OPPO 83 and Benchmark DAC 1

May I chime in without bringing everyones wrath on me. I don't understand the value in modding a DVD/BluRay player. Yes you can improve the CD playback, but as video improves then you want to sell your machine. Why not mod a cd player or older sacd player and not a bluray player.

Years back I was going to mod my Oppo 970 when it was king. After soul searching I chose a Benchmark dac and know I made the correct decision. After 2 years I sold the Oppo as video improved.

I now own an older unmodded used Sony 9000es and it music playback sound (from memory recollection) is as good as the Oppo/Benchmark combo. If you want analogue redbook playback I'd stay away from costly modds to a bluray player with a changing video playback format.

"If you want analogue redbook playback I'd stay away from costly modds to a bluray player with a changing video playback format."

Agree.

Nor would I ever mod a CDP these days.

I'm thinking that as boomers abandon their expensive CD players for hard drive setups, there will be a plethora of them selling for pennies on the dollar. It's already happening and the down economy hasn't hurt either. Many of the younger audiophiles have long since made this move.

"By beefing up the analog output stage, one ought to convert what is a very decent universal player into an audiophile quality player."

It's still a budget built disc player no matter the electronics inside. $1000 + mod on top of the retail $499 for "one box solution?" Ask OPPO what they think about pricey mods to their 83.

Mjcmt...i see your logic but the alternative way to look at it is that many audiophiles will look at the Oppo BDP83 as a universal player with much of the audio formats (not only CD, but SACD and DVD-A)in high use. If you are going to use the BDP83 primarily as a video/Bluray player than you are right, there is no point modding the Oppo. But if you are going to use it as an audio universal player (with video/Bluray as a bonus feature)than the justification of spending the extra dollars makes sense. As the thread above chronicles, if you are in the camp that thinks the Oppo BDP83's weak link is its DAC chip set, than you can keep it as is, and use it as a universal transport running thru your DAC of choice. If, like me, you think that the issue is not in its audio/video conversion chip sets but in its 2- and 5-channel analog output stage, than you spend ~$1K to mod the output stage and for $1500 you have an audiophile universal standalone player. Either way, for not much much money (by audiophile standards :-)), i think the Oppo BDP83 delivers a lot of value for the $s spent and that is a nice thing in this expensive hobby of ours.

Cmalak,
If 2 channel sacd/cd performance is your goal why not get a used Sony 9000es for pannies on the dollar and mod this unit. You will spend less and have one of the best players regardless of cost. Stock it already has a fantastic transport, killer power supply w/ dual r-core transformers, and superior chassis.