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In Reply to: RE: Oh no, I need a new player! posted by JCS on March 08, 2014 at 03:30:33
I have spoken with Bill Thalmann recently about my issue with my SCD-1, after a lot of questions and listening(he was exceptionally helpful and forthright) to what he had to say, we kind of determined it was the laser that was starting to go bad. He did recommend I open the machine and give both lens a good clean to which I did but to no affect. He then went on to suggest I to start looking for new lasers if I wanted to stay with the player for the foreseeable future. He also did suggest staying away from used units, as in his experience they mostly tend to be as spent as the one you are replacing.
So I did...,and the quantity of new offerings were almost zero, used offerings were very few, pricing on both was just ridiculous. Coming to a conclusion, I just didn't want to become hostage to resellers of Sony parts to keep my SCD-1 going no matter now much I loved this unit. So, remembering what Bill had said and the fact that Sony has abandoned providing new part replacements, has left me thinking it was time to let someone else, hopefully who had the foresight to stock up on maintenance parts, to have a chance to own this top end and notable piece of history.
One final note, speaking with Bill T, he did say they too do mods to the Oppo 105, which he did have a lot of good things to say about. I'm not going into details as I'd rather not quote others here, but frankly he was super impressed with this current Oppo offering.
Sadly the SCD-1's time, for me, has come...
Regards,
Bill
Follow Ups:
Looks you did what you could.
Best of luck!
Thanks JCS,
It's been a weird learning experience and one I didn't expect to be able to live with but I stand corrected.
BTW, nice system, checked out your pics...love those Extremas and Sunfire sub combo!
Bill
To this day I have yet to hear speakers under $35K that beat my combo of speakers!
My whole focus now is purely on the music and an occasional tweak.
Thanks and good luck going forward.
Sadly the SCD-1's time, for me, has come..
So it seems. Keep us informed of your new direction.
Regards,
Geoff
Having only logged about 2 days of continuous play(set of repeat of course) and one spin of the old PAD revB system enhancer, I have to say the Oppo 105 is kicking the crap out of my old SCD-1, sadly.
After going into the 105 and making all the adjustments to max out performance for 2 CH audio reproduction(great idea from the Oppo boys), I have to admit this is one really quite surprisingly excellent player as compared to my previous, though I must say, and to be fair I do recognized the laser on my SCD-1 was on the outs and not working as factory fresh.
I'll do a little follow up after a couple weeks or so and report what has changed but for now I am completely satisfied with this product and even if it were to stop advancing in sound quality right here, I'd be pretty happy based on my cash outlay. So far, I'm getting punch in the low end to die for, natural mids - fat and warm(hey - just how I like them, I'm a tube guy for god's sake) and a lack of the hi freq sizzles. Highs do seem a tad recessed right now but I'm hoping they open up just a bit more with the required 200 hr break in. Either that or I'm just use to my ears burning after a couple hrs of play with my pervious player. Somewhat serious here.
I can without reservation recommend this player to anyone looking at a new CD/SACD player in the under 5k range without hesitation, and you even get a 30 day full refund with shipping if for some crazy reason it doesn't float your boat or more so you are needy for a premier name tag to impress the kiddies! OK, I best stop here, LOL.
I checked all your recommended settings on my Oppo and made changes where necessary to ensure they were all as you suggested. I think my Oppo might be sounding better, but as you say it's a little recessed in the highs. The midrange is nice, though. Bass is still not as tight as my Eximus DP1 DAC, but it might be a little better that before. I think the Oppo was voiced for people who like tube equipment. It just gives me that impression. Quite frankly, that might be a good sonic signature for a lot of digital recordings. I'm going to try some real digital stuff tomorrow or the next day. I've been playing 24/96 copies of vinyl records and also some 24/192 copies of analog master tapes. It sounds a little better than before, but it just doesn't have impact and transparency of my other DAC on these types of analog/digital recordings.
Best regards,
John Elison
Keep going John, I'm on day 5 of break in and to my surprise it keeps getting better and better, I will hit ~200 hrs on Monday. I've been sneaking a listen here and there since I started the progress and the changes have been easily discernible.
Happy Listening!
Just wanted to follow up on my results and report back.Officially today, have decided the Oppo 105 is a keeper. It has complete!y surpassed my Sony SCD-1 that it replaces and a few other new units I had the opportunity to audition locally at some hi-end audio salons in my area.
After extensive break in and paying close attention to audio 2CH set up, the Oppo 105 has exceeded my expectations for digital playback in my system...and all for $1200!
Edits: 03/21/14 03/21/14
> Officially today, have decided the Oppo 105 is a keeper.
I'm beginning to lean in that same direction. I decided to begin listening and I'm getting used to the Oppo's sonic signature. It actually sounds pretty good on a number of recordings. I don't know if it has improved or whether I've just gotten used to its sonic signature, but I'm beginning to like what I hear. The end of the month will be my final decision point.
Best regards,
John Elison
Hi John,
Your listening preferences might be a bit different than mine, but it seems we both tend to favor analog over digital, based on past posts. When I first got the Oppo 105 and plugged it in, I was pretty disappointed with the sound out of the box. But, today I must say it is a completely different story for me. Surprisingly I'm super happy with the player and it's ability to do so much for so little, and keeping in mind 2CH stereo was always my goal here. On weekends when I have the time and I really get into lisening session, I do opt for my analog rig, does it sound better, um..yes. Do I not enjoy my Oppo after a weekend of vinyl, no! I get reminded how close to playing vinyl it goes, unlike my last CD/SACD player. It even has allowed me to make finer speaker adjustmens to further take advantage of sound staging that my Eminent Technology ET8b does so well. Never saw that one coming!
To answer your concern, is it better or are you just getting use to the sonic signature? I would suggest, who cares if you are enjoying the moment. I tend to enjoy the journey and the learning experiences different audio gear offers, luckly digital has gotten less expensive to do right, and we get to benefit by the technology.
Good luck with your journey, in the end you have the choice, which is the best thing of all, to keep it or send it back with no stings attached.
Best,
Bill
> When I first got the Oppo 105 and plugged it in, I was pretty disappointed with the sound out of the box.
I had the same reaction. I too am interested in two-channel stereo only. However, I had an excellent reference digital system already. My desire for the Oppo was to consolidate all my digital audio and video into a single component. It had to have balanced outputs because my system is fully balanced. Furthermore, I had never owned an SACD player, so I thought I could add SACD to my system while consolidating everything else. It's just that when I connected the Oppo and listened to my first digital file, it sounded so unexpectedly different that I was taken aback.
The thing I like most about the Oppo is that it removes a lot of the clutter on my fireplace mantel. Here is a "before" picture and a couple of "after" pictures.
You need some serious space, LOL!
Oops! New pic to come....and here they are, but sorry about pic quality, my iPad camera is not state of the art.
Edits: 03/23/14 03/23/14 03/23/14 03/23/14
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