Weird name though? I would like to read some decent reviews of it. Shame there are none about.
Hi-end dvd player recommendations
- Thread starter Dan Osib
- Start date
Help Support MartinLogan Audio Owners Forum:
Weird name though? I would like to read some decent reviews of it. Shame there are none about.
Just looked at your system, WOW you've got some seriously hi-end kit there, you must be absolutely loaded. I've been told by a hifi dealer that Esoteric DVD players are amongst the very best in the world (as good as it gets for playing CD's). I wonder if the modded OPPO is just as good? If the OPPO is even nearly as good I think I'm going to get one.
Last edited:
Panned is a bit harsh, I would not call it that and besides we are talking a modded player for music and most say that modding a DAC or the OPPO itself is just what the doctor ordered for making the OPPO BDP 83 a giant killer for Music just like it has universally been described for Video. The fact that it 'kills' video and does a better than average job on all the music formats in a stock mode for just $499 well that is what makes it what it is, a stock player that brings a much higher value than its price.
But remember modding the BDP 83 for music still puts it at less than 50% the cost of the other Universal Bluray Players and in the case of the coming players like Ayre, Lexicon, Theta, which basically will be modded BDP83s anyway, it is very close to the same thing at way less than 1/2 the cost.
But hey, if you really want to spend bigger bucks on a universal player because you can hear the difference then go for it, I am sure everyone here is okay with that and you won't have to justify it to anyone here.
But remember modding the BDP 83 for music still puts it at less than 50% the cost of the other Universal Bluray Players and in the case of the coming players like Ayre, Lexicon, Theta, which basically will be modded BDP83s anyway, it is very close to the same thing at way less than 1/2 the cost.
But hey, if you really want to spend bigger bucks on a universal player because you can hear the difference then go for it, I am sure everyone here is okay with that and you won't have to justify it to anyone here.
sleepysurf
Well-known member
I'm quite happy with my stock BDP-83 into a Benchmark DAC for redbook CD playback. 97% of my listening is via my Squeezebox/Benchmark setup anyways, so for the 3% of the time I spin physical discs, it's fine. For those of you still spinning discs a lot, going the Mod route makes good sense.
If I buy an OPPO I won't be running it with it's built in DAC. It will be running off the DAC built into my Modified To The Hilt Tact 2.2X preamp. Is this going to achieve what I'm after though?
Dan, so you plan to view movies with only 2ch audio via the TacT? If so, I'm pretty sure the modded players are of no value to you, since the mods are primarily done to the clocks and/or analog output sections.
I believe Anthony calls it "The Whole Enchilada", BTW.
I believe Anthony calls it "The Whole Enchilada", BTW.
Dan, so you plan to view movies with only 2ch audio via the TacT? If so, I'm pretty sure the modded players are of no value to you, since the mods are primarily done to the clocks and/or analog output sections.
I believe Anthony calls it "The Whole Enchilada", BTW.
Now I am confused, I was under the impression that the modded OPPO was highly musical, according to all the people who responded here. And yes I am going to use 2 channel with movies via the Tact. Now I'm back to where I started. Someone put me back on the right track please? I'm a 50/50 music and movies person.
Dan, it'll be case by case, as each modder will do different things. What you need to know is whether the mods will have any effect upon digital output from the player (vs. analog out, which is typically where the focus is).
DTB300
Well-known member
Modwright is doing 2CH or MCH mods on the Oppo. Not sure on VSE and their mods for the Oppo.
The modded players are very musical sounding, but you need to research about the mods, what they entail, and if it meets your needs.
Digital Out does not use the new output stages we are talking about. As we have said, they are new ANALOG output stages in the mods.
But a clock upgrade could be a benefit to the sound if there is a universal or shared clock used between video/audio and audio only.
I spoke to Dan at Modright and we discussed turning the OPPO into a DVD/CD transport (only) removing the analogue stages. He said he could modify the DIGITAL OUTPUT. Apparently he's had a few enquiries from people just like this. I went through some of the components he would use for these modifications, and from the sound of things he end result looks to be very hi-end indeed. He told me to ring back in a few weeks. Looks like my next move when I get my Tact preamp back will be to purchase one of these OPPO's.
You can achieve much better results with having the circuitry inside the box instead of taking the digital signal out using S/PDIF. Any improvement on the digital output can only try to improve upon an inherently flawed design and is of limited effect as such.
The smaller the number of signal transformations (in other words, circuitry in the signal path) - true for analog as well as digital - the better it gets. This is also true for all Vacuum State analog output mods which are done inside the box. Add a Terra Firma clock and you'll get a machine capable of doing wonders.
