Oppo 105 with Modwright Upgrade

tratliff

I have had my Oppo 105 for about a year and have been researching upgrades. Has anyone had an opportunity to check one of these out?

http://www.modwright.com/modifications/oppo-bdp83-and-bdp83se-mod.php

The link shows the bdp83 but should take you to the bdp105 player upgrade.

polkfarmboy

I think throwing that kind money at your bdp is going to result in you getting back less than a third of your investment. If your going to go ahead then you better love that bdp as you may as well keep it when your done. I would also doubt that the 105 could keep up with a DAC on the market at that price point.

brgman

I find mine to be the schizzle.Unlike PFB i buy equipment to give me the best musical performance and pleasure i can get.
Not what i can sell it for.
Look up the reviews.I think the last TAS called it the schizzle as well.
Schizzle is a technical term for those in Rio Linda.

tratliff

I can understand both sides of it. I would never buy it for purposes of resale but was more interested in the sound signature improvements that can be had. And are they worth the investment when compared to other CDP's on the market in the $3-4k range.

brgman - Did you have the player before upgrade? Can you give some examples of what you noticed after the upgrade?

AsSiMiLaTeD

To be honest I'd be really nervous about dumping money into upgrading a machine as complicated as the Oppo. I bet it sounds great but the Oppo has a ton of features and is incredibly complex, and if something goes wrong you could potentially end up with a nightmare on your hands...

gudnoyez

So no video portion is disabled unless you want to be able use region 2 and that upgrade costs extra. I see you got the modwright in your 2 channel only and your other 105 in your HT.

So it's safe to assume this mod is only if your going to use your 105 in only a 2 channel setup. It probably wouldn't be a benefit on a dual purpose rig then correct?

tratliff

Yes this would only be for my 105 in the 2 channel rig.

ZLTFUL

Dan has a STELLAR reputation with his mods. The man knows what he is doing.
The Modwright Oppos have been pretty well received. In fact, I think TAS recently gave the Modwright 105 an Editor's Choice award.

It's hard to go wrong as it turns it into an entirely new player.
And I wouldn't worry too much about resale value as Modwright modded gear tends to hold a good percentage of its value.

brgman

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/modwright-oppo-bdp-105-with-truth-modifications/

brgman

The TAS writer can say it better than I can.I have had all of the different Oppo units back to the 80 and always buy the new one when it comes out.I almost pulled the trigger on the 95 and the Truth mod but waited for the 105 to come out.I bought the stock unit and liked it like the others but after exhausting every doubt about the mod I bought another 105 and had it sent direct to Dan for modding.
I held onto the stock unit for comparison and figured I'd just put it in the HT setup but a week after the mod showed up I sold it because I knew I wouldn't use it.
Just as the 95's hit the sales boards when the 105 came out I'm sure the same will happen when Oppo replaces the 105 and Dan does the mod for them.
I know lots of folks wait for this so they can get a Modwright Oppo but not at the initial price.
As the TAS reviewer says the soundstage widens and deepens with silky smooth highs.The fact that a tube player has the significant separation,detail,and snappy bass slam yet all with tubey smoothness is quite impressive.
If it wasnt a great performer I wouldn't keep it.
And as I'm always looking at upgrades to equipment the thought of a new SACD/Universal player has not crossed my mind and probably won't Til the next Oppo with Modwright Truth is available.
There are a couple guys out there that promote mods for the 105 and I would avoid them based on the things I've read over the past couple years.Just a word of caution.

drumminman

IIRC Dan Wright's work does not void the Oppo warranty.

Ern Dog

I've had the Modwright tube Oppo 83 for a couple years now and I love it and it sounds excellent. I have no regrets. I had to send it to Oppo to clean the laser lens because it would no longer play Sacds awhile back but that was my error (long story). Oppo service was first rate with a speedy turnaround. Dans mods are top notch. He's mastered the Oppo.

