If you’re into high-definition audio and video in equal measure, the Magnetar UDP800 is the rare unit that can deliver exquisite experiences with both music and movies.

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.

The Magnetar UDP800 is a premium disc player that goes a long way to justifying its high price tag. If you miss the heady days of elite Blu-ray players from the likes of Oppo and Pioneer, then this deck will be right up your street. Ironically, the big differentiator when it comes to high-end Blu-ray players is usually their audio capability – this is where Panasonic’s generally awesome DP-UB9000 falls short, but there’s no such limitation here. The UDP800 plays both with aplomb, as well as looking incredible.

The Magnetar brand may be largely unknown, but its first high-end disc spinner is hard to resist

The player's build quality is top-notch, but there are a few quirks that need to be addressed.

The Magnetar UDP800 is an excellent player, and overall, a nice substitute for any of the Oppo players. It’s not an exact feature-for-feature match. For example, the Oppo 203 that I have has full analog surround outputs for movies or SACDs. The Magnetar has stereo RCAs. The rest of the audio output is handled by the HDMI jack. On the other hand, the Magnetar has a very solid disc loading mechanism, preferable to the one on my Oppo, which is not bad either, but the Magnetar seems more robust.

For Blu-ray enthusiasts with a sizeable investment in CD, DVD and legacy formats, this model is well worth salivating over. Build quality is exemplary, component quality is high, and its performance is top notch. The UDP800 sells for €1,600 in Europe and US$1,599 in the US.