OPPO UDP-205 2x ES9038PRO 4K Ultra HD Audiophile Blu-ray Disc Player & DAC

[Byang]

Gotta read my review in the signature link - pics of the massive tube rectified PSU all over the place!

But yes, the mods are only intended for using the device as your player. Adding an external DAC makes no sense in that case. It's one or the other.

I have to quesion the worthy of spending this kind of money to do this mod. The power supply mid and capacitor upgrade cost no More than 300 bucks.
If i want to do tube stage after the dac analog outputs, i would taking that balance pin out and build a special tube preamp for that in a separate enclosure, with its own power supply.

 

[JamieMcC]

Just for clarity as I spot no disclaimers or disclosure was your review sponsored or paid for by Modwright or associated party's or is it an independent review of modified 205 you have purchased yourself?

 

[project86]

I have to quesion the worthy of spending this kind of money to do this mod. The power supply mid and capacitor upgrade cost no More than 300 bucks.
If i want to do tube stage after the dac analog outputs, i would taking that balance pin out and build a special tube preamp for that in a separate enclosure, with its own power supply.

If you price out the four Lundahl transformers in the ModWright upgrade, we already surpass your $300 mark. And there's way more to it than that. However I do think buying the upgrade parts one at a time from Oppomod.com is a good affordable path - spend a little at a time, spread out the cost, and by the end you should have a killer machine. Still not on par with what ModWright is doing, but excellent nonetheless.

If you have the skills to build your own tube preamp, then maybe using modding services is not the best fit anyway.

Just for clarity as I spot no disclaimers or disclosure was your review sponsored or paid for by Modwright or associated party's or is it an independent review of modified 205 you have purchased yourself?

Pretty sure I mentioned in the write-up that I purchased the thing for myself at full price. I'm a paid "audio journalist" (which sounds way too silly) but the pay comes from a publisher - never an advertiser or the maker of a product under review.

Normally I just do review loaners but occasionally I buy something first and write it up if I find it worthwhile, which is what happened here.

 

[JamieMcC]

Hi thanks for the clarification I thought it was an excellent fact pact review and enjoyed reading through it.

 

[Sterling2]

If you price out the four Lundahl transformers in the ModWright upgrade, we already surpass your $300 mark. And there's way more to it than that. However I do think buying the upgrade parts one at a time from Oppomod.com is a good affordable path - spend a little at a time, spread out the cost, and by the end you should have a killer machine. Still not on par with what ModWright is doing, but excellent nonetheless.

If you have the skills to build your own tube preamp, then maybe using modding services is not the best fit anyway.




Pretty sure I mentioned in the write-up that I purchased the thing for myself at full price. I'm a paid "audio journalist" (which sounds way too silly) but the pay comes from a publisher - never an advertiser or the maker of a product under review.

Normally I just do review loaners but occasionally I buy something first and write it up if I find it worthwhile, which is what happened here.

Still not on par with what ModWright is doing, but excellent nonetheless. What does that mean? How can this be?

 

[project86]

Meaning it doesn't go as far as ModWright does, but is still quite good. It seems pretty clear to me... Oppomod.com is good, ModWright is better, and correspondingly more expensive. Either one could be a valid choice depending on your needs.

 

[Byang]

If you price out the four Lundahl transformers in the ModWright upgrade, we already surpass your $300 mark. And there's way more to it than that. However I do think buying the upgrade parts one at a time from Oppomod.com is a good affordable path - spend a little at a time, spread out the cost, and by the end you should have a killer machine. Still not on par with what ModWright is doing, but excellent nonetheless.

If you have the skills to build your own tube preamp, then maybe using modding services is not the best fit anyway.




Pretty sure I mentioned in the write-up that I purchased the thing for myself at full price. I'm a paid "audio journalist" (which sounds way too silly) but the pay comes from a publisher - never an advertiser or the maker of a product under review.

Normally I just do review loaners but occasionally I buy something first and write it up if I find it worthwhile, which is what happened here.

Actually, if you want to diy, check out kankaudio website. He is first authorize us dealer for livestock and he sales constant currency source kit,which is the key component for best parafeed preamp as well as shunt current regulator which employed by the best preamp power supply.

 

[Sterling2]

Meaning it doesn't go as far as ModWright does, but is still quite good. It seems pretty clear to me... Oppomod.com is good, ModWright is better, and correspondingly more expensive. Either one could be a valid choice depending on your needs.

My need was for a 4k player which could play multi-channel SACDs to analog output; and, OPPPs are only solution out there for that need. Now, that my need has been satisfied, that's to say, I can't imagine hearing my multi-channel SACDs sounding better, I'm very hesitant to entertain a modification to my unit for the promise of even better sound. I'm not saying I do not believe a modification could make me even more satisfied; but, without being able to audition to discern if such modification would made my music sound better, I would not take the risk merely from a review of the modification, even from a highly qualitied trustworthy reviewer having credentials to profess on such matters.

