Modwright Tube Oppo BDP-83

Ern Dog

I want to post my impressions of the Modwright tube Oppo 83. I bought the Oppo new and had it shipped directly to Modwright, so I never heard it stock. To give you a sense of my experience with cd players, here is my progression: Onkyo carousal dvd player, NAD 542, Bada HD-22, Sony XA5400ES SACD, and Marantz 11S1 SACD player.

The mod comes with an external power supply that has a 5ar4 rectifier tube. This power supply unit is very heavy for its size and has a fat toroidal coil in it. The player comes with Tung Sol 6sn7's tube analog stage, clock upgrade, and replaces all stock 2CH analog circuitry. I've got just under 100 hours clocked on it so far, so it's still breaking in. Interestingly, it needs two power cords, one for the player and one for the power supply. I'm using tube dampers on all 3 tubes and a Pangea AC-9 power cord for the player and an Iego power cord for the external power supply.

My first reaction is that it has lots of umph or weight to it. The soundstage is huge and the tone is on the warm side. No digital glare here. ****, it is so silky smooth that I caught myself listening to it at extremely high volumes and I didn't even notice. It totally draws me into the music. With the added detail and texture, my CD's have been upgraded to SACD status! And SACD sound superb, especially strings and piano- very realistic. I'm hearing more information on CD's that I don't recall hearing because the highs and lows are extended.

Now if I had a compliant, it would be that I was hoping for more three dimensional sound. I also find that it is a tad too much on the smooth/warm end of the spectrum (although it still has lots of detail- not as much as the Sony 5400 did). I asked Dan Wright about this and he said that it will improve as the capacitors break in more. I'm also thinking some NOS tubes would help too. So I'll be on the look out for some NOS 5ar4's and 6sn7's.

Overall, I have to say that I'm pretty pleased, but not totally satisfied. At least not yet- more break-in time and tweaking will tell. I'll keep you posted how things develop. I also have a local friend with an APC Denon 3910 and we are planning to have a little shoot out between the two players at my house. He he he should be fun. Stay tuned.

cnh

Keep us posted; and how about a few pics showing the extra hardware?

cnh

Midnite Mick

Thanks for the review.

Regards,
Mike

Erik Tracy

Thanks for the review!

How would you characterize the sound against the Marantz 11S1?

Ern Dog

The Marantz also has a similar warm smooth sound to it which I really like. They are both excellent and I would give the edge to the oppo because it has more body and more sparkle on the top and more grumble in the bass. (I just invented that word)

vc69

Thanks for the review man. Please report back as you get some hours on that thing. I love my SE and cannot help but wonder if the ESS DACs would make a significant difference in soundstage depth. I really have no complaint in that area but would really like a little more "oomph" if you know what I mean. The Modwright 2ch mod makes my mouth water.

thsmith

The RCA red base 5692 (6SN7) are nice tubes. CBS Hytrons are not bad either (5692)

Ern Dog

Ouch! Those RCA red base tubes are $200 for a nos pair!! I might have to bite the bullet and get some nice ones. Thanks for the heads up about these.

Ern Dog

Here's some pics of the player.

I haven't opened the hood of the Hot-Rodded Oppo yet, but I did include a pic of the insides of the external power supply.

I put my hand on the power supply unit and I could feel lots of vibrations from the music. I think this is because it sitting on top of the wood floor. I couldn't feel any vibrations on my other components. Once I realized this, I purchased some anti-vibration footers, as this is probably reducing the clarity.

I'm also in the middle of getting a vintage Mullard rectifier tube. :cool:

polkatese

Very nice, Ern Dog!!

Face

Some dynamat on the inside of the PS case wouldn't hurt either.

SCompRacer

Kewl!

Ern Dog wrote: »

I'm also in the middle of getting a vintage Mullard rectifier tube. :cool:

5AR4's can get pricey! I run a pair of '58 Holland made Black base Kuhl-Tubes in my ModWright power supplies for the SWLP and 9100ES. Got the pair for $205 on ebay. Can't tell the difference from the uber expensive metal based tubes I had, and I got those before the pricing went insane.

organ

Ernie,
That's awesome. My cdp also uses 2 power cords lol. For the 5AR4, I'd say you won't do better than Mullard. They're pricey, but if you can find a re-labeled Mullard, it's cheaper. I find the EH6SN7 just as good as some NOS.

Thanks for posting the pic. Looks awesome. Are your tubes acting as buffers or gain?

