Lexicon $3,500 BluRay is really a $500 Oppo in a new case!

[OldSkoolRS]

I probably shouldn't have been surprised about this, or by a review that compared the new Lexicon against the Oppo '83 player that is inside it and it claimed the Lexicon was so much better. I transpires that the Lexicon is simply the much cheaper Oppo '83 player put into a different case with a fancy front panel, then they charge an extra $3,000 for this.

http://hd.engadget.com/2010/01/16/lexicon-busted-p...

Also the Theta Digital doing the same thing according to this thread:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/blu-ray-players/108...

I've been looking around for a better player than my current Sony BDP-S350, but more from a CD playing and DVD upscaling POV. I did consider the Oppo at one point, but I have to confess I find that it looks ugly IMHO (I know it's shallow, but there you go), however I wouldn't pay $3,000 (probably more by the time it gets imported here too) just for a pretty front panel...

A cache of the review (it seems that the original version has dissapeared)

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:y2qKE2BVVO0J:...


It just shows, you should go out and demo AV gear and be sure that you think it sounds better. Don't be influenced by reviews in magazines, or on the web for that matter.

[headcase]

LOL I like the way that one is THX certified and one isnt despite them both being the same player!

[telecat]

Don't forget that Oppo do supply a "Tweaked version" of their own. I do know the Theta uses the electronics from the Oppo but it is a different layout and is "tweaked" even further. I doubt that the Lexicon or Theta is worth that amount unless they are using a "custom" transport where costs do start soaring. Looking at the pictures I don't see it.

Edited by telecat on Monday 18th January 09:02

[clonmult]

telecat said:

Don't forget that Oppo do supply a "Tweaked version" of their own. I do know the Theta uses the eloctronics from the Oppo but it is a different layout and is "tweaked" even further. I doubt that the Lexicon is worth that amount unless they are using a "custom" transport where costs do start soaring.

The transport and electronics on the Lexicon are all Oppo. Drive mechanism, all circuit boards - not one component changed.

The only changes that Lexicon have made are - Lexicon logo in firmware, better looking front panel. Everything else is the same. All yours for an extra $3k. Busted. Totally.

But this isn't new - Lexicon have done this with amps as well, although at least on those they were re-badged HK.

[tybalt]

OldSkoolRS said:

I probably shouldn't have been surprised about this, or by a review that compared the new Lexicon against the Oppo '83 player that is inside it and it claimed the Lexicon was so much better.
It just shows, you should go out and demo AV gear and be sure that you think it sounds better. Don't be influenced by reviews in magazines, or on the web for that matter.

Better still, do a blind test. Otherwise you too will fall prey to the same factors that befuddle the reviewers.

[gbbird]

I do fancy one of those Oppo players. Who is the best supplier here in the UK?

regards

Greg

[mp3manager]

CRT

http://www.crtprojectors.co.uk/region_free_bpd-83....

I've got the Oppo and I'm very pleased with it so far. Modded for multi-region DVD & Blu-ray and the SACD playback is far superior to my old Pioneer 868. Remote control is a bit too fisher-price for my tastes though. :|

[hairyben]

Thats absolutely shocking. It'd be like the new ferrari 458 being exposed as being a bodykitted mr2, complete with a £150k price tag.

What the hell is going on? Theta are doing it too... makes you wonder if the top-end home cinema business is in serious trouble.

[clonmult]

hairyben said:

Thats absolutely shocking. It'd be like the new ferrari 458 being exposed as being a bodykitted mr2, complete with a £150k price tag.

What the hell is going on? Theta are doing it too... makes you wonder if the top-end home cinema business is in serious trouble.

Its been that way for years. Got a mate thats been in the review business for years, and its been bad for a long time, and the magazines don't exactly make it any better - better reviews often come off the back of promises of more advertising or more free kit for the reviewers. Forums like this are by far and away the best places for unbiased reviews.

[telecat]

It's produced a strange marketplace for sure. Pioneer Denon, Marantz etc have produced BD players but few are what we would have expected. No SACD, CD upsampling or DVD-Audio fitted to all but the top Denon means that many high end users won't pay out for the more expensive players as there is no point!! A PS3 or Budget name player will down the job quite nicely.