 

[project86]

Let me stop you there - the ModWright mods leave the multi-channel outputs alone, and focus all their attention on the stereo outs. So if you are doing a lot of surround SACD listening, it's not worth it for you. I'm not sure if there is any other mods that focus on the multi-channel outputs either.... power supply stuff or clock upgrades etc would be a general improvement, but judging from the 95 and 105 examples, mods tend to replace the analog outputs for the stereo only.

 

[Sterling2]

Let me stop you there - the ModWright mods leave the multi-channel outputs alone, and focus all their attention on the stereo outs. So if you are doing a lot of surround SACD listening, it's not worth it for you. I'm not sure if there is any other mods that focus on the multi-channel outputs either.... power supply stuff or clock upgrades etc would be a general improvement, but judging from the 95 and 105 examples, mods tend to replace the analog outputs for the stereo only.

Thank you for commenting. I think improvement to my listening pleasure at this point would be in upgrading my main speakers. Been keeping a look out for some mint JBL L300s.

 

[seeteeyou]

https://www.oppodigital.com/farewell.aspx
https://www.facebook.com/OPPODigital/posts/10155084673507136

We waited until it was no longer April Fool's Day to post this. This is not a prank or joke.

Oppo Shock: Popular AV Brand Announces That 'It's Time To Say Goodbye'
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnar...brand-announces-that-its-time-to-say-goodbye/

However, Oppo claims that while it will gradually stop manufacturing new products, ‘existing products will continue to be supported, warranties will still be valid, and both in-warranty and out-of-warranty repair services will continue to be available. Firmware will continue to be maintained and updates released from time to time.’

The tech support, warranty, servicing and spares business will apparently be handled by an as yet unnamed third party.

 

[project86]

Shocking indeed! Nobody saw that coming... still hoping it is an elaborate prank.

 

[unknownuser]

https://www.oppodigital.com/farewell.aspx
https://www.facebook.com/OPPODigital/posts/10155084673507136Oppo Shock: Popular AV Brand Announces That 'It's Time To Say Goodbye'
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnar...brand-announces-that-its-time-to-say-goodbye/

This is terrible since this is the only big brand that have a high quality Amp+ DAC with HDMI so you can enjoy lossless movie soundtracks. ESSENCE and other small basically 1 person companies have HDMI DACs but their support is not great....I don't know what other alternatives you can have if you want to watch movies, this 205 is the best by far for this purpose.

But at least they will still manufacture enough 203 and 205 to satisfy demand this year, hopefully for a few more months you can buy these players

 

[Sterling2]

This is terrible since this is the only big brand that have a high quality Amp+ DAC with HDMI so you can enjoy lossless movie soundtracks. ESSENCE and other small basically 1 person companies have HDMI DACs but their support is not great....I don't know what other alternatives you can have if you want to watch movies, this 205 is the best by far for this purpose.

But at least they will still manufacture enough 203 and 205 to satisfy demand this year, hopefully for a few more months you can buy these players

The greatest need for OPPO 203 or 205 over other UDP/Universal Players has nothing to do with video, it's multi-channel SACD from analog output. All the other players out there today which play multi-channel SACD only provide a transport function, outputting DSD only via HDMI for SACD. Of course, if you've got a modern digital pre/pro or AVR with HDMI input, no worries, you can enjoy multi-channel SACD; but, if you have legacy equipment which only receives multi-channel analog output, OPPO is the only device which will get you multi-channel SACD.

 

[unknownuser]

The greatest need for OPPO 203 or 205 over other UDP/Universal Players has nothing to do with video, it's multi-channel SACD from analog output. All the other players out there today which play multi-channel SACD only provide a transport function, outputting DSD only via HDMI for SACD. Of course, if you've got a modern digital pre/pro or AVR with HDMI input, no worries, you can enjoy multi-channel SACD; but, if you have legacy equipment which only receives multi-channel analog output, OPPO is the only device which will get you multi-channel SACD.

Right, another great feature they have. I really don't understand this decision, basically every AVS member has OPPO players and who knows how many elsewhere. But OPPO knows their numbers. But why now? 4k era barely started and like I said, their 203 and 205 are already popular among the AV enthusiasts. And the demand is still there, my buddy want the 205 but he don't have the money yet. He freaked out when he read this farewell message but I think in Q2 they will still manufacture enough to allow new owners for few more months. After that basically Panasonic is the only one with high-end BD player with great audio output, their new high-end player (UB9000) could fill this gap except headphone output.

Anyway, I'm very sad about this. Hopefully when I will need a new player with DAC/Amp then there will be somebody who will make this product, otherwise I will need to have speakers for movies.