OPPO DVD Player mods NOW AVAILABLE!

bubba966 · « **Reply #20 on:** 19 Aug 2005, 02:11 am »

Quote from: ted_b

Any reviews or early comments on the deluxe audio mods (especially as they relate to DVD-Audio sound)?

Ted

Ted,

I think Wayne's player that I'm currently demo'ing is the only player he's done the deluxe audio mods to so far. And I haven't had a chance yet to hook up the analog outs of either it or my player to do DVD-A comparisons.

Will let you all know what I think of it's DVD-A performance though once I've got a chance to give it a go.

Kenobi · « **Reply #21 on:** 19 Aug 2005, 07:46 pm »

Hi Bubba,

Please do tell when you have a chance. I am anxious as are others about your findings.

Thanks,

Kenobi

yo2tup · « **Reply #22 on:** 23 Sep 2005, 01:19 am »

any updates? thoughts reviews or anything?

bubba966 · « **Reply #23 on:** 24 Sep 2005, 12:03 am »

Quote from: yo2tup

any updates? thoughts reviews or anything?

See here http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=21045

Wayne1 · « **Reply #24 on:** 26 Sep 2005, 01:18 am »

I am beginning to think the modded OPPO DVD player is cursed.

Bubba sent the player to Kris Deering to check out.

Kris' system went down just before that. He has not gotten a replacement amp yet. He is heading out for a holiday at his sisters next week. He is now sending the OPPO on to MikeSRC.

Be careful, Mike.

kbuzz3 · « **Reply #25 on:** 26 Sep 2005, 02:07 pm »

got my oppo from wayne this week. Hooked it up and no output from the rca......arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhh. I did not choose to mod the rca audio output so its no big deal. Will have to send it back to wayne so wifey can play a dvd without turning on the strero.

Only played with for a a few hours so cant really give any solid reports. But here is some very very preliminary thoughts.

VIDEO

Video out via dvi to my samsung dlp is stellar. dont have another dvi player to compare but ive seen the sammy via some high end players and i doubt it can be improved upon. no video noise and the highlighted edge around peoples bodies that is edemic to the sammy is reduced to virtually nothing. Lord of the rings was spooky and ive seen it a dozen times before. Much more involving picture.

Great job altough its tough to figure out how to tell what video output level the player gives off -eg 1080 720p etc.

AUDIO-As TRANSPORT

Sound through my dac is improved over my modded evs philips 963sa. Note that i believe that futher sound improvements may be yieleded because my dac only inputs 44.1 signals (modded meitner bitstream) and i believe this player can send out much higher audio signals. Nevertheless a quieter presenation as a transport. Note and cymbal decays- which i value more then most are much improved. Nice clear sound.

Definately an improvement. How much well too early to tell.

Ergonomically, the display is way to small to read, let alone read across the room. the oppo does not track slightly dirty or damaged discs as well as the phillips. Build quality seems good to better then average but the disc drawer is a bit flimsly.

Note for those with children, dragon tales, jay jay the jet plane look faboulous via dvi. The dvi will even reveal how cheesy the thomas the tank engine videos were orignally shot.

MikeSRC · « **Reply #26 on:** 28 Sep 2005, 05:07 pm »

Quote from: Wayne1

Be careful, Mike.

Well, I haven't received the Oppo yet, but maybe just the idea that it was coming was enough as the lamp in my projector blew yesterday.

Don't worry, I should have a new one by the time the modded Oppo gets here.

Wayne1 · « **Reply #27 on:** 3 Oct 2005, 10:17 pm »

Kris Deering didn't get the Oppo shipped out to MikeSRc before he left for his holiday. I guess it will be another few weeks before there are any more comments about this player.

Marbles · « **Reply #28 on:** 3 Oct 2005, 10:19 pm »

Dang Wayne, this thing is snake bit as far as luck is concerned.

Sorry to hear that for your sake.

MikeSRC · « **Reply #29 on:** 28 Oct 2005, 12:48 am »

Wayne, did you get the Oppo back? It never came here.

zybar · « **Reply #30 on:** 28 Oct 2005, 03:08 am »

Quote from: MikeSRC

Wayne, did you get the Oppo back? It never came here.

Boy, if it didn't go back to Wayne, that unit and/or Wayne really is cursed!

George

Wayne1 · « **Reply #31 on:** 2 Nov 2005, 03:08 pm »

The Oppo has been found!! It is now on it's way to MikeSRC.

Kris Deering said that the mods certainly improved picture quality.

He also felt that the audio, while better than stock, was not up to his reference unit on DVD-A.

I have removed the option of the deluxe audio upgrade from the website.

I had a Oppo here recently for a mod. I do have to say that the PQ is about the best I have EVER seen. If you are looking for a VERY GOOD DVD player with the emphasis on great video, the Oppo is where it is at.

Go with a modded SB2 for music listening and the Oppo for movies.

Wayne1 · « **Reply #32 on:** 15 Nov 2005, 02:09 am »

The OPPO has finally arrived at MikeSRC's place.

Gosh golly, it might actually make it back to Colorado by Thanksgiving

kbuzz3 · « **Reply #33 on:** 12 Dec 2005, 11:44 pm »

I have been using waynes modded oppo for about three weeks now. I had some minor issues with my player which wayne graciously fixed.
Here are some general thoughts.

