Is the Oppo-105 with Modwright modifications

I had been using an EVS modded Oppo 83SE for a few years, and was very pleased with the sound. I recently got upgraditis (of a sort), and bought an Oppo 105D. I set aside the 83SE and used the 105 for awhile. I generally enjoyed the sound, finding it neutral, detailed and dynamic; but on some music the treble was harsh, bright and glaring.

I had the 83 in my workplace system, which is significantly more humble than my home stereo, so the sound improved, but was nothing special. Soon after I got the 105, I upgraded my amplification and speakers. So the 105 has been in two different systems in my home.

I just sent my 105D to The Upgrade Company for his SE mods. I thought I'd try a different flavour. So I returned the 83SE to my home system in the interim. To my delight, the 83SE sounded better than the stock 105D in every area of sonic reproduction. In some cases, a lot better. This is a helluva nice-sounding player. I will be very happy if the Upgrade Company 105D is superior to the EVS-modded 83SE.

The long-winded point that I am attempting to make here is that, in my case, a Ric Shultz modified early Oppo player sounds way better than their stock newest creation.

I like TUC's work...I can definitely say his modd'd 83 is far better than the 95 I now own. (the only reason I got it is because after a number of years the modd'd 83 broke and I was concerned that shipping it, fixing it, etc with TUC) would end up being a waste if the darn thing broke again. So I got a demo 95 stock locally for a huge discount (less than shipping/repairs of the 83).

Compared to 83 TUC...well, for me, the 95 did not compare well. Fortunately, i use the Oppo 95 for video only...and even on video, i use the digital out to my DAC.

Melville,

Good luck with your mods...please post when your unit comes back...i bet its amazing!

I have played a few different CDs and SACDs on the TUC upgraded 105, and it does sound better, and certainly different than what I remember of the stock unit. At this point, however, it does not sound better than my EVS modded
Oppo 83. In all fairness, the 83 is fully burned-in (a couple of years of play). The TUC 105 is specified to improve all the way up to 600 hours. I will keep you posted.

Hi Melville,

In a way, I am not [entirely] surprised by that...the modded 83 I had was excellent and killed my current stock 95...but the 83 stopped functioning and I was honestly afraid of paying big labor costs to fix it only to have it break again.

Since I only use 95 for video and use the digital out to my DAC, I am fine with this. But that modd'd 83 was REMARKABLE...and I felt did a ton to the original stock 83 sound...much more than it seems a 95 vs 83 upgrade makes. Nevertheless, the 105 is supposed to be fundamentally superior platform so in any event you've got the 'best' of the Oppo series and the mods. Hopefully it gets better over the next few hundred hours...but if not, you've still got amazing sound no doubt. Enjoy!