The Oppo BDP-83 does sound very good, both over HDMI (where it is extremely good), but also over 7.1 single ended (RCA) output. I've tested this against Denon 3800 in my own home, and the Denon is great, but just matchting the Oppo (actually, in some cases, I even preferred the Oppo)...
Now, the new Denon A1u (with a billion letters and numbers following, my can't Denon stick to easy to remember model names?!) does beat out the Oppo, it's better, but you can buy 7 (!) Oppo's for one Denon and I most certainly wouldn't say it's THAT much better. What it really comes down to is how much better does it need to be in order for you to justify it to your wallet? Money no object, get the Denon...
Now, the new Denon A1u (with a billion letters and numbers following, my can't Denon stick to easy to remember model names?!) does beat out the Oppo, it's better, but you can buy 7 (!) Oppo's for one Denon and I most certainly wouldn't say it's THAT much better. What it really comes down to is how much better does it need to be in order for you to justify it to your wallet? Money no object, get the Denon...