPPO units. If the goal of the player is to be the best disc player then I think the OPPO has them beat. I will agree that when you get out on the leading edge of what the player can do it may not meet every one of the goals. There are still very few players that even attempt to do all the OPPOs do. I would like to see the number of complaints registered with OPPO in comparison with the number of times they fixed an issue which only a few users experienced because they were on the leading edge. Throw out the firmware updates for discs that had the DRM mods after the player was issued.

Did OPPO do the same type of beta testing on the 103/105 that they did on the 83. They basically crowdsourced the beta on the 83 for a few months with 50 or so early adopters.

Not really quite accurate. Oppo has a pretty active volunteer beta testing group that's been going since they made DVD players. The "early adopter" program was a way to invite people to try the BDP-83 and help work out bugs, but the same beta testing process has been done on all their players. Firmware updates are also run through the beta group first, and many don't make it out.

You need to figure it out or you will be buying gear without knowing why. With the sole exception of the analog out to the amp/speaker section every connection in a current system should be digital. My connecting from the BDP-103 to the M-975 via HDMI is a network connection.

Never stack DAC's and in the digital age there is no reason to do so. Your BDP-83 may have had DAC's on the brain while the BDP-103 (the cheap one) figured the buyer understood the difference and knew they had a processor that could pick up the difference.

You defend OPPO for all the wrong reasons and you do not understand why.

Rubbersoul you will find the M-975 to be a big time upgrade. It is a great unit. Buy the B Stock and know you are covered by the best support in the business.

Outlaw units seem to suffer the occasional control software fart but the company deals with it and never place blame on the customer.

I can't comment on the streaming aspects because I live in an area where streaming is not an option and I do not need to figure it out. My defense of OPPO products is strictly based on the gear I own and how I use it and their response when I need a repair. While you may desire to use all digital in your current system, some of us have large collections of analog source material and would rather not spend more $$$ to get our music and in some cases video played.