Cambridge Audio 752BD now available to order

big boss

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It's undercutting Oppo 105 by 20%:

Cambridge Audio AZUR 752BD Black | 3D Blu-ray Player | Richer Sounds

Oppos now seem a little overpriced as compared to the competition. In the US, Oppo 105 is $1199, & £999 in the UK. Going by that same logic, Oppo 103 should've been £399, and not £499, as it's $499 in the US.

Cambridge Audio 752BD is selling in the US for $1299 (more expensive than the Oppo 105).
 
It's undercutting Oppo 105 by 20%:

Cambridge Audio AZUR 752BD Black | 3D Blu-ray Player | Richer Sounds

Oppos now seem a little overpriced as compared to the competition. In the US, Oppo 105 is $1199, & £999 in the UK. Going by that same logic, Oppo 103 should've been £399, and not £499, as it's $499 in the US.

Cambridge Audio 752BD is selling in the US for $1299 (more expensive than the Oppo 105).

Brand positioning. CA is pushed as a "BritFi" product in the US hence the premium.

The DAC approach and analogue stage design is very different between the 752 and Oppo 105.

For those wanting DSD direct to internal DAC or wishing to avoid asynchronous sample rate conversion there appears to be no way to acheive this with the CA. That's before factoring in the additional features i.e. headphone amp, multiple input support including async USB, XLR output etc.

Avi
 
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Avi said:
Brand positioning. CA is pushed as a "BritFi" product in the US hence the premium.

The DAC approach and analogue stage design is very different between the 752 and Oppo 105.

For those wanting DSD direct to internal DAC or wishing to avoid asynchouns sample rate conversion there appears to be no way to acheive this with the CA.

Avi

Oppo is similar to Bose and Apple in its US vs UK pricing strategy. Even taking taxes into play, UK customers are getting a raw deal. There was a time when Oppo was popular due to its universal playback at a significantly cheaper price than the competition & was no inferior in performance. The story is different now.

The nearest competitors to the Oppo105 are CA 752BD and Marantz UD7007. Both are significantly undercutting the Oppo in price with great performance to boot. If you're not interested in the extra features of the Oppo, it's hard to justify that extra spend.
 
Oppo is similar to Bose and Apple in its US vs UK pricing strategy. Even taking taxes into play, UK customers are getting a raw deal. There was a time when Oppo was popular due to its universal playback at a significantly cheaper price than the competition & was no inferior in performance. The story is different now.

The nearest competitors to the Oppo105 are CA 752BD and Marantz UD7007. Both are significantly undercutting the Oppo in price with great performance to boot. If you're not interested in the extra features of the Oppo, it's hard to justify that extra spend.

Is it really such a raw deal on the Oppo 103 ?

$499(excluding tax and shipping)=£314.42 (assuming you can buy $ at todays forex rate 1.587)
Taric Duty of 13.9% =£43.70+£314.42=£358.12
VAT 20% = £71.62+£358.12=£429.74 (not factoring disti freight cost, warranty, channel cost etc)

Is the warranty the same in the US and UK ? UK is 2 years.

lol - I guess the answer is simple re paying more for features you don't need. Choose the product that best meets your specific needs.

AVi
 
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Avi said:
Is it really such a raw deal on the Oppo 103 ?

$499(excluding tax and shipping)=£314.42 (assuming you can buy $ at todays forex rate 1.587)
Taric Duty of 13.9% =£43.70+£314.42=£358.12
VAT 20% = £71.62+£358.12=£429.74 (not factoring disti freight cost, warranty, channel cost etc)

Is the warranty the same in the US and UK ? UK is 2 years.

lol - I guess the answer is simple re paying more for features you don't need. Choose the product that best meets your specific needs.

AVi

All Oppo products are made in China. What you're calculating, is the scenario that Oppo will first ship all its products to the US, so it's worth $499, & then ship to the UK. How is Google managing to sell its ware (Nexus 4, Nexus 7 & Nexus 10) at near exchange rates? If your calculation comes to £429, sell it for £429 then. :)

Regarding warranty, it's 2 years in the US as well:

http://www.oppodigital.com/OPPO-Product-Warranty.asp
 
In Hong Kong, both players cost approximately the same:

Oppo BDP-105 "Sound Quality" Check Thread for Audiophiles

In the US CA 752BD is more expensive than the Oppo.

This is worth noting, as it makes CA some kind of a bargain currently. Marantz was retailing at £1000 at launch, and is already available at a significant discount. Oppos don't normally get discounted.
 
All Oppo products are made in China. What you're calculating, is the scenario that Oppo will first ship all its products to the US, so it's worth $499, & then ship to the UK. How is Google managing to sell its ware (Nexus 4, Nexus 7 & Nexus 10) at near exchange rates? If your calculation comes to £429, sell it for £429 then. :)

Regarding warranty, it's 2 years in the US as well:

OPPO DIGITAL - PRODUCT WARRANTY

I'm not privy to Oppos' global licencing arrangements or what role/cost Oppo Digital Inc has on territories outside the US. Hence whilst product may ship from the same plant in China I don't know if the raw cost is the same for each territory globally.

