Reavon UBR-X110
More than 20 years into the 21st Century, there is zero excuse for a basic component which is this expensive to have such unreliable operation, archaic update process, frequent, random lockups, and astoundingly long start-up times. After several months of battling this poorly designed, horribly overpriced player, my suggestion is to look elsewhere.
WE LIKE
WE DON'T LIKE
- Solid Construction
- Often Works (Knock on Wood)
- Frequent, Random Lockups
- Archaic Functionality
- Can Be Quite Noisy
WE LIKE
- Solid Construction
- Often Works (Knock on Wood)
WE DON'T LIKE
- Frequent, Random Lockups
- Archaic Functionality
- Can Be Quite Noisy
It’s been over five years since the regrettable departure of Oppo from the disc player market. For decades, they had produced the most solidly constructed, most versatile players available. Since that time, many users have been searching for a substitute, without much luck. Then, in the midst of the pandemic, French marketer Reavon appeared with the UBR-X100 ($899), which was followed up with the higher end UBR-X200 (which appears to be discontinued), and then the UBR-X110 ($999), which is identical to the UBR-X100, with the addition of SACD playback capability. The Reavon players are designed to be somewhat “purist” with no apps or any kind of streaming capability.
This is a fine approach, since disc players have always been a compromise when it comes to streaming, and buyers of units in this price range are far more likely to relinquish streaming duties to dedicated units such as the AppleTV or various Roku devices. In fact, the Reavons have no built-in WiFi capability at all, which could be a problem, if not for some other issues, which will be addressed later. They do have an ethernet connection, though in the end, I’m not sure why they even have that. Probably for network media playback, which I haven’t explored with this unit.
The UBR-X110 is packaged as expected with current, higher end components. Nicely double boxed, with overly stout padding, rather than typical foam. It’s wrapped in cloth, and is quite heavy. Everything that is to be expected in a $1K disc spinner. When I first plugged it in, I inserted whatever 4K disc was at hand, and was rewarded with a wonderfully smooth drawer action, followed by the nearly silent sound of the disc spinning up, and a lovely desktop screen image with nicely minimalist menu graphics. So, I installed it in my equipment rack, hooked it up, connected it to my ethernet network, and as I always do with firmware upgradeable equipment, navigated to the “System” menu in order to make certain the firmware was current.
Houston, We Have a Problem
When I got to the firmware update menu, there was only one option; USB Update. I backed out to the network menu to make certain I had a successful wired internet connection. Affirmative.
Back to the firmware update page. Again, only one option, USB Update. To my surprise, the only way to update the firmware is to use a computer to access the firmware download from the Reavon website, extract the update, put it on a flash drive, and install it manually. To make matters worse, the info for the current firmware is not on the update page. That is in an entirely different area of the player’s menu. And, of course, since it does not communicate with Reavon, it is not capable of notifying the user of when a firmware update is available. The only way to When I got to the firmware update menu, there was only one option; USB Update. I backed out to the network menu to make certain I had a successful wired internet connection. Affirmative. Back to the firmware update page. Again, only one option, USB Update. To my surprise, the only way to update the firmware is to use a computer to access the firmware download from the Reavon website, extract the update, put it on a flash drive, and install it manually. To make matters worse, the info for the current firmware is not on the update page. That is in an entirely different area of the player’s menu. And, of course, since it does not communicate with Reavon, it is not capable of notifying the user of when a firmware update is available. The only way to find that out is to regularly check their website, and know which firmware is currently installed. I thought to myself, “Why does this even have an internet connection at all?” In fact, I inquired about that, as well as all the other problems with the Reavon UBR-X110 spelled out in this review, but have not received a response.
I wish I could say the problems ended there, but they were only beginning and they would become utterly unbelievable.
Time to play a movie. My first choice was the Criterion UHD release of Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King. Once the disc loaded, it was noticeably noisy, unlike the first disc I tried. Then, around 30 minutes into the film, the screen switched to some kind of color noise, and the player froze. No, froze isn’t quite right. The player completely locked up. Nothing responded. Not with the remote, and not with the buttons on the front of the unit. The only solution was to reach around the back of the player and shut off the primary power switch, which is the same as disconnecting the power.
Problems Continued...
During the following hours, I would find that the Reavon UBR-X110 would often lock up, but the causes would be so random, and inconsistent, I never found a complete solution. I did discover that it does not tolerate when the receiver/processor, a Marantz AV7703 in my case, is switched to a different HDMI input and the player is still turned on.
Some troubleshooting proved one problem is when the screen saver is activated, and a different input is selected. So, I deactivated the screen saver. The fact is, sometimes I switch the input, but leave a source component turned on. It has never been a problem with any component I have ever used. I have AppleTVs connected to every system, and they are configured not to turn off, and it’s never a problem, and it has never been a problem with any other disc player I’ve ever owned. The Reavon just won’t tolerate it, though.
Unfortunately, deactivating the screen saver only reduced the lock-ups. Recently, at the end of the Blu-Ray of the 2015 film Maggie, simply hitting the “Stop” button locked up the player and displayed flashing green blocks on the screen. The worst part is, early on I discovered that when the player locks up and it’s connected to the network, it shuts down the entire network. No internet to anything. Components can’t access each other. The entire network, both wired and wireless, is rendered useless. So, I disconnected the ethernet connection, which clearly is of virtually no use anyway.
Another UBR-X110 annoyance is the astoundingly long start-up time, which is especially annoying when the player has been shut off with a disc in it. When the unit is turned on, it will not respond to anything, such as opening the drawer, until it has fully started up, which takes over a minute. It will appear to be ready, with “Home” showing on the display and the home screen on the TV, but then it goes through another round of functions. If a disc has been left in, it’s necessary for it to then fully load it before the “Open” button will function. This takes over two minutes. Every disc player I’ve ever used allows the drawer to be opened as soon as the player is turned on.
And then there’s the noisy playback. Sometimes a disc spins quietly, sometimes I can hear it on the opposite side of the house. It’ll be quiet at one moment, and noisy seconds later, then back to quiet. For some reason, HD Blu-Rays tend to be noisier than 4K ones, which makes no sense, since 4K discs spin faster than HD.
I could say so much more. Considering all the problems, I haven’t even tried playing back SACDs, which is one of the major reasons I purchased this model. I have given the Reavon player months to prove itself to be worthy of its high price, but it has consistently failed… miserably. After decades in this A/V hobby, and more components than I can remember, the Reavon UBR-X110 is probably the single worst performing component I have ever used
Final Thoughts
The first question would be, is the player defective? I don’t know. I sure hope so, but I reported every problem with the Reavon UBR-X110 from the first moment I encountered them, almost immediately after first turning on the unit, five months ago. I have received assurances on multiple occasions that I would receive a response addressing the issues, never to receive any. Most recently, it was suggested I return the unit for a credit toward the purchase of the (sister brand) Magnetar UDP-800 ($1,599), which I agreed to. However, after more than a week, I have yet to receive any notice on how to proceed with this exchange. Considering what has already transpired, I expected a faster response.
Ultimately, I decided to approach this product as a regular consumer, rather than a reviewer who has connections that others might not have. There is more to manufacturing and selling products than collecting money and moving on. There will always be problems. Products will be damaged or defective, which should be handled in a smooth and productive manner. Especially with a high-dollar, premium item like the Reavon UBR-X110. Unfortunately, that has been far from my experience in this case.
If you’re interested in some 4K blu-ray players we think more highly of, head over to our Best 4K Blu-Ray Players list.
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