Welly Wu
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- May 16, 2003
- Posts
- 5,165
- Likes
- 12
I just finished an extended audition period to compare the Resolution Audio Opus 21 system against the Meridian Audio 808.2i and Oppo Digital BDP-83SE. In general, I am writing about vast differences in terms of price, features, and sound quality. The Oppo Digital BDP-83SE lists for $899.00 USD and it is a truly universal player that plays all of the major audio and video formats including Compact Disc, Super Audio CD, DVD-Audio, DVD-Video, Blu-Ray, Super Video CD, etc. It features the new ESS Sabre32 DACs in which four are stacked for the unbalanced stereo output jacks. Getting onto the sound quality, it has a warm sound with very good detail retrieval in terms of its overall tone. Bass is tight, punchy, and fairly well extended, but it does lack quite a bit of texture and bloom when compared to the Resolution Audio Opus 21 and Meridian 808.2i. The mid-range is warm, smooth, and involving with good texture and balance. I would say that the Oppo BDP-83SE has about 80% of the mid-range sound quality compared to the Resolution Audio Opus 21 and perhaps 70% compared to the Meridian 808.2i. Trebles sound airy and better extended with some distortion and peaky highs especially when replaying CDs; both the Opus 21 and 808.2i trounce the BDP-83SE in this department (among others). The BDP-83SE sound stage is fairly boxed in and imaging is not nearly as precise as the Opus 21 and 808.2i. In terms of PRaT, I would characterize the BDP-83SE as middle of the road: neither too laid back or too fast paced either. The king of PRaT is the Meridian 808.2i followed very closely by the RAO 21. When comparing SA-CD and DVD-Audio to the Compact Disc format, the differences become closer by a smaller margin. Depending upon your music preferences, the BDP-83SE plays Super Audio CD better than DVD-Audio (that's just my humble opinion because I love classical and jazz music). Still, the RAO 21 trounces the BDP-83SE in terms of richness and resolution on CD format than SA-CD and DVD-Audio formats respectively while the Meridian 808.2i just kills both players stone cold (especially when playing DVD-Audio discs). The Oppo Digital BDP-83SE has good dynamic range, but it does indeed sound a bit hemmed in all of the audio formats that it supports compared to both the Resolution Audio Opus 21 and Meridian 808.2i.
Onto the Resolution Audio Opus 21 and Meridian 808.2i, things get much more interesting. In a nutshell, I would honestly say that the Opus 21 gets 95% closer to the 808.2i, but its approach is leaning heavily in the analog vinyl side. The RAO 21 sounds very very close to the state of the art in vinyl playback systems while the Meridian 808.2i is the ultimate digital player that I have auditioned thus far. I thought the differences would be night and day, but they are not as much as I had listened to for the duration of a month now. Let's talk about common characteristics. Both have a laid back, smooth, and transparent overall tone, but the RAO 21 takes it in a vinyl direction to a new level of refinement (at least for solid state digital playback systems is concerned). Both have tight, deep, and textured bass, but the RAO 21 has a slight upper bass bloat while the 808.2i lacks thunderous slam found elsewhere with other digital players. Both have fantastic mid-range that sounds intimate, full-bodied, rich with heaping amounts of pure high resolution that reveals inner details in complex music such as classical and opera genres. Both have airy, extended, and smooth treble, but the Meridian 808.2i takes it a few notches higher than the RAO 21 with greater clarity and resolution. Both have terrific imaging and cast a wide, deep, and tall sound stage, but the Meridian 808.2i takes it further than the RAO 21. In terms of dynamics, the Meridian 808.2i has a wider range with hyper fast speed which makes it slightly superior to the Resolution Audio Opus 21.
In conclusion, the Oppo Digital BDP-83SE is an outstanding high value digital player that lets its owners enjoy the major standard and high resolution audio and video formats with little fuss over configuration settings while still remaining trouble-free in terms of daily usage. Updates to the firmware are announced in a timely manner and upgrading is simple and fast. With the NuForce modification package, existing owners can take their BDP-83SE to a higher level for a premium while knowing that they have the very best truly universal player on the market today. If I were in the market for one do it all digital player, this would be it. The Resolution Audio Opus 21 system is approximately 95% close to the Meridian 808.2i in terms of sound quality, but it is more than 50% off the MSRP. A new Meridian Audio 808.2i costs $16,995.00 USD while the Resolution Audio Opus 21 CD Player, Power Centre, Extra Sources, and S30 power amplifier costs $7,500.00 USD. In terms of features, both are highly upgradeable and future-proof given Meridian Audio's card bus design and Resolution Audio's unique computer centric design. It all comes down to whether you want a warm, rich, smooth, vinyl house sound or a state of the art digital sound when choosing between the RAO 21 or Meridian 808.2i.
I am glad that I had this terrific opportunity to audition these fine digital source components and I hope you learned as much as I did through this extended read. Thank you.
Onto the Resolution Audio Opus 21 and Meridian 808.2i, things get much more interesting. In a nutshell, I would honestly say that the Opus 21 gets 95% closer to the 808.2i, but its approach is leaning heavily in the analog vinyl side. The RAO 21 sounds very very close to the state of the art in vinyl playback systems while the Meridian 808.2i is the ultimate digital player that I have auditioned thus far. I thought the differences would be night and day, but they are not as much as I had listened to for the duration of a month now. Let's talk about common characteristics. Both have a laid back, smooth, and transparent overall tone, but the RAO 21 takes it in a vinyl direction to a new level of refinement (at least for solid state digital playback systems is concerned). Both have tight, deep, and textured bass, but the RAO 21 has a slight upper bass bloat while the 808.2i lacks thunderous slam found elsewhere with other digital players. Both have fantastic mid-range that sounds intimate, full-bodied, rich with heaping amounts of pure high resolution that reveals inner details in complex music such as classical and opera genres. Both have airy, extended, and smooth treble, but the Meridian 808.2i takes it a few notches higher than the RAO 21 with greater clarity and resolution. Both have terrific imaging and cast a wide, deep, and tall sound stage, but the Meridian 808.2i takes it further than the RAO 21. In terms of dynamics, the Meridian 808.2i has a wider range with hyper fast speed which makes it slightly superior to the Resolution Audio Opus 21.
In conclusion, the Oppo Digital BDP-83SE is an outstanding high value digital player that lets its owners enjoy the major standard and high resolution audio and video formats with little fuss over configuration settings while still remaining trouble-free in terms of daily usage. Updates to the firmware are announced in a timely manner and upgrading is simple and fast. With the NuForce modification package, existing owners can take their BDP-83SE to a higher level for a premium while knowing that they have the very best truly universal player on the market today. If I were in the market for one do it all digital player, this would be it. The Resolution Audio Opus 21 system is approximately 95% close to the Meridian 808.2i in terms of sound quality, but it is more than 50% off the MSRP. A new Meridian Audio 808.2i costs $16,995.00 USD while the Resolution Audio Opus 21 CD Player, Power Centre, Extra Sources, and S30 power amplifier costs $7,500.00 USD. In terms of features, both are highly upgradeable and future-proof given Meridian Audio's card bus design and Resolution Audio's unique computer centric design. It all comes down to whether you want a warm, rich, smooth, vinyl house sound or a state of the art digital sound when choosing between the RAO 21 or Meridian 808.2i.
I am glad that I had this terrific opportunity to audition these fine digital source components and I hope you learned as much as I did through this extended read. Thank you.
