Much Life Left for Physical Media, as Magnetar Audio Moves to Indi Imports

Speaking of its exit, Oppo said at the time:

While the latest OPPO 4K UHD players have reached the pinnacle of their performance, OPPO Digital has made a business decision that it is time to say goodbye to production of the OPPO Digital range of products. This decision will also apply to OPPO Digital's line of head-fi products.

Oppo was the undisputed choice of discerning cinephiles and those still keen on physical media. Other manufacturers carried the baton, with Panasonic proving a popular choice and emerging brands such as Magnetar and Reavon.

StereoNET reviewed the Applause Award-winning Magnetar UDP-800 in July 2023, concluding:

Built like a battleship, the UDP800 is a reference-grade universal disc player. It produced outstanding images that outperformed my superb, reference Oppo UDP-203 4K player. While colour reproduction is first-class, where this machine really shines is the sharpness and clarity of the images that it produces. Meanwhile, blacks are deep and inky, devoid of any video noise. Of course, it is early days for Hong Kong-based Magnetar, but the company has certainly hit the ground running with an outstanding reference-grade optical disc spinner. I am very much looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this talented industry newcomer.

Fundamental Audio first launched Magnetar into the Australian market. It was very well received, attracting much press and demonstrations at Hi-Fi and Trade Shows. Effective September 1st, Melbourne-based Indi Imports will distribute and represent Magnetar Audio in Australia.

Paul Riachi, Director of Indi Group, told StereoNET:

We are delighted to welcome Magnetar, the undisputed quality in Ultra HD Blu-ray Players, to our portfolio. We have been working for a while behind the scenes with Magnetar to establish a newer and more prominent dealer network who understands the reasons why one should invest in such products.

Riachi continued:

While some may say physical media is phasing out, the recent buy up of Indiana Jones and Oppenheimer, just to name a couple of titles, proves there is a still large demand for Blu-ray Players. The reason is simple, there is no other format that provides the picture quality and most importantly, the sound quality, that physical media delivers.

It is understood that the UDP-800 and its bigger brother, the UDP-900, will be offered at "more affordable" pricing than they were previously.

For more information visit Magnetar Audio