In Reply to: I'm going to break it in first... posted by John Elison on March 13, 2014 at 10:46:50:
We'll have to agree to differ on the subjects of "transparency" and "accuracy."
As to why I modded the 105, I've explained it elsewhere. But here it is. I have 150+ SACDs and thousands of CDs. I've had, prior to the 105, five players that would handle SACDs, topped by the $3K Sony XA-777ES. None of them sounded remotely close to my Raysonic 128 ... on CDs. On SACDs, the Raysonic -- playing the CD layer when there was one -- usually sounded as good or better than any of the SACD players
What I was looking for was one player that would do it all -- play CDs at least as well as the Raysonic and play SACDs better than anything I had heard to date. If the stock 105 hadn't done that, I wouldn't have kept it. It passed both tests. It sounded so good that I wanted to see how much better I could make it. Thus the ModWright modifications. And NOS Sylvania 6SN7s (arriving tomorrow). And a NOS 5R4GYS rectifier tube from Upscale Audio (arrived yesterday). And topflight power cords and interconnects (already owned). And full attention to damping and decoupling (maple platforms, brass cones, cork/rubber things, also already owned).
With all this, I still don't have as much new money in it as the original flagship Sony and Marantz SACD players, which the modded Oppo already pretty much leaves in the dust, IMO. Whether you keep it or not, your 105 will never sound like mine. But it should sound damn good. I still recommend that you send it back, because you have taken such a strong and repeated stand relative to the "inadequacies" you perceive, and I think you'd be much happier with something else. But obviously, your call.
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Follow Ups
- RE: I'm going to break it in first... - Dave Pogue 11:18:31 03/13/14 (2)
- RE: I'm going to break it in first... - John Elison 12:09:30 03/13/14 (1)
- Goodbye John, - Dave Pogue 12:48:01 03/13/14 (0)