And I can't wait to see Oppo's flagship UHD BD player in te near future too.
Toga

If my Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD would die I'd jump for the 88. But the 09 is still chugging along, making it hard to justify the purchase.

The 88 is designed for 2-channel sound, which fits my setup perfectly. Based upon what the smaller BDP-80 does for the ZVOX and Insignia TV at work, I'd really like to see what the 88 would do with my home setup.

Luckily for me, these electronics stuff are pretty cheap here. LX88 here costs less than top HDMi cable from
Audioquest or Wireworld. So upgrade is not that painful for me here.

Toga.

On another forum, there's talk from some who have both the Pioneer 85FD and Oppo 103D that the Pioneer is the better player. Whether that carries through to the Pioneer 88 and Oppo 105D I don't know. But it's interesting nonetheless. And according to comments, the Pioneer's audio is stellar. That's tempting, despite what my previous post says.

I'll just chime in and say that, having now owned both the Oppo BDP-105D and the BDP-103 for a few months now, that the video and audio performance of both machines is stellar. Then of course there is the automatic updating setup with the Oppo players, which is tough to beat.

Just my $.02 worth, FWIW. :smoking:

Oppo makes good players, for sure. I have an original BDP-83 which I use as a secondary player, straight to the TV. It loads faster than my Pioneer 09FD, which is nice but not a major advantage (to me). The 83 went out for repair once, and Oppo's customer service was quite good in taking care of the problem as I recall. I never tried the 83 through my stereo so no comment on its audio, but picture-wise I prefer the 09 by a small margin; it looked a bit richer. As for the latest players, the 105 is less expensive than the 88, and is praised widely (deservedly so, from what I read). Unless you count the new McIntosh, Oppo and Pioneer are the only ones making super-players. The 105 is an outstanding performer and a good deal.

I suppose it comes down to what one desires, values, and the setup one has. If I had a multi-channel setup, it would be the 105 hands down. Yet, I like the idea of a dedicated 2-channel player and the Pioneer 88 appeals to me for that reason. It's also got a sleek, elegant look and good reviews. Which player I would buy ultimately (if either) isn't clear, but I admit leaning toward the 88. For now.

I had the LX91, gorgeous looking player, picture quality very good, but the Ayre DX-5 I have now sounds much better

I've heard that the BDP-88 is no longer available; unfortunate, if true. Indeed, going to the B&H Photo website, it says the unit is "No longer available." As mentioned before, I couldn't justify getting one because my 09FD (also Pioneer Elite) is still chugging along. There may no longer be an option, even if I want one. Has anyone else heard that the 88 is done?

I was in love with my old Pioneer Elite until......
 

This was a long time ago. The Pioneer Elite DV 37 was the best DVD player I had owned for video playback. I unfortunately found the "red push" in the player! It drove me crazy. I am sure they corrected the one flaw from a wonderful machine. I am currently using the Oppo BDP-105. Like many others I am waiting for the BDP 203 to be released. :thumbsup:

I just ordered a BDP-88, the last one in the store. It will be shipped to me this week.

It's my understanding that Pioneer is working on a 4K player. I don't have a 4K TV, and I'm not budging until my 111FD plasma dies. Thanks to the excellent demo I saw at the NY Audio show this past week, I plan for my next TV to be a 55" OLED; the 88 will work with that as well. But until then, I'm fine.