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Each year, dozens of European journalists gather to select the best electronic products of the year. Awarded by a diverse and impartial jury, the EISA (Expert Imaging and Sound Association) awards recognize exceptional products for their performance, design, or ergonomics.
The British magazine Home Cinema Choice awards its "Best Buy" distinction to products that deliver exceptional performance or unbeatable value for the price.
The Magnetar UDP800 represents excellence in the world of 4K UHD Blu-ray players. As the spiritual successor to the legendary Oppo UDP-203 and Pioneer UDP-LX800, this player combines flawless construction, outstanding video performance, and an audio section worthy of the finest hi-fi systems. Designed for demanding cinephiles and audiophiles, the UDP800 stands out for its ability to get the very best from all your physical media, whether DVD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD discs, SACD, or audio CDs. Its quad-core MediaTek MT8581 processor ensures optimal decoding and precise upscaling, while its audio section benefits from carefully selected audiophile-grade components.
The Magnetar UDP800 impresses at first glance with its brushed aluminum front panel, reflecting its high-end positioning. This elegance is more than skin deep: the chassis features a double-layer structure with a thickness of 1.6 mm, reinforced by a 3 mm steel plate under its base. This technical design significantly reduces vibrations and resonances that could affect playback quality.
Weighing 8 kg, this player boasts exceptional rigidity, directly contributing to the quality of both sound and picture reproduction. The main internal components, including the optical block and power supply, are individually protected in isolated compartments, thus limiting electromagnetic interference. This meticulous attention to construction details reflects the audiophile philosophy that guided the design of the UDP800.
Special care has been given to the power supply, which features a custom high-power 60 W low-noise transformer with a two-stage filter design. Fully isolated in a separate metal enclosure, this power supply guarantees stability and silence—fundamental elements for optimal audiovisual performance. Japanese Rubycon electrolytic capacitors ensure high transient response, benefiting both home theater systems and high-resolution audio playback.
At the heart of the Magnetar UDP800 is the quad-core MediaTek MT8581 processor, renowned for its advanced video decoding and processing capabilities. This processor enables remarkable upscaling of Full HD 1080p and SD content to Ultra HD 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels), offering four times the definition of conventional Blu-rays.
Compatibility with HDR10, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision standards ensures faithful reproduction of high dynamic range content, with deep blacks, brilliant whites, and a significantly enriched color palette. Support for BT.2020 (4K), BT.709 (HD), and BT.601 (SD) color spaces guarantees precise color reproduction, whatever the source.
Tests with films like “Unforgiven” and “Mission: Impossible Fallout” on 4K Blu-ray demonstrate the player’s ability to deliver extremely detailed, accurate, and natural images. HDR content benefits from high contrast and a wealth of on-screen nuances. The realistic color grading of Christopher McQuarrie’s film is perfectly rendered, as are the warmer tones of Clint Eastwood’s movie.
HDR-to-SDR conversion for non-HDR compatible screens is also impressive, allowing you to get the most out of 4K discs even on older equipment. This versatility makes the UDP800 an ideal companion for all types of setups, from the most modern to the most established.
The Magnetar UDP800 doesn’t just excel in video; it also offers a top-tier audio section that will delight even the most demanding music lovers. To optimize playback in Pure Audio mode, the player uses a 4-layer PCB where each channel benefits from independent wiring, ensuring optimal signal separation.
Two Burr-Brown PCM 1795 digital-to-analog converters are dedicated to stereo processing, each handling the left and right channels respectively. This dual-mono configuration ensures channel separation greater than 120 dB and a signal-to-noise ratio also above 120 dB. High-quality MUSES8920 operational amplifiers complete this audiophile architecture, offering total harmonic distortion below 0.00018%.
The audio outputs live up to these exceptional components: gold-plated balanced XLR outputs for high-end setups and gold-plated unbalanced RCA outputs for universal compatibility. The frequency range extends from 20 Hz to 20 kHz with a maximum variation of -3 dB to +0.05 dB, ensuring faithful reproduction of the entire audible spectrum.
The player supports high-resolution audio formats such as DSD64/128, multichannel DSD64, and PCM 192 kHz/24-bit. AIFF, ALAC, APE, FLAC, and WAV file formats are also supported, offering total flexibility for playing your digital music library.
The Magnetar UDP800 stands out for its exceptional versatility in supported formats. It plays UHD-BD, BD, BD-R, BD-RE, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, SACD, CD, and CD-R/RW. This broad compatibility allows you to make the most of your entire disc collection, from the oldest to the newest.
The rear panel features two separate HDMI outputs (one main audio/video and one secondary audio), making integration into complex home theater setups easy. The optical and coaxial digital audio outputs support PCM up to 192 kHz on 2 channels, as well as Dolby Digital and DTS.
The rear USB 3.0 port allows you to connect external hard drives up to 16 TB, providing quick access to your media files. The RJ45 network port lets you access content stored on your home network via DLNA or SMB protocols, turning the UDP800 into a true multimedia hub.
For advanced home automation setups, the RS-232C port allows integration into centralized control systems, offering extra flexibility for custom configurations.
The Magnetar UDP800’s user interface is designed to provide a smooth and intuitive experience. It allows easy access to various settings and to devices connected via USB and network. Disc loading times are relatively fast, with about 30 seconds for a UHD Blu-ray and 40 seconds for a standard Blu-ray.
The included remote control divides opinion: some reviewers point out its design overloaded with small buttons. However, this approach has the advantage of providing direct access to most features without having to navigate complex menus.
The Magnetar UDP800 follows the philosophy of these historic references by offering robust construction and exceptional audiovisual performance, while integrating the latest technologies such as support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. It also features a more advanced audio section with Burr-Brown PCM 1795 DACs and balanced XLR outputs, which are absent on the Oppo UDP-203.
The UDP800 supports H.264 and H.265 (HEVC) video formats, thus covering the majority of current video files. These files can be played from a USB device or over the network (DLNA, SMB). Some more exotic formats, however, may not be recognized.
Yes, a multi-region, multi-zone version of the Magnetar UDP800 is available, allowing playback of DVDs and Blu-rays from all geographic regions. This version is particularly appealing for collectors with imported discs.
No, the player works perfectly without an internet connection for playing physical discs. A network connection is only necessary to access files shared on your local network or for possible firmware updates.
Yes, the Magnetar UDP800 supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X via its HDMI output, allowing you to fully enjoy the immersive soundtracks of recent 4K Blu-rays when connected to a compatible amplifier.
The 4K upscaling of the MediaTek MT8581 processor significantly enhances standard DVDs. While it won’t miraculously turn a DVD into native 4K, the processing improves sharpness and reduces artifacts, making these discs more enjoyable to watch on a modern screen.
Paolo
Exceptional product, top-level audio and video quality. Extremely satisfied.
Comment from September 03, 2024 — Experience from August 22, 2024
Benoît
A visual slap in the face with this product. I had a "consumer" Sony player. All the colors, contrasts, gradients... visual and sound perfection. Exemplary build quality.
Comment from April 20, 2024 — Experience from April 07, 2024
Jean-marc
Very good sound reproduction and the image quality is up to par.
Moreover, the look is perfect.
Comment from December 28, 2023 — Experience from December 17, 2023
