Sony UBP-X800 4K Blu-ray player in DA HOUSE!
Needed to get a proper 4K Blu-ray player (to match my 4K Sony TV), rather than simply an upscaling one as I had before, so have upgraded this one, which until now has served me well (Sony BDP-S6700):
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To this (Sony UBP-X800):
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Full details here: https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/b...ayers/ubp-x800
Bought it from John Lewis for £329, with a 2 year guarantee. I could have got it for less from Sevenoaks (£269), but I wanted the extra year's guarantee. All I can say is WOW, in terms of picture and sound quality with movies, what a difference! The colours are simply stunning... Everything just looks and sounds so much more real :eek:
I honestly think that this player could rival the OPPO, for significantly less money, it's *that* good.... I'll also be using it as a CD transport (along with a Beresford Bushmaster II DAC) to play CDs in my downstairs home-cinema system, so it'll be interesting to see if I can hear any difference in terms of sound, using music as a reference, compared with the previous Sony player.
More later! :cool:
Marco.
A short review of the Sony/Bushmaster II combo...
Well, having lived with this player now for a few days, aside from it's utterly stunning performance with movies, both in terms of picture quality, and the beguilingly immersive sounds it produces with Dolby Atmos and DTS-X, I can now confirm that it's equally as accomplished with 2-channel music (when used with a suitable DAC).
Of course, as the UBP-X800 doesn't have an in-built DAC, then when it's performing audio duties in a 2-channel hi-fi system, with a normal stereo amplifier, it needs to be used in conjunction with a separate DAC, in my case a Beresford Bushmaster II, via the Sony's digital coaxial output. In this instance, the cable used to connect the two was a Klotz MC-5000.
You certainly get the sense that the X800 is a high-end player, designed to deliver a superior audio performance, featuring a frame-and-beam chassis, which offers a rigid structure to help eliminate micro-vibrations, as well as effective electrical shielding, such as shown here:
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That combined with a glossy black mid-section, sandwiched between two stippled charcoal-grey metal slabs. makes the entire player not only feel substantial and well-engineered (some 4kg), but unquestionably enables it to deliver quite exceptional sonic performance, when used in this instance, as a standalone CD transport. In summary, the whole package is very well-screwed together and reassuringly solid.
The sound produced, partnered by the superb Beresford Bushmaster II, is filigree-detailed, lifelike, smooth and musically addictive - and crucially, blissfully free from any evidence of 'glare', which in my experience mars much digital equipment at this price level, but not this Sony/Beresford combo. I suspect that Stan's careful voicing of the DAC, and the attention to detail Sony have put into the design of this player, in terms of vibration control and reducing the effects of microphony, have paid dividends, and is responsible for its very accomplished, 'grown up' sound.
Information retrieval is forensic-like, offering pin-point insight into the musical programme, but is achieved naturally and unforced (almost like good vinyl), and delivered with just the right amount of warmth. As such, it promotes extended listening sessions, without fatigue. Midrange information, such as vocals, is delivered clearly and convincingly, and believably real, with female vocals in particular imbued with a lovely natural texture and tone.
Bass frequencies are rock-solid, deep and extended, but also foot-tappingly tuneful, producing a sound that's high on 'boogie factor', when the music demands, whilst underpinning it with the requisite authority, in order that when necessary bass notes can be felt as well as heard. All in all, the Sony/Beresford combo, at under £700, produces a very even-handed, insightful and thoroughly rewarding performance with CD, sounding like considerably more expensive equipment, such is its ability to allow you to 'relax into the music', whilst drawing you right in and forgetting about the hardware.
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The Bushmaster II magic...
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I've honestly heard inferior sound from some £1500 'high-end' CD players, so for anyone who owns a home-cinema system, and wants not only top-notch video performance and sound with movies (and here the Sony positively excels with 4K Blu-rays), but also to get superb sound from CDs, or who's looking for a quality, cost-effective CD transport to use with an off-board DAC, I can't recommend the UBP-X800 highly enough. It ticks all the boxes, and then some, especially in terms of 'SPPV'.
Factor in too, 4K UHD streaming of YouTube and Netflix content, making 5.1 channel music videos, and movies positively come alive, as well as Blu-rays, and the Sony UBP-X800 is quite a bargain, and comfortably at home acting as a quality source component in any good home-movie or hi-fi system.
Highly recommended then? Abso-bloody-lutely! :thumbsup:
Marco.
S-Booster for Bushmaster II DAC
Just bought one of these little chaps from Mark Grant: https://markgrant.co.uk/sboosters/16...ushmaster.html
Not exactly new, so many folks will be aware of them and what they do, but as I haven't played around with them before, I have to say for the modest outlay they really do make a difference to the (already excellent) performance of the BM II - simply by 'tidying up' the sound, in terms of reducing the influence of noise (mains 'hash') on the music signal, thus improving the quality of sound reproduction in all areas.
The addition of the S-Booster has simply served to further increase my enjoyment of music on my secondary system, which is beginning to become less 'secondary' by the day... ;)
In my view, such is its 'no-brainer' efficacy, the S-Booster should be considered as mandatory equipment (and not simply an 'accessory') by all Beresford Bushmaster II users. (Very) highly recommended! :cool:
Marco.
A little 'quirk' of the Sony UBP-X800...
Just a small thing I've observed with the Sony player, not a bug as such, rather more of a 'quirk'...
If you've been streaming music from Spotify, YouTube, or were using any of the apps on the homepage, and once finished simply leave the unit to go into standby mode, if you try and use it again afterwards to play a disc, the drawer tray won't open, as the unit won't respond to that command until you've hit the 'Home' button on the remote control, which cancels all previous commands.
The best thing to do, before each new session, is to 'wake up' the player, from standby mode, by pressing the 'Home' button. That way, you'll always be starting afresh, and it'll be ready to receive a new command.
Took me a while to suss what was happening, as initially I thought the player had developed a fault. Just thought I'd let folks know, existing or future users (perhaps Phil), in case they encounter that issue and also think it's a fault :)
Marco.
