OPPO BDP 83 as Redbook player?

A couple of months ago I sold off my JM Peach II pre, Welborne DRD 45s, along with the Jolida and thought I could make due with the Denon AVR and cheapo Denon DVD player for both HT and 2 channel.
This really isn't working for music so I have just recently picked up a very minty Scott 299D to drive my KHorns (for HT, I have a single La Scala for center and a pair of Heresys in the rear.

In hindsight, I should have kept the JD-100, I am sure this won't be the last mistake I make in this hobby.

In an effort to still keep things simple (closer to 1 system vs 2) I am hoping something like the BDP 83 might cover the HT duties and still satisfy me for music.

I did notice that Dan has a modded BDP 83 listed on his site, as a previous owner of a SWL 9.0SE, I am a big fan of Dan's stuff.

I am here to both confirm the advice you've been given and relay an experience I just had with a modded Oppo BDP 83. I have a fairly decent system (Rockport Aquila speakers, Lamm amps, c-j ART 2 line stage, Aesthetix IO Sig phono stage, SME 30 and an AMR CD-77 and a Reimyo CD-777).

One day my audio buddy (who's also my insurance agent) stopped by for both business and pleasure. He brought with him a semi-modded (Stage 2 not the top level mod) BDP 83 that wasn't even burned in yet. Just before he left, we put it in my system. While I thought it might sound decent, I had no idea it would sound as good as it did. With only about $1,600-$1,700 total in the unit, that damn thing gave my AMR a run for its money!

Given the fact that I think the AMR is the best CDP I've heard, this is about as high a compliment I could give for this Oppo (which also has the advantage of playing all digital formats and is a GREAT video player).

My buddy's unit was modded by Doug Jesse of ASI-Tek. I myself have no modded gear (I am not against modded stuff, just haven't had any gear modded yet), but this experience sure showed me what this inexpensive unit is capable of with a few mods.

I guess I am now a believer in both the Oppo and this mod.

I downloaded the manual and didn't see any way to program tracks on the Oppo. Am I missing something?

Think the bigger issue is reliability. I know an OPPO dealer who is fielding a lot of breakage with this model. It appears this is not a well built player and renders dialogue regarding its attributes moot.

Is there an Oppo dealer aside from Amazon or Oppo?