SCompRacer

A couple of sites that show pics and list specs/opinions of various 5AR4/GZ34 tubes. I recently sold my f31 fat base Mullards. My Holland made 5AR4's are rebranded Mullard. I've also had Mullard manufactured tubes with the Heath and Bugle Boy branding, and Holland made with the Valvo branding.

https://www.tubeworld.com/5ar4.htm

http://natubes.com/index.php?page=product&do=browse&catid=108&parentid=61&p=1

Ern Dog

Thanks for the tube info.

Organ- I'm not sure if the tubes are used as buffers or gain. ?

Ern Dog

Face wrote: »

Some dynamat on the inside of the PS case wouldn't hurt either.

Great idea. I'm gonna do it.

ecod123

Ern D.
Nice! That's on my wish list. BTW, am also shopping for a stereo rack - how do you like your VTI stereo rack? I am looking at a similar model - is the rack pretty stable?

Ern Dog

I got the VTI rack 2 years ago new for $179 I think. The craftsmanship is mediocre. Some of the spikes didn't line up with the dimples. You get what you pay for. I like how it looks and the cherry wood finish looks real nice. As I mentioned earlier, it seems like the spikes do help with reducing vibration. It's an entry level rack and I'd like to upgrade to a nicer one in the future.

schwarcw

Ern Dog, go for a matched pair of vintage RCA 6SN7's. These can be bought for about $50. I would try that before going for the more exotic red base tubes. The prices are high as these are more collectable than the more plentiful silver letter or red letter RCAs. I don't think you would find a significant sound difference. Sylvania 6SN7s are also very nice, maybe better than the RCA. These might cost a little more but not much. Buy a matched pair of both and see which you like better. Buying a nice pair of both may cost you around $100.

Ern Dog

Thanks Carl. I'm planning on purchasing some Sylvania's from Jerry in the FM.


Here's more thoughts about the player after listening to all weekend:

As I already said this player is warm sounding and produces a **** load of bass Now my Pass amp has a similar characteristic, so having two components sound this way is producing an over abundance of warmth with too much bass. It's like it sounds tooo full in the mids and low end. It doesn't sound balanced this way. So, da I turned off my sub and this helped. I had it crossed at 45 hz. I may not need a sub any more! Or at the least, I'll have to reconfigure my sub after getting a Velodyne SMS-1.

I'll give another update after I start rollin' some tubes and after installing the Dynamat.

Ern Dog

Here's an update on my Tweaking....

I installed the Dynamat into the lid of the external power supply and didn't notice a change. When I knock on the lid it has a solid thud sound to it now.

I tried the cork/rubber anti-vibration pads under all my components and it seemed that the bass got looser. I'm not totally sure on that and will have to retest to be sure.

Yesterday I plugged up the port holes in my bass modules which helped some, but it sounded less open, so I removed it.

Today I removed all my upgraded power cords and replaced them all with the stock ones. The after market cords add body and warmth, which I'm in excess of. This helped.

On Thursday the Mullard rectifier tube arrives and we'll see how that sounds.

doctorcilantro

Ern Dog wrote: »

I want to post my impressions of the Modwright tube Oppo 83. I bought the Oppo new and had it shipped directly to Modwright, so I never heard it stock. To give you a sense of my experience with cd players, here is my progression: Onkyo carousal dvd player, NAD 542, Bada HD-22, Sony XA5400ES SACD, and Marantz 11S1 SACD player.

The mod comes with an external power supply that has a 5ar4 rectifier tube. This power supply unit is very heavy for its size and has a fat toroidal coil in it. The player comes with Tung Sol 6sn7's tube analog stage, clock upgrade, and replaces all stock 2CH analog circuitry. I've got just under 100 hours clocked on it so far, so it's still breaking in. Interestingly, it needs two power cords, one for the player and one for the power supply. I'm using tube dampers on all 3 tubes and a Pangea AC-9 power cord for the player and an Iego power cord for the external power supply.

My first reaction is that it has lots of umph or weight to it. The soundstage is huge and the tone is on the warm side. No digital glare here. ****, it is so silky smooth that I caught myself listening to it at extremely high volumes and I didn't even notice. It totally draws me into the music. With the added detail and texture, my CD's have been upgraded to SACD status! And SACD sound superb, especially strings and piano- very realistic. I'm hearing more information on CD's that I don't recall hearing because the highs and lows are extended.

Now if I had a compliant, it would be that I was hoping for more three dimensional sound. I also find that it is a tad too much on the smooth/warm end of the spectrum (although it still has lots of detail- not as much as the Sony 5400 did). I asked Dan Wright about this and he said that it will improve as the capacitors break in more. I'm also thinking some NOS tubes would help too. So I'll be on the look out for some NOS 5ar4's and 6sn7's.

Overall, I have to say that I'm pretty pleased, but not totally satisfied. At least not yet- more break-in time and tweaking will tell. I'll keep you posted how things develop. I also have a local friend with an APC Denon 3910 and we are planning to have a little shoot out between the two players at my house. He he he should be fun. Stay tuned.