[Plotloss]

clonmult said:

Forums like this are by far and away the best places for unbiased reviews.

Even then they're a double edged sword in some regards.

There is no substitute for auditioning kit in your own home.

The room is the most important part of any reproduction so to listen to kit in a dem room whilst convenient, isn't always ideal.

Product rebranding has been going on for a very long time at every market level, its not at all restricted to the top end of the market. Many midrange and lower end manufacturers have made a good living for a long time of rebranding other peoples kit and putting it in posh boxes.

[hairyben]

Plotloss said:

Product rebranding has been going on for a very long time at every market level, its not at all restricted to the top end of the market. Many midrange and lower end manufacturers have made a good living for a long time of rebranding other peoples kit and putting it in posh boxes.

Oh undoubtedly, from sony and panasonic budget range components sharing the chinese subcontractors production line to B+O being a very expensive way to buy a phillips telly, it's gone on for years, but the lexicon-oppo example here does seem to take the piss. At least with B+O you pay for exquisitely made casing, attention to every detail and top level service and frankly, if I had the 6+ figure annual spend potential of the average B+O customer I'd happily pay lots of $$ for prettily finished plasmas. But the lexicon bdp83 is hardly a design icon in the same league, you can't see where $3000 has been spent on a few bits of aluminium. A $50-$200 price increase over the '83 would make it a nice addition to many manufacturers ranges, who can't build enough themselves to make the R+D investment justifiable, or as a short term plug till they bring one out. +$3000 for a case makeover is a swindle.

[Plotloss]

I'm not defending Lexicon, don't get me wrong but this practice is widespread and has been going on a long time is all I was pointing out.

It's just a bit more marked in this case as they're largely identical.

[clonmult]

Plotloss said:

clonmult said:

Forums like this are by far and away the best places for unbiased reviews.

Even then they're a double edged sword in some regards.

There is no substitute for auditioning kit in your own home.

The room is the most important part of any reproduction so to listen to kit in a dem room whilst convenient, isn't always ideal.

Product rebranding has been going on for a very long time at every market level, its not at all restricted to the top end of the market. Many midrange and lower end manufacturers have made a good living for a long time of rebranding other peoples kit and putting it in posh boxes.

As always you speak the truth.

Even sitting down at a dealers demo room can give different results on sound quality. Picture quality is less of a variable though, assuming you're doing a demo with the same screen. Which of course is highly unlikely .....

I'm intrigued as to what this Oppo player can do with an image that a PS3 can't though. The PS3 can in theory chuck way more in the way of post processing at an image than anything else out there, maybe Sony have deliberately pegged it back to give some differentiation from their higher end players?

[Plotloss]

Not just image based.

The Oppo remains our default choice for integration because of it's extended abilities with control and integration into a larger system.

For what it is the PS3 is phenomenal but it's not always the right choice.

[mackie1]

There's rumours about a cheaper version of the BDP-83 come soon. Hopefully they'll just ditch all the analogue stuff and leave up with an HDMI-only version with everything else the same and sell it for £300.

[OldSkoolRS]

mackie1 said:

There's rumours about a cheaper version of the BDP-83 come soon. Hopefully they'll just ditch all the analogue stuff and leave up with an HDMI-only version with everything else the same and sell it for £300.

Hopefully they'll make a less ugly version too.


Oh wait...that'll be the Lexicon player then.

[mackie1]

I already have an ugly Oppo DV-981HD so I don't really mind :P

[telecat]

mackie1 said:

There's rumours about a cheaper version of the BDP-83 come soon. Hopefully they'll just ditch all the analogue stuff and leave up with an HDMI-only version with everything else the same and sell it for £300.

That's not really the point. The point is that they produce the best "Silver disc" spinner around at a price that beats all it's rivals. It plays anything you put in it and does it well. If you want better Audio and video performance you get the "SE" anything less and you walk into the minefield that has Sony, Pioneer and Panasonic in it.

[mackie1]

I'm not sure what point I was making to be honest. I just selfishly want a cheaper BDP-83 without all the analogue gubbins which I don't want/need as I can just plug it into my HDMI receiver and be done with it. I have a PS3 and Oppo 981 but 1 box that does better than both for £300 is appealing.