The Oppo 103 was never designed to be a high end analog out player. The 103 was mainly designed to be used with a Pre-pro. Same with the new 203 player. The analog outputs are just throw ons. However, the AKM DAC chip you mention is way better than the 8 channel Cirrus DAC used in the 103....so I would expect better sound quality. So this is an upgrade.....not anyone losing their way. In fact, with mods it could be killer. However, the even better analog out machine (UDP-503) will be out next year some time. I expect it to have ESS9038 DACs for both two channel and multichannel (we shall see). Oppos power supply parts, output stages, coupling caps, clocks, etc. are not state of the art. This is why modding Oppos make such a great improvement. There will be several of us modding the Sonica DAC and also both new UDP players.
There are no more 103Ds or 105Ds available (except for dealers trying to rip you off on the very last ones). Please wait for the new models if you really have to have an Oppo or find one used.