I'm just curious, what is your listening room like. Treated?

Dan makes great stuff.

Ern Dog

I haven't gotten into room treatment yet. Perhaps this could help balance things out.

I've got wood floors and tall vaulted ceilings also made of wood. I'm thinking some Bass traps and first reflection panels would do wonders. Also getting a nice 8'x10' carpet underneath my rig and speakers would help.

SCompRacer

Yeah, I'm a big Dan fan myself.

I've got hardwood floors with 14' ceilings, room open to the main level. After adding room treatments and an area rug, I regretted not doing the room first in my audio travels. I've been in untreated rooms where I know a particular speaker should have better performance but you couldn't hear it.

organ

Ern Dog wrote: »

On Thursday the Mullard rectifier tube arrives and we'll see how that sounds.

Well, how is it? Thursday is almost over . j/k Hope you enjoy the Mullard. One of the best things I've done to some of my tube amps was upgrading to the Mullard GZ34.

Are the caps breaking in already?

Ern Dog

Yup that Mullard sounds pretty sweet. It's better than the stock Russian Sovtek that it comes with. I also applied more Dynamat Extreme under neath the lid of the power supply. The player is sounding better and better.

I've got over 300 hours on the Oppo.

Yesterday I pulled the trigger on some NOS Sylvania yellow label 6SN7's. Smokin' deal for $33 for the pair. I'll give another update after that is installed.

doctor r

Those should be Sylvania 6SN7GTBs with the yellow labels. Excellent tubes (I have one in each of my monoblocks). I have rotated some of the RCA 5692 red bases in and out and I like the Sylvanias better. They give my system a more "open" sound while the RCA red bases are a little more organic IMO.

Ern Dog

Erik Tracy wrote: »

Thanks for the review!

How would you characterize the sound against the Marantz 11S1?

I want to say more about this because my Marantz has been in the shop for 4 months and I just got it back 2 days ago. Last night I did a head to head comparison between the two players. For casual listening, I couldn't tell a difference- they both sounded really good. For critical listening, I found that the MW Oppo had the background details more pronounced and clear. This really became apparent listening to Coltrane's "My little brown book". The cymbal hits really shimmered and sizzled with the MW Oppo. They sounded a little dull with the Marantz.

On Hotel California on "Hell freezes over", the bass had more weight and authority with the MW Oppo. So, the MW Oppo out classed the Marantz in terms of high and low extension. In addition, the MW Oppo had this magic thing going on where I became intoxicated and pulled into the music so much that it was very difficult for me to stop to put on different cd's. This wasn't true for the Marantz.

Now the MW Oppo cost me double for what I paid for the Marantz, so perhaps it's not really a fair comparison.

Ern Dog

Doctor R wrote: »

Those should be Sylvania 6SN7GTBs with the yellow labels. Excellent tubes (I have one in each of my monoblocks). I have rotated some of the RCA 5692 red bases in and out and I like the Sylvanias better. They give my system a more "open" sound while the RCA red bases are a little more organic IMO.

Yup, those are the ones. I'll let you know how they sound in my player after I give them a listen.

Good to know about RCA sounding organic. I've got that in spades, so I'll avoid those tubes.


I ordered a pair of GIK Tri Traps to start to see what this Room Treatment business is all about. I'll put these in the front corners behind the speakers and next up would be getting some panels for the first reflection point.

Ern Dog

I've been listening to the Sylvania 6SN7 GTB's for a couple days now and they are a perfect match for my system. They sound detailed, neutral and have tight bass- exactly what my rig needed. They are lots better than the stock tubes it came with.

I also put Dynamat all around the inside of the lid of the Oppo. This was a more subtle difference.

With all these tweaks and adjustments, it has created a synergy that sounds sublime. All my doubts about the player and needing a different amp have all been put to rest.

GIK bass traps coming next week!

SCompRacer

Ern Dog wrote: »

I ordered a pair of GIK Tri Traps....

Kewl! The GIK Tri-Traps absorb frequencies from 50 to 5000 Hz. I have four, two stacked in each corner. Three 244 traps are on the wall behind my ESL speakers (dipole panels). Have fun, don't be afraid to experiment with positioning of your acoustic treatments.

Here is a thread started by my good friend Blake after he visited and heard what room treatments can do.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86154&highlight=room+treatment

But as Rich started moving the treatments around, everyone could very clearly hear the difference in sound. It was like alternately throwing a blanket over the speaker and then taking it off. Everything changed! Soundstage, bass, resolution, imaging... all those words we audio people love to use changed in a snap. I was sold.