It was only a few months ago that I greeted Oppo Digital's BDP-83 universal Blu-ray player as a breakthrough consumer component, and it became a Runner-Up for Stereophile's Budget Product of 2009. It now appears that Oppo is using the design as a base on which to develop similar and more advanced products, both for themselves and for a good many other manufacturers. Some may take exception to my use of the word manufacturers-if it's an Oppo under the skin, what, precisely, are these other "manufacturers" contributing? Well, that's hardly a new question.

I've reviewed a number of what were then called "universal" disc players-machines, from such respected companies as Theta Digital, McCormack Audio, and Simaudio, that could play the CD, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, and SACD formats. All were based on a Pioneer mechanism and motherboard, but each had unique features that reflected its designer's view of what would make a more useful and higher-performing product, and each of these Pioneer-based machines achieved distinction in a different way.

This trend toward outsourcing is also reflected in the fact that the digital-signal-processing (DSP) engines that are the backbones of A/V preamplifier-processors are made by only a handful of companies. Those firms have vetted and embedded the routines for common functions such as the decoding of lossy and lossless codecs, menu structures, bass management, and room equalization. Nonetheless, even with their DSPs sharing so much familial DNA, it's remarkable that the end products have such disparate personalities. Of course, the quality of implementation of the D/A-conversion and analog stages are epigenetic differentiators.

So here come the universal players, some of which will share a kinship with the Oppo BDP-83, or at least its unknown OEM ancestor. Unsurprisingly, Oppo is the first, and they've upgraded their original model by replacing the portions that specifically affect the performance of the analog outputs. In the pipeline are offerings from Cambridge Audio, Theta Digital, Lexicon, and Ayre Acoustics. How each company impose its own design philosophies on the common substrate will be interesting to see.

Oppo Digital BDP-83SE universal Blu-ray player

When I reviewed Oppo's original BDP-83 in my July 2009 column, I found that its performance via its analog outputs was not as impressive as via HDMI. However, that depended on what was on the other end of those respective cables; in this case, the partner was the Integra DTC-9.8 preamplifier-processor, which doesn't have the world's greatest analog input stage. Still, many audiophiles prefer or require multichannel analog signals because their processors lack HDMI inputs, or because they're using multichannel analog preamps. I used to be one of them.

In designing this Special Edition (SE) of the BDP-83, Oppo didn't merely substitute a few boutique capacitors, or beef up the power supply, or replace the RCA jacks with machined, gold-plated ones. They replaced everything from the D/A converters to the jacks, and used some of the most cutting-edge chips on the market: the Sabre32 family of DACs from ESS Technology. Oppo uses an eight-channel Premier ES9006 chip for the 7.1-channel outputs, but they parallel four of the DACs of an eight-channel Ultra ES9016 DAC chip for each stereo channel. For a while, I had a stereo DAC evaluation board based on ESS Sabre DACs, and found it remarkably clear, tight, and balanced. The pricey McIntosh MCD500 SACD player, reviewed by Sam Tellig in June 2009. used an earlier version of the Sabre; as far as I know, until now, the only commercial product to have used the 32-bit DACs was DIY.

So the BDP-83SE is a big deal for a reasonably low-priced product ($899). It was also necessary to redesign the power supply, to provide for the different power requirements of the new chips; the analog output stage, too, was reworked. Multiple dual op-amps convert the DAC chips' current outputs to the voltage equivalents conversion, and the differential outputs were converted to single-ended RCA jacks. Surely, other designers will see many opportunities for other improvements here. Note, however, that all of these enhancements are for the analog outputs; they will have no effect, positive or negative, on the player's HDMI output. For HDMI users, even Oppo recommends the plain-vanilla BDP-83.

All this aside, the only external distinction between the original and SE versions of the BDP-83 are the subtle gray-on-black labels on the top, front, and rear of the chassis. This played right into my hands-unable to compare devices with double-blind rigor, I tried to keep myself ignorant of which device I'm listening to. Into the output jacks of each Oppo I plugged six Belkin PureAV Silver interconnects for multichannel audio, and two Kubala-Sosna Anticipation interconnects for two-channel. I stacked the players on one side of my equipment rack, and routed the 16 interconnects over to the other side to connect them to the appropriate inputs of the Parasound P7 preamp, which has two sets of 7.1-channel inputs, in addition to its many two-channel inputs. In doing so, I intentionally took no note of which Oppo I was connecting to multichannel inputs 9 or 10 or to two-channel inputs 4 or 5. That way, I couldn't be sure which player I was hearing.