It's also highly tweakable, which I find fun. I like to get a piece of gear fine tuned to how I like it. The 6sn7 and rectifier tubes are in abundance, so it won't cost too much to find your sweet spot. My sweet spot is using Create's rectifier tube and Sophia electric 6sn7s.

I heard a friends stock 105 and my player easily sounded better, wasn't even close. I thought the stock 105 sounded detailed, but a tad cold/sterile. The tube mods will bring the music to life and add soul. The tubes add a naturalness that makes it sound more realistic.

brgman

I use the same Create and Sophia tubes in mine.
Man are they nice!

tratliff

Thanks for all the feedback. I will continue to research. It will be a little while before I am ready to make a move.

tonyb

Ern Dog wrote: »

The tube mods will bring the music to life and add soul. The tubes add a naturalness that makes it sound more realistic.

Absolutely, but for the 2500 hundies for the mods, you can buy one helluva tubed pre or dac to do the same thing, no ?

tratliff

Tony - that's really what I am considering. Is it worth $2500 + a modified 105 or is a new dac/cdp/pre a better addition.

tonyb

You can still use the oppo has your cdp/sacd spinner, add a good tubed pre to the mix and see how that sounds. What are you using now as a pre ?

tratliff

Tony - Current pre is the Parasound P5.

Sure Skip. I would enjoy getting some other opinions and trying some equipment I have not had a chance to see/review.

drumminman

I wonder that if you use the MW Oppo with a tube pre if it softens the sound too much. IOW too much tubey-ness.

Emlyn

tratliff wrote: »

Tony - that's really what I am considering. Is it worth $2500 + a modified 105 or is a new dac/cdp/pre a better addition.

I have a stock 105 and have thought about the cost/benefit of getting it modified. It's been an option all the way back to one of the old Denon 3910 universal DVD players, and Modwright has a stellar track record for what they do. Their prices plummet on the used market though compared to the total cost of getting something new and then sending it get it modified. I'd prefer to spend the money on someone else's upgraded Modwright on the used market rather than paying for the upgrade myself, even if it's an older model.

I'm moving away from disc based players for two channel music now though, so there's no reason for me to modify what's already an exceptional Oppo which I use for movies. I'd put my money into a DAC or DSD capable media player.

ZLTFUL

Related note, the mods *do* void the Oppo factory warranty but Dan offers a 1 year full warranty so the trade-off is negligible if the Oppo being modded is a year or two old.

audiocr381ve

tonyb wrote: »

Ern Dog wrote: »

The tube mods will bring the music to life and add soul. The tubes add a naturalness that makes it sound more realistic.

Absolutely, but for the 2500 hundies for the mods, you can buy one helluva tubed pre or dac to do the same thing, no ?

And do it better! +1

ZLTFUL

tonyb wrote: »

You can still use the oppo has your cdp/sacd spinner, add a good tubed pre to the mix and see how that sounds. What are you using now as a pre ?

Just noticed the P5 is his pre...
Not a bad pre at all but I would consider a tubed pre before dropping the coin on the mods to the 105. Take that 2500 plus whatever you can get for the P5 and buy one hell of a tubed pre...

tonyb

Emlyn wrote: »

tratliff wrote: »

Tony - that's really what I am considering. Is it worth $2500 + a modified 105 or is a new dac/cdp/pre a better addition.

I have a stock 105 and have thought about the cost/benefit of getting it modified. It's been an option all the way back to one of the old Denon 3910 universal DVD players, and Modwright has a stellar track record for what they do. Their prices plummet on the used market though compared to the total cost of getting something new and then sending it get it modified. I'd prefer to spend the money on someone else's upgraded Modwright on the used market rather than paying for the upgrade myself, even if it's an older model.

I'm moving away from disc based players for two channel music now though, so there's no reason for me to modify what's already an exceptional Oppo which I use for movies. I'd put my money into a DAC or DSD capable media player.

Think your spot on with all that.

2500 can buy a very nice Rogue or Joule pre. A dsd capable music server/dac though is the more likely area to sink 2500 bucks imho. May even have room in there for a good tubed pre too.