ModWright Modified Oppo BDP-83!

talk2me · « **Reply #60 on:** 3 Aug 2009, 07:51 pm »

Hi Dan, this is Jim. I talked to you this morning (much appreciated!) about modding my 83 for XLR and possible digital input along with the 2 channel mods.. I am very impressed with your knowledge and customer service. No wonder you are so busy. Hope to talk to you soon and have a great trip.

modwright · « **Reply #61 on:** 3 Aug 2009, 08:03 pm »

Thank you, that is much appreciated!

Sincerely,

Dan W.

klao · « **Reply #62 on:** 6 Aug 2009, 06:48 pm »

Hi Dan,

Kindly keep us posted in this board / Modwright website whenever 2-ch XLR upgrade is available for BDP-83. I'd be very insterested in that.

Thanks,
Klao

modwright · « **Reply #63 on:** 9 Aug 2009, 11:43 pm »

Thanks, I will do so.

I am still in HK and response to our products is VERY good.

I will be returning to work on Thurs. - the 13th.

I will keep things up to date here, RE a balanced 2CH mod for the Oppo!

Thanks,

Dan

djoel · « **Reply #64 on:** 15 Aug 2009, 09:08 pm »

Quote from: Nolan B on 8 Jun 2009, 03:39 am

Speaking of the external view ...have you ever considered have a new faceplate made with your logo on it? Does that run into any legal issues? Id love to replace the black aluminum facing of the Oppo with your great looking MW aluminum look.

Any chance?

I'm in for that.. aa
Yeah and maybe we can get the all important DVD-A logo for those who got our players with out it

Djoel

modwright · « **Reply #65 on:** 17 Aug 2009, 12:12 am »

I will proceed with investigating both the XLR SS mod and a tube mod.

First, I have scheduled over fifteen people for the SS 2CH and MCH mods and this is now underway. If you are interested in our current mod offering, please contact me as the list is growing.

The XLR SS mod will be investigated first and if possible, will be available first.

I will then investigate the possibility for a tube mod.

Please note that both of these mods would only be available for the stereo outs. There is not enough room to accomplish this for all MCH and 2CH outs.

Thanks!

Dan

slybasil · « **Reply #66 on:** 21 Aug 2009, 04:57 am »

Just food for thought but if there is some problem with the unit who covers the warranty? Does having the modification void any Oppo warranty. I have a Oppo dvd player now and it needed to be sent in. They didnt even try to fix it they just replaced it. So what happens with a modified bdp-83?

modwright · « **Reply #67 on:** 23 Aug 2009, 06:15 pm »

The mods will void the warranty. Our warranty is one year parts/labor, for our work. Our typical handling of this arrangement, is to repair the unit ourselves, and charge only for parts and min. labor. Typical factory warranty items include the drive itself. These are not expensive or difficult to replace. I chose the Oppo because they have historically had such reliable drives.

The bottom line is that we always stand behind our customers. Our reputation here speaks for itself.

Sincerely,

Dan W.

modwright · « **Reply #68 on:** 23 Aug 2009, 06:18 pm »

We are close to having a 2CH balanaced analog stage available also, pricing being finalized and will be posted soon.

Thanks,

Dan W.

Phil A · « **Reply #69 on:** 23 Aug 2009, 06:38 pm »

Quote from: modwright on 23 Aug 2009, 06:15 pm

The mods will void the warranty. Our warranty is one year parts/labor, for our work. Our typical handling of this arrangement, is to repair the unit ourselves, and charge only for parts and min. labor. Typical factory warranty items include the drive itself. These are not expensive or difficult to replace. I chose the Oppo because they have historically had such reliable drives.

The bottom line is that we always stand behind our customers. Our reputation here speaks for itself.

Sincerely,

Dan W.

Dan - I'll second that. I have an Oppo BDP-83 with an extended warranty that is going to Dan next month and I'd send it back to Dan and work with Oppo to hopefully get them to supply parts needed. I also told Dan that I will check with him and if he becomes or is about to become an Oppo dealer when mine is scheduled to go I don't mind keeping my unmodded unit for the bedroom system (I have a Samsung 2500 and an Oppo 980 there now so I can have one player) and getting another one. I had previously owned a Sony XA-777ES which I had Dan mod in Oct. 2002 (almost 7 years ago) and while I eventually sold the unit (had a separate DVD-A player and a Sony TA-P9000ES to switch between players) as SACD support by mainstream labels basically went away 4 years ago and I prefer to have one player (as it is right now I have a separate CD player, a DVD recorder and two universals -DV9600 and BDP-83, for now and a LD player in the main system, a CD/SACD changer, a LD player, a CD recorder and a PS3 in the basement system and two more players in the bedroom system - I think I qualify for some type of medication:)).

