Magnetar UDP800 & UDP900 4K Blu-ray Players – First Look

All UDP800/900 Image Credit: Magnetar

*UDP900 UPDATED 28/08/23* – UDP800 technical review.

With the entry of Magnetar Audio into the 4K player market yet another manufacturer is trying to step into the shoes of the famous Oppo brand.

Their first player, the UDP800 is designed and assembled in China (Shenzhen) and is similar to an Oppo 203, with no 7.1 analog output but with stereo XLR/RCA output like the Oppo 205. It also claims a transformer based power supply but that is not the whole story as it is clearly labelled as a switched mode power supply (SMPS), all be it very well screened. Other competing 4K player models based upon your desired connectivity and budget include:

• Reavon UBR-X200, UBR-X100 and UBR-X110
• Pioneer UDP-LX500 & UDP-LX800
• Panasonic DP UB9000
• Shenzhen Jieke Electronic Commerce Co., Ltd. (GIEC) BDP-G5800

UDP800 Rear Panel Connectivity

The UDP800 uses the well established quad-core system MediaTek MT8581 chipset supporting 4K ultra HD and HDR together with Dolby Vision, HDR10/10+, HDR to SDR conversion, with BT.2020/BT.709/BT.601 color space and 4K up-conversion. Audio support includes; Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Atmos and DTS-X and the player can decode DSD64/128, multi-channel DSD64 and 192kHz/24-bit PCM formats with AIFF, ALAC, APE, FLAC and WAV audio file support.

It is capable of multiple disc and media formats, including UHD-BD, BD, BD-R, BD-RE, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, SACD, CD and CD-R/RW. In addition a USB HDD of up to 16TB is supported with direct access from your computer or NAS through your local network using DLNA or SMB protocols.

For high quality pure audio stereo only playback a separate four layer printed circuit board (pcb) is used that supports two independently wired channels. Two independent Burr-Brown PCM 1795 DAC processors are used for two-channel D/A decoding, processing left channel and right channel respectively. With high-quality MUSES8920 OP-AMP’s for audiophile sound quality to drive both the stereo XLR balanced and stereo RCA unbalanced outputs.

Power is said to come from a heavily screened, custom, 60W high-power low noise transformer, with a two-stage filter design along with Japanese Rubycon electrolytic capacitors. This is interesting as the power supply module is labelled switched mode power supply (SMPS) and is universal voltage rated!

UDP800 Internal view

Technical Specifications UDP800:

• Disc Support:
  • UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, AVCHD-SACD, CD, Kodak Picture CD, CD-R/RW, DVD±R/RW, DVD±R DL, BD-R/RE
• File Support:
  • MKV, AVI, MP4, WAV, FLAC, APE, DSD – (USB 3.0)
• Outputs:
  • Stereo analog audio: XLR balanced and RCA unbalanced output
  • Optical/coaxial audio: up to 2 channels /192kHz PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS
  • HDMI 2.0b audio: up to 7.1 channel /192kHz PCM, up to 5.1 channel DSD, Bitstream
  • HDMI 2.0b video: UHD/ 1080p24 / 1080p / 1080I / 720p / 576p / 576I / 480p / 480I
• Analog Audio:
  • Frequency response: 20hz-20Khz (-3dB ~ +0.05dB)
  • Signal-to-noise ratio: > 120dBr
  • Total harmonic distortion + Noise: < 0.00018%
  • Output level: (RCA) 2.l ±0.2Vrms. (XLR) 4.2 ±0.4Vrms
  • Dynamic range: > 120dB
  • Channel separation: > 120dB
• Mechanical:
  • Weight: 17.6lbs, 8Kg

The soon to be released UDP900 rear panel connectivity looks very similar to the Oppo 205, Reavon UBR-X200, Panasonic DP UB9000 and GIEC BDP-G5800.

The UDP900 supports all the same disc and file formats as the UDP800, the same 16TB of HDD storage and comes with the addition of 7.1 analog audio output, ESS DAC’s and upgraded power supply.

The main board is 6 layers and includes an ultra low phase noise TCXO temperature-compensated crystal oscillator and the same quad-core Mediatek MT8581 processor chip, while the dedicated stereo output board is 4-layers and uses high grade ELNA, NCC and WIMA audio grade capacitors. Digital to analog conversion is handled by ESS Saber PRO 32-bit Hyperstream II, 8-Channel Audio DAC’s. An ESS9028PRO drives the 7.1 RCA outs while a ESS9038PRO that support up to 140dB DNR drives the balanced XLR stereo outputs.

The heavily shielded power supply has been upgraded and now provides a low noise switched mode supply to feed the digital motherboard and a 60 watt toroidal transformer analog supply to feed the main analog audio board.

The all aluminum alloy double-layer chassis provides high rigidity reducing vibration while also providing electrical noise screening.

Click UDP900 Spec Sheet for the translated sales product literature.

Check out this Magnetar web page for more information on the soon to-be-released UDP900.

Technical Specifications UDP900:

• Disc Support: 
  • UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, AVCHD-SACD, CD, Kodak Picture CD, CD-R/RW, DVD±R/RW, DVD±R DL, BD-R/RE
• File Support:
  • MKV, AVI, MP4, WAV, FLAC, APE, DSD – (USB 3.0)
• Outputs:
  • Stereo analog audio: XLR balanced (1) and RCA unbalanced output (1)
  • Multi-channel output: RCA unbalanced output (8)
  • Optical/coaxial audio: up to 2 channels /192kHz PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS
  • HDMI 2.0b audio: up to 7.1 channel /192kHz PCM, up to 5.1 channel DSD, Bitstream
  • HDMI 2.0b video: UHD/ 1080p24 / 1080p / 1080I / 720p / 576p / 576I / 480p / 480I
• Analog Audio (TBC):
  • Frequency response: 20hz-20Khz (+-0.03dB)
  • Signal-to-noise ratio:
    • RCA: >120dB
    • XLR: >130dB
  • Total harmonic distortion + Noise: < 0.0005%
  • Output level:
    • RCA: 2.l ±0.2Vrms.
    • XLR: 4.2 ±0.4Vrms
  • Dynamic range: > 120dB
  • Channel separation (2ch):
    • RCA: >120dB
    • XLR: >140dB
• Mechanical:
  • Weight: 34.17lbs, 15.5Kg

MSRP

• UDP800:
  • US: $1,599.00
  • US: $1,698.00 – Multi-Region version
  • EU: €1,599.00
  • EU: €1,699.00 – Multi-Region version
• UDP900:
  • US: $2,999.00
  • UK: £2,999.00
  • EU: €2,999.00

Editors Note: The UDP800 is a very expensive player and clearly the UDP900 is even more so. It will be interesting to see if either the UDP800 or the UDP900 will significantly out perform the flagship Panasonic DP UB9000, especially at an MSRP of either $1,099.99 or $1,499.99.

Firmware Upgrades:

There has already been several firmware upgrades for the UDP800 see here.

Technical Reviews:

UDP800 – HomeTheaterHiFi.com.  Similar in performance to the Reavon UBR X200 player, but clearly the Oppo 105 has significantly superior audio performance to both the UDP800 and UBR X200.

Read my latest updated post on the UDP900 here.

Now available for pre-order from both Magnetar Audio EU or Magnetar Audio US web sites.

Check out these posts on competing 4K players:

• Reavon UBR-X200, UBR-X100 and UBR-X110
• Pioneer UDP-LX500 & UDP-LX800
• Panasonic DP UB9000
• Shenzhen Jieke Electronic Commerce Co., Ltd. (GIEC) BDP-G5800