This post contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure here.
Pioneer UDP-LX500 & UDP-LX800 4K UHD Blu-ray Players-First Look
Pioneer Elite UDP-LX500
Pioneer Elite UDP-LX800
Introduction
Manufacturers seem to be rushing in to fill the void left by Oppo in the high end and audiophile 4K Blu-ray player market. Its interesting to see that most of them have released players and remotes that are very reminiscent of the Oppo 203 and 205 designs.
With Oppo now fading into the dust there are several 4K UHD audiophile player contenders to replace their infamous 203 and 205, or are there? In my opinion none of the current batch of audiophile players can ‘hold a candle’ to the audio performance of the Oppo 205. Each contender has a number of significant deficiencies in terms of their hardware, ability to handle files, I/O connectivity and supported formats. Interestingly, these new players, like the 203 and 205, also have either none or a very restricted support for web apps.
Pioneer is releasing two 4K UHD Blu-ray players that are squarely aimed at the audiophile, just like the Panasonic UB9000.
The Pioneer UDP-LX500 seems to be aimed at audiophiles but with significantly less functionality than the Oppo 205. It is essentially a 203 with improved stereo only analog audio playback.
The Pioneer UDP-LX800 is their new flagship player aimed at audiophiles at a similar level to the Oppo 205. However it has notable differences in both its estimated pricing and features. Its audio DACs are also a small step down from those found in the 205. It too only supports stereo audio analog playback.
Neither player supports MQA disc or file playback nor contains any form of Dolby or DTS decoders so there are no 5.1 or 7.1 analog outputs.
It should also be noted that the improved jitter reduction function, Precision Quartz Lock System (PQLS), ONLY works when a compatible Pioneer receiver is connected to the players via the HDMI connection.
So what do these players bring to the table with their Elite pedigree?
Overview
Audio Conversion
These players along with others are claiming to be audiophile quality. But are they? Lets look at their DAC lineup.
If we just look at analog stereo outputs then clearly the UDP LX800 is a contender to replace the Oppo 205. However you must look closely at its connectivity and format support. The LX500 does provide an improved DAC over the 203 and the UB9000 however, as with the LX800 you must carefully review the other players parameters before deciding whether it is the right player for you. There are significant connectivity and format support differences between these players at each of their respective levels. All players DAC’s provide support for a range of different audio filter characteristics, some of which are supported by the players.
UDP-LX500
Clearly this universal player contains very little, so in my opinion, Pioneer have tried to make the player feel like a quality product by using a heavy weight steel chassis under the guise that it reduces vibration, and drops the players center of gravity creating a more stable player that is less prone to vibration. Thereby producing a better image and sound. Well that may or may not be so, not too sure how that concept works technically. In order to reduce potential electrical (RF) and magnetic interference they have split the player into three screened compartments. However there is still only one switched mode power supply driving both the digital and analog electronics. They have added Precision Quartz Lock System (PQLS) to the HDMI connections in order to reduce jitter and improve the audio quality (see above comment) and a new feature, the Zero Signal terminal, that is said to ensure that the players ground potential is the same as that of the receivers, in order to reduce noise and voltage offsets and therefore enhance audio quality. Not too sure about this latter feature either, or even how it works, when the I/O connections are already connected to the receivers ground. The player only supports two unbalanced analog audio outputs driven by an AK4490EQ DAC. These outputs are primarily just for high quality stereo playback.
On the video side of things the player supports HDR to SDR conversion and contains a number of presets that you can use to select your TV or projector model. It supports both HDR10 and Dolby Vision but not HDR10+.
The HDMI connectivity for both players supports three modes of operation:
- Separate mode enables high-quality transmission by separating video and audio via the two HDMI outputs.
- Single mode routes both video and audio output via the main HDMI output.
- Pure Audio mode which delivers an audio-only output from the second HDMI terminal.
Anticipated release date in USA: September 2018
Estimated USA Pricing $1099.00
UDP-LX500 Specifications
Formats
- BD-ROM (UHDBD/3D BD/BD)/BD-R (DL)/BD-R LTH/BD-RE (DL).
- DVD-ROM (DVD-Video/DVD-Audio)/DVD-R (DL)/DVD-RW/DVD+R (DL)/DVD+RW.
- Audio CD (CD-DA/SACD)/CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW.
- USB Memory/HDD.
Video
- SDR/HDR preset mode for optimal performance for the display.
- Video Adjust.
- 36-bit Deep Color/”x.v.Color”.
Audio
- Direct function for pure analog audio output.
- Dual HDMI output.
Construction
- Ultra-rigid construction without heat radiation holes.
- Double-layered chassis reinforced with 3 mm steel plate for rigidity and low center of gravity.
- 6-layer main circuit board for high S/N ratio.
- Rigid and quiet UHD BD drive.
- Honeycomb mechanism drive cover.
- Acoustic damper tray.
- Float-mounting structure.
- Weight 22.7lbs.
Convenience
- Self-Illuminating remote control.
- Disc information OSD.
- BD-live/BONUSVIEW.
Connectivity
- HDMI 2 Out (1 Main for Audio/Video, 1 Sub for Audio).
- Digital coaxial out.
- Digital optical out.
- USB 2 In (1 Front, 1 Rear).
- Ethernet.
- RS-232C.
- Analog audio out (unbalanced).
- Zero Signal terminal (for audio/video quality tuning).