The "small" JLTi was audibly much better then a certain "big name" player we auditioned it against (I will not name it but it's a highly regarded European brand) costing well over 10000 EUR and - again - if Oppo sounds equally well or better which I don't doubt it must really be a "giant killer" machine. The JLTi was not equipped with a Terra Firma clock, therefore I believe Oppo sounds considerably better, just to give you an idea of the class of players these "toys" can easily be compared against.
The smaller the number of signal transformations (in other words, circuitry in the signal path) - true for analog as well as digital - the better it gets. This is also true for all Vacuum State analog output mods which are done inside the box. Add a Terra Firma clock and you'll get a machine capable of doing wonders.
The "small" JLTi was audibly much better then a certain "big name" player we auditioned it against (I will not name it but it's a highly regarded European brand) costing well over 10000 EUR and - again - if Oppo sounds equally well or better which I don't doubt it must really be a "giant killer" machine. The JLTi was not equipped with a Terra Firma clock, therefore I believe Oppo sounds considerably better, just to give you an idea of the class of players these "toys" can easily be compared against.
That's great to hear, as Dan has been somewhat vague in response to similar queries over @ A-circle. He's a great guy and knows his stuff. I own one of his modded Denon 3910's and found it to be at least as good as some of the higher priced gear mentioned in this thread. Unfortunately and like yourself, the TacT has convinced me to migrate to a transport-based solution so as to avoid the additional A/D/A steps.
DTB3000, Dan Osib, Dan Wright - it's a Dan world.
So you're saying that the DAC built into the OPPO is that good it can't be improved upon. Also you're telling me that the Digital Output Stage on the OPPO is a flawed design, and that even if the components that make it up were upgraded to better ones it would still be an inferior output? It's a shame because the modified DAC that's built into my Tact preamp is seriously good to the point of being near to or State Of The Art.
Last edited:
What I'm saying is that S/PDIF will substantially increase jitter and this is the reason for all buffering and re-clocking in many external DAC attempts. Having a clock signal embedded in data over one wire is a flawed design and this is exactly how the S/PDIF works. So it's S/PDIF that is inherently flawed as a design.
The best way to go for would be to try it out. You can try to talk to a Vacuum State agent and do your own comparison.
In which case you'll have redundant A/D conversions, which IME bring their own sonic issues. We're in exactly the same boat, Dan, and I'm pretty sure I have Anthony's latest DAC mods. What I've found over the past 30 days is that transport>TacT>high-quality external DAC (using AES/EBU) sounds easily the best, though those external DAC's ain't cheap.
For full disclosure and as you know, I don't have the modded A/D or motherboard, which may or may not affect my opinion once I get that done (~2 weeks).
In which case you'll have redundant A/D conversions, which IME bring their own sonic issues. We're in exactly the same boat, Dan, and I'm pretty sure I have Anthony's latest DAC mods. What I've found over the past 30 days is that transport>TacT>high-quality external DAC (using AES/EBU) sounds easily the best, though those external DAC's ain't cheap.
For full disclosure and as you know, I don't have the modded A/D or motherboard, which may or may not affect my opinion once I get that done (~2 weeks).
Did you manage to get hold of Anthony then?
AES3 and S/PDIF share the most important characteristics, that is, encoding the clock within the data stream. Clock recovery is a jitter-prone process and requires sophisticated circuitry within the external DAC (buffering, reclocking ...) which might not be always available and will cost quite a substantial amount of money.
I believe that getting a modded player with a good built-in DAC, low jitter clock and good analog stage (i.e. no opamps) will bring you more and cost less than an external DAC solution.
I have not heard the modded Oppo yet (but planning to get one from VS). Based on the experience with my modded SACD player and with previous JLTi player it should sound great. I have yet to find any player or a transport/DAC combination on the market that beats my modded 555 sonically regardless of price (except for the SCD777 that I heard at Vacuum State). The best thing: I did not spend a fortune on it and with the remaining money I could easily finance adding the material to my audio library instead of buying monstruously expensive gear
I believe that getting a modded player with a good built-in DAC, low jitter clock and good analog stage (i.e. no opamps) will bring you more and cost less than an external DAC solution.
I have not heard the modded Oppo yet (but planning to get one from VS). Based on the experience with my modded SACD player and with previous JLTi player it should sound great. I have yet to find any player or a transport/DAC combination on the market that beats my modded 555 sonically regardless of price (except for the SCD777 that I heard at Vacuum State). The best thing: I did not spend a fortune on it and with the remaining money I could easily finance adding the material to my audio library instead of buying monstruously expensive gear
