We live in a world where everyone is building products with other peoples parts. For most companies it’s simply not cost effective to produce their own DVD / BD players. Lexicon isn’t the only brand doing this and you would be surprised at just how many others are. Lexicon was smart in choosing the Oppo BDP-83 design for their player since it’s currently the best Universal BD player on the market in its price class. It’s also a proven design that plays every current format being produced on digital recording media. Where they went wrong, however, was when they simply lifted the Oppo BDP-83 player and threw it into their own chassis without making any performance enhancing modifications – despite claims to have done just that. Sadly they paid for THX certification and THX happily took their money to allow Lexicon to slap their badge on the front panel – apparently without actually testing to see if it met the core requirements of which we would suppose any THX Blu-ray player would have to adhere. If THX is doing this with Blu-ray players, it makes you wonder what they are doing with A/V receivers and other THX certified products. Has the THX badge, for select existing clients, simply degraded into a marketable commodity with no real backing or validity?

When they discovered that the Lexicon BD player was simply the Oppo, not just re-branded, but dropped into a new exterior in toto, they wrote a long review pointing this out, pointed the reader to the earlier Oppo review, and then tested the THX certification as the Lexicon is ostensibly THX-certified and the Oppo was not. They had the same sound signatures, which devalues the THX brand to meaningless. Check out the review if only to see the photo of the bottom of the unit where the aluminum Oppo venting shows through the holes cut in the bottom of the $3000 more expensive unit.

High-end audio equipment is mostly a farce. As few people can tell good wine from great, and good writing from great (and unfortunately from bad writing), there is an abrupt point where 99% of people can’t objectively find any difference between a $400 receiver and a $40,000 receiver (or speakers or cabling or electrical outlets (not a typo in their price)). As most folks listen to overly-compressed (audio-wise) music in an overly-compressed (data-wise) format, mp3, an expensive receiver is even more ridiculous. As more studios and producers massage the sound to be well-received as a digital file, high-end equipment becomes a hinderance to enjoyment as it exposes the flaws in the mastering/processing strategy.

High-end video equipment is similarly flawed except it still newer so innovations are still happening, but within a few years all the innovation will be at the high-end of Moore’s law, driving down prices until our cell phones can hold and play thousands of movies for pennies in hardware cost.

Cables should be shielded, but don’t have to be, especially if you’re using unshielded and you aren’t having any problems with sound fidelity or ghosting, etc. on video. All cables bought through chains are a rip-off, as is the practice of not bundling any cables with most consumer equipment. Go to monoprice and buy cables the OEM way – usually you will pay more for shipping than the one cable you need (because their prices are reasonable, not due to eBay-style gouging). They meet the same standards and are often the same cable that Monster, etc. will rebrand and sell to you for exorbitantly more. Just be sure to check the picture and make sure you’re buying the right one as they sell almost every configuration of every cable.