Meet the Magnetar UDP800 MKII
If you have been searching for a reference grade universal disc player since OPPO stepped away from the market, the Magnetar UDP800 MKII is the machine that ends that search. It plays essentially every silver disc worth owning, sends pristine picture and sound to your system, and it does so with the confidence of a design team that helped build the players enthusiasts still hold in high regard today.
This guide walks through what the UDP800 MKII plays, how it performs on video and audio, the system it fits best, its direct lineage to OPPO, and the components that pair naturally with it.
The OPPO Lineage: A True Continuation
The story of the UDP800 MKII begins with OPPO. When OPPO discontinued its beloved universal players, a real gap opened for anyone who valued proper SACD, DVD-Audio, and UHD Blu-ray playback in one chassis. Magnetar is the modern successor to those OPPO players, and importantly, engineers who worked on the OPPO machines helped design the Magnetar line. This is not a tribute act. It is a genuine continuation.
The UDP800 MKII is the direct replacement for the OPPO UDP-203. If you owned or admired the UDP-203, you will recognize the philosophy immediately: a dependable universal transport, region-free flexibility, and dual HDMI outputs so you can separate video and audio when your display and processor call for it.
What Carried Over From OPPO
- True universal disc support across UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, SACD, DVD-Audio, DVD, and CD.
- Dual HDMI outputs, allowing a dedicated video path and a separate audio path for legacy or high performance processors.
- Region-free operation, so imported discs and different market releases play without obstacles.
- A build and menu logic that feels familiar and reassuring to former OPPO owners.
What Improved
The MKII designation matters. Magnetar has refined the transport reliability, tightened the video processing for modern HDR and Dolby Vision content, and continued to develop the platform for today's displays and media libraries. The result is a player that honors the OPPO UDP-203 while stepping into the current generation of 4K sources and streaming era expectations.
Disc and Format Support
The UDP800 MKII earns the word universal. It handles:
- UHD Blu-ray for the sharpest 4K disc based movies.
- Blu-ray for your existing high definition film collection.
- SACD for high resolution stereo and multichannel music.
- DVD-Audio, a format many current players ignore entirely.
- DVD for your legacy library.
- CD for everyday music listening.
Beyond discs, it offers USB media playback and network media support, so files on a thumb drive or across your home network are welcome too. For collectors who have built libraries across decades and formats, this breadth is the whole point.
Video Performance
The UDP800 MKII supports HDR and Dolby Vision, delivering the dynamic range and color depth that modern UHD Blu-ray releases were mastered to show. Its dual HDMI outputs give you real flexibility: route video directly to your display while sending audio to a processor, which keeps the signal path clean and lets each component do what it does best.
Whether you are watching a demo grade UHD disc or upscaling an older DVD, the goal is the same, a natural and detailed image that respects the source.
Audio Performance
Audio is where a universal player proves its worth, and the UDP800 MKII is well equipped. An integrated digital to analog converter feeds a stereo RCA analog output, so you can connect it directly to a stereo preamp or integrated amplifier for two channel listening from SACD and CD. For digital connections, coaxial and optical outputs let you send audio to an external DAC or processor of your choice.
This combination means the UDP800 MKII can serve as both your movie transport and a serious music source, which is exactly what SACD and DVD-Audio enthusiasts want from a single box.
Ideal System and Use Case
The UDP800 MKII is an outstanding fit for the enthusiast building or refining a home theater who also cares about music. If you have a capable AV processor or receiver with HDMI audio inputs and a 4K display, the dual HDMI arrangement lets you optimize both signal paths. If you are a two channel listener with an SACD collection, the analog stereo output and onboard DAC let you plug straight into your amplifier and enjoy high resolution music without added complexity.
It also suits the collector consolidating shelves of formats into one reliable, region-free player that will not turn its nose up at a DVD-Audio disc or an imported release.
Stepping Up: The UDP900 MKII
If your system is built around reference two channel audio and you want the most ambitious analog output stage and audio design in the Magnetar lineup, look at the Magnetar UDP900 MKII. It is the successor to the OPPO UDP-205, just as the UDP800 MKII continues the OPPO UDP-203. The UDP900 MKII is the choice when audio performance sits at the very top of your priority list. The UDP800 MKII, meanwhile, delivers the core universal experience with tremendous value and flexibility, making it the right pick for many home theater first systems.
Pairing Thoughts
To get the most from the UDP800 MKII, consider these pairings:
- Video path: connect one HDMI output directly to a 4K display that supports HDR and Dolby Vision so the image reaches the screen with minimal handling.
- Audio path: route the second HDMI to your AV processor or receiver for immersive movie soundtracks.
- Two channel: use the stereo RCA output into a quality preamp or integrated amplifier for SACD and CD listening.
- External conversion: if you own a favorite DAC, the coaxial and optical outputs let you use it for CD and file playback.
Bring One Home for a Listen
AEA is an authorized Magnetar dealer with a showroom in Timonium, Maryland. Demo units rotate through the room, so the best way to appreciate what the Magnetar UDP800 MKII can do in a real system is to hear and see it in person. Reach out to us to arrange a listen, and we will help you decide whether the UDP800 MKII or the step up UDP900 MKII is the right fit for your setup.