Hi, the Oppo will be at RMAF, likely in more than one room. I plan to have both a transporter and BDP-83 in our room.
The Oppo has very good DACs in it and it is true, that to realize the full potential of SACD, Blue-Ray, DVD-A, audio DVD's, etc., you are best served using the Oppo as a standalone player. It will be different than the Transporter, for 2CH CD's/DVD's. I don't know that it will be better, but different.
The SS output stage is VERY fast and detailed with phenomenal bass. It also has a sweet midrange and is startlingly accurate. It is not a tube mod, but it is a SS circuit that offers many of the strengths of tubes, in some of the same ways as our KWA 150 SS amplifier.
Thanks,
Dan W.