UDP-LX800
Let me first say that I have no information as to when or if this player will be released in the USA.
While this player is identical in terms of its video performance to its little brother, the LX800 is a very different beast to the LX500 as can be seen by its estimated price. It is significantly larger, the chassis is heavy, very rigid and well damped, and it supports separate screened power supplies. The switched mode supply supporting the loader and main digital electronics, with a conventional analog transformer power supply driving the stereo analog audio board with its DAC’s. It also supports a USBDAC input allowing the high quality DAC’s to support up stream hardware. Unfortunately the USBDAC does not decode MQA nor does the player support MQA files either streamed or off plastic. For those that require them, balanced XLR connections are provided. As with the LX500 this player does not support decoded 5.1 or 7.1 analog outputs.
Anticipated release date in UK/Europe: October 2018
Estimated British Pricing £2,199.00.
UDP-LX800 Specifications
The following are the added functionality that this player provides over the LX500:
Audio
- 8ch parallel drive with SABER ES9026PRO DAC x 2.
- Large-capacity power supply transformer.
- Custom electrolytic capacitors.
- Transport function for pure digital audio/video output.
Construction
- Ultra-rigid construction with ventless steel plate top panel and aluminum side panels.
- 3 mm steel plate rigid under base for rigidity and low centre of gravity.
- Anti-standing wave insulators.
- Weight 30.4lbs.
Connectivity
-
Balanced XLR stereo analogue audio out.
While the UDP-LX500 supports SACD and DVDA playback and multi-channel audio over HDMI, its build quality and overall technical design is in my opinion, a step down from the Panasonic DB UB9000 and it doesn’t support 5.1 or 7.1 analog audio processing. Nor does it support MQA audio, HDR10+ or DAC inputs. Multi-channel audio is available as a PCM down mix via the analog stereo outputs.
The UDP-LX800 supports most common video and audio formats, provides good power supply performance, with solid overall design and stereo analog conversion. However, just like the LX500, it too lacks analog 5.1 and 7.1 decoding support, providing multi-channel audio only via its HDMI connections or as a PCM down mix to analog stereo.
Considering the less than stellar format support and no 5.1 or 7.1 decoding to analog, these players seem very expensive and in my opinion are not much more than high end Blu-ray transports.
Also remember that the improved audiophile PQLS jitter reduction is only available if you purchase a compatible Pioneer receiver.
I am not too sure at this point in time whether the new IMAX Enhanced standard will impact any players.
Buy the UDP-LX500 at Amazon.
Click here for further information on the UDP-LX500.
Click here for further information on the UDP-LX800.
Let’s wait for like for like test and compare results
Keen to read about it as soon as Pioneer UDP LX 800 is out in the wild.
Neither Cambridge Audio, Panasonic, Samsung, Pioneer or any others I know of have a 4K player with quality 7.1 analog out. What a missed opportunity. Shouldn’t be long before high-end cable makers are a footnote in history.
I couldn’t agree more. But with convenience taking center stage, multi-channel analog outputs are going to disappear, as I think HDR to SDR re-mapping will, and I think that most players will just become transports. That just leaves the relatively small number of projector lovers to wonder how HDR is going to be handled with future players and projectors. With the 205 gone there is nothing to fill that hole right now. Maybe some “go fund me” group will buy the Oppo intellectual property….wouldn’t that be nice! Even the UB9000 is no match for the 205. It will be interesting to see what the real technical reviews look like for these two players.
Hola, excelente publicación. Mi consulta es la siguiente, si conecto el audio al Receiver a través del cable HDMI la conversión A/D ¿Quién la hace, el Receiver o el BluRay? Pregunto porque de ser así, no justifica cambiar el reproductor si al final la conversión la hace el Receiver con sus DACs.
Desde ya, muchas gracias.
Atte.
JN
Jorge,
I hope that you can translate this.
If you are only connecting your player to your receiver via the HDMI connection any changes to your receivers’ sound, that is now doing all the HDMI link bit conversion, will be related to any changes in jitter.
Some receivers will re-clock this HDMI bitstream (and use data rate control) and therefore the jitter remains constant being only a function of your receiver, so the player has NO effect on sound. If the receiver extracts its clock from the incoming HDMI bit data then if there is jitter on it greater than the receivers, the receivers DAC sound will possibly be worse.
Panasonic PQLS is only operative to reduce jitter if you own another compatible Pioneer receiver and it ONLY works with LPCM over the HDMI connection, NOT bitstreamed audio. (Similar to Sony HATS)
I believe that only Denon Link4 can reduce bitstream jitter for audio over an HDMI connection and LPCM/DSD jitter over its dedicated Denon Link connection. Again you need to own compatible Denon products.
So if you are ONLY using the HDMI connection for audio and a non-compatible (PQLS) receiver, this player will not provide any improvements in audio quality over its dedicated HDMI audio connection. However, if the players’ stereo DAC’s are better than those in your receiver, then an analog connection can certainly result in improved audio.
Using dedicated audio only HDMI connections is said to improve audio in the receiver, as video data is not present to create noise. REMEMBER that this HDMI link still requires a video signal, usually black, to carry the audio signal so video digital data is always present on it.
(Personally I have never heard any difference in audio whether carried over an active video HDMI connection, or a dedicated audio HDMI connection, if no jitter reduction is being applied.)
Hope this helps and thank you for visiting my site.
Paul