I agree completley that one must view this player as a video first application and not as a state of the art cd audio transport. There are numerious reasons for this but obviously at this price point it cannot compete with an audio only state of the art design.

As for video, i use a recent gerneration samsung dlp. the picture on this player is simply stunning. It is a noticable improvement on my previously modded philllips player. Of course the oppo uses dvi so this helps a bit. However, what ever wayne did here makes video really enjoyable. Artifacts and edge reduction is miles ahead of what i previously saw. I reccomend this player for video alone. I am not a videophpile so cannot say i swapped out and compared the modded oppo to say a theta or some other unit. But in my system its compelling.

As for audio. My system has been undergoing numerious tweaks and a problem amp. so i have not been able to crically evaluate the oppo as transport into my meitner bitstream. I will say the high frequency is improced via the use of gutwire pad. Dont know if this is straiaght mechanical damping or a rfi reduction, but it helps.

futher thoughts when the amp comes back from the tech. Nice job wayne.

stressnot · « **Reply #34 on:** 29 Apr 2006, 01:26 pm »

I haven't seen anything lately about the modded Oppo DVD player, and wanted to comment. I recently had the "Basic" mod, including the optional Bybee Slipstream Purifier, and am amazed with the results!

I have my Oppo hooked up to my Dell 24" flat panel, widescreen monitor. and what was already a great picture has improved immensely. It now has magnificent detail, and things seem brighter overall. As far as the audio, I have the coaxial digital output going to my DAC and stereo. With Wayne's replacement of the Oppo's stock power cord with an IEC connector, I am now able to add my aftermarket power cord to the mix, and things sound incredibly realistic.

In addition to all this, Wayne was very responsive to my questions, and arranged a very quick turnaround with the work he performed. I highly recommend these modifications, and, Wayne, I applaud your services. Thanks!

Bob

CJ · « **Reply #35 on:** 15 Jul 2006, 10:08 pm »

Wayne, I have an Oppo player. After much deliberation about which upgrade path to go, I believe upgrading my Oppo is the best bang for the buck right now.

What is your current turnaround time/backlog for the Oppo mods?

Wayne1 · « **Reply #36 on:** 16 Jul 2006, 02:38 pm »

Mods are taking between 2-4 weeks depending on when a unit is sent in and what other work is going on in the shop at that time.

finsup · « **Reply #37 on:** 10 Dec 2006, 07:02 pm »

I have the Oppo 971H (not the HD). I've read through many posts on the Oppo on these forums today and many of the discussions have been over my head. And I believe Wayne answered the questions I am about to ask when he wrote that one should go with a modded SB for music listening and the Oppo for movies.

For some time, I had only a Panasonic HTIB doing double duty for video and and audio. I bought the Oppo 971H when it first came out but kept it in its box as I didn't have a pair of speakers to use. A few months ago, I landed a pair of speakers. This same person also sold me some XLO speaker cables and threw in an AudioSource Pre One/A. I unpacked the Oppo and my old Pioneer M-90 amp I bought back in the '80s. Using the XLO cables and some Cobalt RCA interconnects, I hooked everything up.

I've had great video since but the audio has been a nightmare of sound. I haven't used an optical (Coax or Toslink) because until last night, I really did not know any better. I like the picture I am getting from the Oppo and it seems as if even that can be improved by modding the Oppo but that isn't my main concern.

Last night, the guy I bought my speakers from loaned me an EAD DSP-9000 Mk III. I swapped out the AudioSource and while things sound better, it's not immeasurably better than I thought it would be. Still using the analog Cobalt for my audio interconnect. I'll run out and get a Toslink or coax digital cable after I post this. My room is untreated save for the usual stuff one finds in a living room.

My questions right now are am I better served by modding the Oppo or using that money and buying a better audio source? For the same amount of money spent on modding the Oppo, there are Rega Apollos, Music Hall CDPs, Musical Fidelity CDPs, an Ah Njoe Tjoeb, and Sonys, including a DVP-NS 9100ES for sale on AudiogoN.

Also, since the guy who loaned me was surprised when I told him the addition of the EAD didn't make that big of a difference, what simple things might I be overlooking that would give this result. He was sure this EAD would be a tremendous boost to my system. The only thing I know for sure to check is to be sure the speakers are wired properly. I think they are.

Thank you in advance for any that care to respond.

Wayne1 · « **Reply #38 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 12:07 am »

The OPPO is all about DVD video performance. It is NOT about CD from the analog outs.

Even after spending A LOT of time and money rebuilding the analog output section on my personal OPPO, it doesn't sound all that good.

The mods are for improvement to the power supply and video section. Doing this does help the digital audio output.

Using the DSP-9000 into your Pioneer, you should use the coax digital out of the OPPO.

I would also have the Pioneer checked out. At close to 20 years old, the electrolytic power supply caps may need replacing.

klh · « **Reply #39 on:** 27 Dec 2006, 10:43 pm »

Wayne... would you conisder modding the new 981HD? It's very similar to the the 971 except it upconverts to 1080p and has an HDMI out instead of DVI. I use both the coaxial and the HDMI digital outs. I have no interest in using the analog outs.