Has anyone bought the OPPO 105 and has an opinion

"Reviews of the Ayre were middling."

Oh really?

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/ayre_cx7e.htm

http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/840/

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0503/ayrecx7.htm

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/ayre-acoustics-cx-7e-cd-player-and-ax-7e-integrated-amplifier-1/

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue4/ayrecx7.htm

There's nothing wrong with preferring something else, but you lose credibility when you misstate what reviews have to say about the product.

P59teitel, I really have no dog in this fight, but that I prefer a company that has a marketing plan that includes me, to wit, price competitively and sell a lot of units..

First, when we speak about modern reviews, no one gets a bad review these days. It's all about advertising and all about how many adoring words the reviewer can dig out of the thesaurus. So all modern reviews have to be read between the lines IMO. And I look only at those in the paper mags as having any real value at all.

But actually, let me admit an error here. I was really writing about the $9950 Ayre DX-5 which in its features is the Ayre directly competitive with the Oppo 105. In fact, it is based, in part, on an old Oppo design

In its review Stereophile includes the following about this $10,200 (in black) player:

"The Ayre DX-5 was a pleasant-sounding SACD player, but its performance wasn't spellbinding.

"The Ayre's soundstage was also smaller than I expected from this SACD in both width and depth.

"Bryan Ferry's voice seemed diffuse and recessed through the DX-5, perhaps because the reverberant backdrop blended with his voice instead of separating out in space.

"but I could get only a blue screen, and the default audio mode was DTS-HD Master Audio. It appears that there are still glitches to be ironed out of Blu-ray–Audio."

There are similar caveats in the (now 5 and 10 year old) reviews of the CX-7 and CX-7e in the paper mags for these $3000+ CD only players, this in a very fast moving field.

"Does the Oppo 105 sound better than my Ayre CX-7eMP? Several people at THE Show suggested I get the Oppo 105. I cannot believe the 105 sounds better than the Ayre. Any comments?"

Hi Hgeifman

I wouldn't necessarily rely on what "people at the show" have to say. One thing I have discovered with digital is that the presentation and sound will vary system to system and most importantly there is no shortcut to a better designed more robust output stage and power supply.

Now that I have gotten THAT off my chest I have heard the OPPO 105 and actually compared it to a Modwright Truthmod 95 in an unfamiliar system. This goes back to the point above, things in this hobby are never black and white. Overall the 105 sounded very good in HIS system. What was more remarkable to me was that the Modwright didn't have near the impact in his system as in mine which was compared directly to an OPPO 95 and 4 different DACs. No one can answer your question definitely concerning the Ayre vs. the OPPO but my bet is that the Ayre would probably sound better in a more highly resolved system than the 105 and I say this as a big OPPO fanboy, great products and great value. So the short answer is you have to compare side by side in your system to know for sure, a surprise may be in store, who knows?

Tubegroover: Thanks for your comments. I agree that comparing side by side is the only way to decide but I am not going to do that. I am going to keep my Ayre CX-7eMP and listen to the music. The Ayre sounds very good to my ears.

I'm totally loving mine (Oppo 105). I bought it to do Blu-ray and it sure does that well. So much better to watch movies on. And it is also much better than my Redbook CD player, the Cambridge 840C. To me it is fast, neutral, revealing, and sounds like music. Really lifts the veil that some players exhibit. I have never heard the Sony, so I have nothing to add here. Of the hi-end players I've heard, and though I have not compared them side by side, the Oppo sure gives them a run for their money. You can always just order it up and give it a test run and if it doesn't fit the bill, you can send it back. That's how confident Oppo is. So live a little and give it a shot. Nothing ventured, nothing gained (that coming from the choir!) Good luck in your journey.