Add an external DAC. Make my Oppo UDP-205 a true top player


I am not sold on my Oppo UDP-205 audio reproduction.  .  It plays all formats, but audio needs improvement.   Looking for audiophiles that have felt the same a bought a DAC..  Which one did you buy.  What works really well?
dcaudio
I also had the 205 and recently sold it for $2k to TMR.
On your own you may get $2.5k+

Before I sold it I used an Denafrips Ares 2 DAC. It became
oh so apparent that the Oppo DAC was way inferior.
No golden ear required.

My move was to sell the Oppo, buy an Innuos Zen 3 Streamer/burner/storage new. Then I bought an Audio Mirror DAC for $1.5k 
All in at $3.7-$2.0 Oppo money = $1.7 net in upgrade costs but now have everything I need. I did stumble across an Oppo BDP 93 at Goodwill for $18 so I can still play the occasional movie too.
The crazy posts on here are rather entertaining. It appears that we have many many audiophiles who don’t know how to install an app to run the Oppo 205 with. The other obvious oversight is the fact that the Oppo has Rune built right in. I am able to run anything I want from my IPad sitting on my butt with full use of every function on the Oppo without a monitor or remote. It only has room for 3, yes only 3!, flash drives or hard drives. Put some pucks or other sound absorbers under the Oppo 205 and it will take $7500 and up to beat it running the Oppo stock.
Connect it direct to the internet with an Apple TV or Roku and you have the best video for the price that can be found.
If you want to compare it to a DAC then use it as a transport to the DAC and switch the sound back to the Oppo without using 2 calories from your chair.
If the 3 USB ports are not enough for you then hook more up to your computer or other devices and drives right on your Rune network.

in addition, whether you hate or like the Oppo, run a good power cleaner and use cables that match your preferences. My interconnects from my Oppo cost more than the Oppo 205. It is time that the ruse that being able to stream high def music requires a separate piece of equipment and that the Oppo is only great if you mod it are all rubbish!

Oh, I have been really slumming it to watch a 4K movie on my OLED TV and to put in an SACD  or DAD or CD or FLAC or Qobuz or Tidal or Blu-Ray or MP4  or MKV or to use an Upnp network. My Krell, Levinson and Boulder equipment are holding their noses up every time the Oppo is turned on but once signal is fed they are all racing to keep up.

@CHORUS .. Have to agree with your golden ear .. I was so dedicated to the Oppo 205, and had done some tweaks that made discernible improvements (metal cone feet, the name escapes me -> Wow! and some additional damping material internally)

BUT! I did some playing around with a Chorus and Mytek DAC and the clarity and detail issues I had on my "wish list" improved immensely.

I ended up with the Mytek Brooklyn as mid priced option .. I may go further later to see how far my Counterpoint NPS and Aerial 10T's can go .. but it is fun to dig out / discover those audio cues and info.