For those buying an Oppo in the US at the lower $ price for shipment to the UK my earlier example stands.

Avi
 
I'm just considering now whether to favour the CA752 over the Oppo 105 because of the price difference. I don't use SACD, so I'm presuming that 'DSD direct to internal DAC' doesn't matter. Unfortunately, I have no idea what 'wishing to avoid asynchronous sample rate conversion' really means or how it is an advantage or disadvantage. Also is the difference in DAC and Analogue Stage design going to lead to significantly worse sound quality ? My intention is that the player will ultimately be used an AV Preamp connected directly to a multi-channel power amp.
 
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I don't use SACD, so I'm presuming that 'DSD direct to internal DAC' doesn't matter.

DSD is the native format used by SACD media but some content is also now offered as DSD format files for playback on other media i.e. hard disc, USB stick without the SACD media restrictions. If you will never use any type of DSD content then avoiding DSD to LPCM conversion prior to DAC probably isn't a priority.

Unfortunately, I have no idea what 'wishing to avoid asynchronous sample rate conversion' really means or how it is an advantage or disadvantage.

The Asynchronous Sample Rate Conversion (ASRC) processing basically means all input is converted to a single sample rate that is different to he original. Sometimes this method is used as a means to reduce certain types of jitter and that looks good on paper. The downside is jitter that existed before this process becomes embedded in the new data and can't be removed. The ASRC process shouldn't be confused with sample rate conversion (interpolation) used by the likes of Meridian etc. The only way to establish preference with regard to this type of processing is comparing properly setup and calibrated player options with different material.

Also is the difference in DAC and Analogue Stage design going to lead to significantly worse sound quality ? My intention is that the player will ultimately be used an AV Preamp connected directly to a multi-channel power amp.

Only you can decide what sound you prefer. The Oppo makes use of a dedicated linear PSU for the DAC stage which is a priority for some. The CA uses a shared switch mode PSU for everything. The Oppo also supports external input to allow other sources to take advantage of its DAC. This includes an Async USB input in addition to other digital interfaces. It also offers a headphone capability that appears to be well received. There are other differences in the products design i.e. internal shielding and Oppo have a good track record of prompt firmware updates.

I don't know what differences exist with regard to the implementation of volume control between the two players. There is some feedback on Oppo 105 being used as a pre amp that appears positive.

In the end only you can decide what sound you prefer and what features, components and design are
worth any difference in cost.

EDIT

For what it's worth some first hand feedback comparing the Oppo 105 and CA751. AFAIK the CA752 uses the same analogue stage as the CA751 but with the updated primary digital circuit. I don't know what filter was selected on the CA. My advice is listen to both properly setup and calibrated in your own setup.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/18262294-post19.html


Avi
 
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I have to admit that I think a dedicated linear PSU is worth something in itself. Even Meridian are going back to that now.
 
I have to admit that I think a dedicated linear PSU is worth something in itself. Even Meridian are going back to that now.
Absolutely. I now have three modified Meridian processors and an Oppo 93 with linear supplies, and they're the best things I've ever done.

Nick
 
The Oppo 105 uses Sabre DAC while the 752BD uses Wolfson DAC. I will be using the analog outputs to connect to the analog 7.1 inputs on my Marantz SR7005. The 752 up converts all formats to 192 kHz. Unsure if the Oppo does that too. On the other hand the 105 comes with a headphone amp and asynchronous USB input which neither the CA 752 nor the UD7007 have. Being all at the same retail price here in Hongkong price isn't the deciding factor.
Everyone's taste is different so only auditioning both models, perhaps throwing in the Marantz UD7007 as well, is the only way to decide which one to choose. Some will prefer Cambridge Audio's sound others will go for the Oppo. I wouldn't use price as a deciding factor... Seen too many regretting their purchase and going for the more expensive options later. Only your ears can tell... Fortunately my dealer sells all three models so I will spend an afternoon with my favorite disks and hopefully there will be a winner to take home...
Ps. I currently use the Oppo BDP83 using its analog outputs for music and HDMI for movies.
 
I have read in a magazine that the new CA 752BD will upsample everything that is digital and analogue. Surely that does not include HDMI outputs and inputs?

The fact that it can upscale everything is more believable though.
 
I have read in a magazine that the new CA 752BD will upsample everything that is digital and analogue. Surely that does not include HDMI outputs and inputs?

AFAIK this applies to the players analogue output. This is due to the additional Anagram DSP stage on the analogue audio output circuit.

Avi
 
Comparing the spec sheets suggests it's digital processing and networking/streaming features that are the main differences between the 751 and 752.

I wonder if CA will follow with similar 5xx and 6xx models?
 
Comparing the spec sheets suggests it's digital processing and networking/streaming features that are the main differences between the 751 and 752.

I wonder if CA will follow with similar 5xx and 6xx models?

Essentially they have migrated the 751 to the new digital circuit platform and called it the 752. I guess if they want to compete at a similar price point to the Oppo 93 there will be a another model that shares a similar platform to the Oppo 93.

Avi
 

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