Phil A · « **Reply #70 on:** 23 Aug 2009, 07:06 pm »

I should add that one should not really look at the type of work that Dan does as unique. For example, take a look at the images below of two players:

http://www.cepro.com/article/lexicon_to_launch_thx_certified_blu_ray_player/

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-83/blu-ray-BDP-83-Image.aspx

One is $500, the other is $3,500. I'd bet that opening the two of them one might notice some mods to the $3,500 player (besides its silver case) to the analog output stage. The parent company of the more expensive player is a publicly traded company that has had issues with customer service and brands disappearing. You can just go to to Audio Asylum and see posts of someone who has an expensive amp that is not terribly old and they can't find anyone to repair it. Kind of ridiculous as the Adcom 555 in my bedroom system is probably twice as old and I would have no trouble getting it repaired. I'd also be willing to bet that the mods are not as good as what Dan will do and at the end of the day you will be paying twice the price for the player and mods and likely be not in as good shape when it comes to getting service if needed.

MrBrix · « **Reply #71 on:** 23 Aug 2009, 09:07 pm »

Hi Dan. Put me down for one of XLR mods when you have it ready. I will send unit once you get going. Welcome back from HK. Hope u had a good trip!

Ije

shirtaspants · « **Reply #72 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 04:03 pm »

I'm considering a Modwright Oppo. Already have and love a Modwright Transporter. Already posted my dilemma elsewhere, maybe I'll get more input here, anyone have thoughts?

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=71001.0

modwright · « **Reply #73 on:** 27 Aug 2009, 06:17 pm »

Hi, first of all, to Mr. Brix, we have a balanced out mod already worked out for the Oppo. If we do this, the unit will use four of the the nine total discrete analog stages on the mod board, leaving only five more for MCH. I would expect that it would be best for dedicated 2CH balanced analog out and MCH via HDMI to pre/pro, etc., given that only five other channels can be upgraded.

I will update pricing and availability on the site. We have twenty (20) people in the queue right now, so anyone wanting to get on the list need only contact us with 50% deposit.

RE shirtaspants dilemna: It is a difficult one. If you are ONLY concerned about Blue Ray, then I would probably just use it as a transport to Transporter as DAC. If you want to be able to play SACD, Blue Ray, DVD-A and other formats that the Transporter cannot accept, then I would say that the 2CH mod for the Oppo would be worthwhile. The analog stages for the Oppo make it an excellent unit, but it is still not quite as good as the Transporter. It is also 1/2 the price for the mod.

I hope that this helps.

Sincerely,

Dan W.

shirtaspants · « **Reply #74 on:** 28 Aug 2009, 03:00 am »

Quote from: modwright on 27 Aug 2009, 06:17 pm

RE shirtaspants dilemna: It is a difficult one. If you are ONLY concerned about Blue Ray, then I would probably just use it as a transport to Transporter as DAC. If you want to be able to play SACD, Blue Ray, DVD-A and other formats that the Transporter cannot accept, then I would say that the 2CH mod for the Oppo would be worthwhile. The analog stages for the Oppo make it an excellent unit, but it is still not quite as good as the Transporter. It is also 1/2 the price for the mod.

I never intended to replace the Transporter, just augment it. Determined for now that I'll stick with using the Transporter as a Blu-ray DAC and just take the hit in resolution (can't transport hi-rez over SPDIF due to DRM).

Thanks for responding, and best of luck with the mods.

modwright · « **Reply #75 on:** 28 Aug 2009, 06:25 pm »

You are most welcome.

Sincerely,

Dan W.

OBF · « **Reply #76 on:** 2 Sep 2009, 06:15 pm »

Just wondering what all the MCH mod users plan to connect the OPPO to? Is everybody using something like the McCormack MAP-1, or just connecting to the analog inputs on a pre/pro? Seems like that might partly defeat the purpose of the mod so that is why I'm asking. I tried searching and didn't find a discussion on how to best integrate something like this while taking advantage of the clean analog output.

Phil A · « **Reply #77 on:** 2 Sep 2009, 11:05 pm »

I guess a question related to the previous post for Dan. Are any of the mods going to take away features from the Oppo like level controls for the channels? I plan on using the multi-channel mod with my current pre/pro which had multi-channel bypass that is just that - no level controls - just a 6 channel preamp mode.

modwright · « **Reply #78 on:** 3 Sep 2009, 09:14 pm »

Hi guys, the mods will not disable any functions of the player. That is a general rule with me. Others believe that there are benfits to 'clipping out' or removing various functions of the units that may impact sound. I am not saying that there isn't some validity to this, but in most cases, these functions can also simply be turned off via the player itself. I want the players to retain their functionality, while having significant sonic improvements.

I have some int'l customers asking about region free mods. We do not offer this service, but I do have a source for the new Oppo BDP-83 units, in the U.S. that includes the region free mod (DVD, DVD-A AND Blue Ray) for the modest extra cost of $80.

I have decided not to become an Oppo dealer as there is simply no margin and it only adds to our overhead. In the end, it wouldn't save you guys any money as I would have to pass on the added overhead expense.

I hope that this makes sense.

Thanks!

Dan

klao · « **Reply #79 on:** 5 Sep 2009, 08:54 pm »

Read your update on full BALANCED (XLR) Stereo Only mod w/ master clock upgrade = $1,150 on MWI website.

Could you please explain why should one want the $1,495 option to "add alalong stage upgrade for Ctr, L, R, Surround L/R (RCA only)". I mean, what connection/application would benefit from this? Perhaps multi-channel SACD use? Also, it's "RCA only" for just surround L/R? Or also for center?

Many thanks.