Oppo is shutting down manufacturing

[curtis]

Sad news.

https://www.oppodigital.com/farewell.aspx

[BrianNLS]

Wow, that really is a shock! Sad to see this. Great products don't always translate into a great business, unfortunately.

[Mag_Neato]

Interesting. I wonder what drove that decision? Economics of maintaining an Engineering/R&D team....manufacturing costs? Did partnerships with various vendors/sources come to an end?

At least they will continue to offer support to their existing customers.

[SteveM]

Wow. Very sorry to hear this. I was planning to order one soon, after much research. Anybody have recommendations for something similar and close in quality/price (to the $500 model, I mean)?

[Bruce Watson]

Interesting. I wonder what drove that decision? Economics of maintaining an Engineering/R&D team....manufacturing costs? Did partnerships with various vendors/sources come to an end?

I believe it was a slowly decreasing number of customers. IOW, streaming.

I for one want the discs because of the better uncompressed audio vs. streaming. And that means I need a disc player. Sigh.... but most people just don't care -- convenience wins over most people, and there's no denying the convenience of streaming. Double sigh...

[natetg57]

Wow. Very sorry to hear this. I was planning to order one soon, after much research. Anybody have recommendations for something similar and close in quality/price (to the $500 model, I mean)?

Why not still get the OPPO? It should last a very long time. I'm very glad I bought a plasma before production stopped.

[SteveM]

Why not still get the OPPO? It should last a very long time. I'm very glad I bought a plasma before production stopped.

That's what I'm thinking. Maybe there'll be a price drop too.

[Blutarsky]

Sorry to hear this, but I understand, because we rarely play discs any more.

When the Internet fails, I will be glad to have my CD's and OPPO. Fire up my home generator, play my faves, and toast the end of the world.

[racrawford65]

That's what I'm thinking. Maybe there'll be a price drop too.

I agree - likely due to falling demand from streaming..

If you want one, I'd not wait. They'll likely sell out quickly, and I wouldn't expect a price drop.

I had similar experience a year or so ago when Phoenix Engineering shut down. I was holding off on buying their turntable speed controller/psu & tach... when the announcement hit, inventory was gone in days and some dealers inflated their prices significantly. I was lucky to find the psu and tach, and at normal retail price.


I understand Crutchfield sold out of inventory already, not sure if you can still get through Amazon, and apparently (per AVS thread) the 203 is still available directly from Oppo. I think the 205 is old out already, although the Oppo sight says they may make another run of the 205. My guess is people are buying them to flip on Ebay at a premium.

As to something similar, the closest is probably the Panasonic ub900, but I don't think it does Dolby Vision or plays SACD, if either matter to you. Sony UB800 is SACD capable, but do not know if it ever got a DV update. I'd not expect either Sony or Panasonic (or any other mfgs) to add features or support firmware to current models like Oppo did; they tend to add features to the next year model.

I believe Cambridge Audio has a player that is for all intensive purposes an Oppo clone - but may be of the 205, not 203....either way, likely a premium vs Oppo direct.

[SteveM]

I agree - likely due to falling demand from streaming..

If you want one, I'd not wait. They'll likely sell out quickly, and I wouldn't expect a price drop.

I had similar experience a year or so ago when Phoenix Engineering shut down. I was holding off on buying their turntable speed controller/psu & tach... when the announcement hit, inventory was gone in days and some dealers inflated their prices significantly. I was lucky to find the psu and tach, and at normal retail price.


I understand Crutchfield sold out of inventory already, not sure if you can still get through Amazon, and apparently (per AVS thread) the 203 is still available directly from Oppo. I think the 205 is old out already, although the Oppo sight says they may make another run of the 205. My guess is people are buying them to flip on Ebay at a premium.

As to something similar, the closest is probably the Panasonic ub900, but I don't think it does Dolby Vision or plays SACD, if either matter to you. Sony UB800 is SACD capable, but do not know if it ever got a DV update. I'd not expect either Sony or Panasonic (or any other mfgs) to add features or support firmware to current models like Oppo did; they tend to add features to the next year model.

I believe Cambridge Audio has a player that is for all intensive purposes an Oppo clone - but may be of the 205, not 203....either way, likely a premium vs Oppo direct.

This sounds like good advice. I do see that Crutchfield is supposed to get more of the 203 on April 16, though they are sold out currently