"But ah," you say, "just look at the players' front panels!" I was able to finesse that-I have duplicates of many discs, and always inserted identical copies into both players, regardless of which input I selected. Given that a single Oppo remote control operated both players in relative synchrony, both machines always displayed identical disc information, regardless of which input I selected on the Parasound. Even switching between the stereo and multichannel tracks of hybrid SACDs could be effected on both machines with a single button push. And, of course, I'd first matched the players' output levels with test discs and the Parasound's input trims.

With two-channel sources, PCM or DSD, Input 5 always sounded fuller and more balanced than Input 4 in revealing instruments and voices within an ensemble. For example, with the performances on pipe organ of Dunstable's "Agincourt Hymn" (performed by Patrick Aiken) and Duruflé's Toccata for Organ on "Veni Creator" (Stephen Martorella), both on Pipes Rhode Island (CD, Riago CD 101), the reed pipes seemed to emanate from a different space than the pedal tones through Input 4, and the midrange ranks were somewhat recessed. On the other hand, through Input 5 there was a greater sense of presence and integration of the midrange with the extremes, such that no individual voice stood apart. Yet there was no loss of detail or power.

Using the two-channel DSD tracks of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, as performed by Richard Egarr and the Academy of Ancient Music (SACD/CD, Harmonia Mundi HMU 807461.62), I found that Input 5 let me enjoy them at a wide range of volume levels, while Input 4 sounded strident in the high frequencies at high volumes. Consistently, I always preferred the more relaxed, natural, yet transparent sound of Input 5, regardless of recording, length of listening session, or order of selection.

Doing similar comparisons with multichannel recordings, again relying on SACDs (I have few duplicate Blu-rays or DVD-As), there quickly arose the complication of using the Oppos to balance channels, set speaker distances, and manage the bass, or of not doing these at all. I tried it both ways, but it's unsatisfying to listen in multichannel without having set the proper levels and delays, and the Oppos aren't very flexible in this regard. They have only one subwoofer crossover frequency (80Hz), and treat speakers only as pairs: L/R mains and L/R surrounds. Even more significant, the listener can't set any speaker's delay/distance to be farther away than the main L/R speaker. Finally, using these settings forces the Oppo to convert the signals from DSD to PCM before they're sent to the hotshot Sabre DACs.

For these comparisons, I used the recent recording of Mahler's Symphony 2 by Bernard Haitink and the Chicago Symphony (SACD/CD, CSO Resound CSOR 901 916), and the excellent recording of Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé by James Levine and the Boston Symphony (SACD/CD, BSO Classics 0801). I've listened to both for a few weeks now, and greatly appreciate their spacious imaging and delicate detail, with proper bass and channel measurement via the Meridian 861 pre-pro or the Integra DTC-9.8.

The verdict was again lopsided. With or without processing/conversion, I preferred Input 10 to Input 9. The differences were similar to those described above, but somewhat less extreme. Though what I heard from the Oppos' analog outputs was never as convincing holistically, the brass choirs in the Mahler had an impressive brilliance through Input 10, and I could hear intimate inner details in the choirs on both the Mahler and the Ravel. Similarly, subtle woodwind accents were remarkably lucid via Input 10. With Input 9, nothing seemed amiss unless I did a quick A/B comparison with Input 10-only then did I appreciate the latter's greater resolution.

It should be no surprise to you (although it was a great relief to me) to know that the BDP-83SE was connected to inputs 5 and 10, while the BDP-83 was connected to inputs 4 and 9. After that revelation, I tried many other discs and heard no reason to modify my conclusions.

The two-channel performance of the Oppo BDP-83SE, playing either PCM or DSD recordings, was a significant improvement on the BDP-83. This puts the new Oppo in direct competition with the Sony XA-5400ES SACD player; the two define an inflection point in the cost/benefit curve for high-resolution players. It's hard to imagine the digital processing of any low-to-mid-priced A/V receiver or pre-pro surpassing their direct analog performance in clarity and spaciousness-after all, even with a high-end processor, a direct analog signal path is called for. In fact, the BDP-83SE has convinced me to leave the analog preamp in my systems.

The multichannel situation is more complex. Even disregarding the blandishments of room EQ, which I have come to believe is almost always necessary, I'm hesitant to say that the BDP-83SE's sound via its multichannel analog outputs is preferable to going HDMI, unless the Oppo's limited bass/channel management is sufficient for your needs. It isn't for my needs with either of my systems. However, if you're already using a multichannel analog preamp, and/or the "direct" path on your processor, the BDP-83SE is a remarkably effective and satisfying improvement over the BDP-83. A no-brainer.