Reference disc player...UDP 205 or Marantz?

Ps68.....you are absolutely right...but my definition of a reference player is probably a little different than yours. If a person has a very limited budget, and all they can afford is a 300 dollar player, then that is their reference. Mine, is in the 2k to 3k range. That's where I my budget is...my reference player. That's all I meant. I always thought that was the definition.

Plus, I was really interested in what people thought about oppo as a reference player.

Maybe I should have asked for people's opinions on the best players in the two to three thousand range. 

My apologies if I misunderstood you. 

@rnrmf1971  First thing.  I have no basis to dispute what you heard with the Modwright modified Oppo BPD 105D in your system.  Anecdotal evidence however, evidence reported on this forum by many members, flies in the face of your unique experience.  

I have a Modwright modded Marantz SA8005.  The stock Marantz sounded very musically satisfying.  After talking with Dan Wright I decided to take the plunge and entrust my player to him as he sought to upgrade its performance with his proprietary tube analogue board and outboard tube rectified power supply.  The workmanship and attention to detail is astonishing.  In my system, the musicality is stunning!  I can't hear one parameter of sound that has not been improved and feel I am hearing results far in excess to the investment I made with Modwright.

The OP here could buy a stock machine, Marantz or Oppo, with the option to have its performance upgraded in the future as funds permit.

I don't know why the Modwright player sounded unsatisfactory in your system, but I presume your experience was system dependent.  I'm glad you were able to sell the modded machine and acquire a stock machine that, in your system, you found more satisfying.  

It would be helpful if you would be willing to describe your system here to give context to your experience.

@hifiman5 

I know my experience stands out. Through conversations with Modwright, I determined the player was not for me. It was not even partially satisfying to listen to in my system. Again, I've never had an experience with a component like this, ever.

For the record, I prefer a warmer, dare I say, romantic, presentation.
I hate bright - which made me think I might like the Modwright player, based on the reviews I had read. I had considered the Oppo BDP-95 a bit lean, although, in retrospect, my cables added to that impression on all sources. I wanted a player that corrected the omissions of tone and musical density that I considered were built into the Oppo-BDP-95. The Modwright Oppo BDP-105D seemed to be a compelling option.

At the time, I believe my system was as follows: McIntosh C500T 2 box pre-amp, McIntosh MC501 mono block amps, Oppo BDP-95, either Shunyata Triton 2 or PS Audio P10 power conditioner (can't remember which), and mostly JPS Aluminata cabling (I came to regard these cables as mildly tilted up toward the upper frequencies). My speakers were Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Concert Grands.

I've since mostly changed almost everything in my system except the speakers, to come to a more balanced, tonally realistic, less bright or etched, presentation.

No question, Marantz is a better CD player. As for the Oppo...
no matter what the audio rags say, it is what it is - a very, very good Blu-Ray player. 

Folks can convince themselves that the Oppo is the best, but it is not.

Whatever I wrote is just my and my many friends’ opinions based on our experience, so no excitement from the Oppo owners is necessary.

@rnrmf1971 

Thanks so much for your response.  I too prefer a richer, more musical, especially a smoothness of texture music through my system.

Perhaps tube rolling may have helped a bit.  I found the included Jan/Phillips tubes in my modded player to have a hardness about them.  I prefer the NOS Tung-Sols I am currently using.  Also, as you observed, your cables at that time were on the brighter side and may, therefore, not have produced an enjoyable resulting sound.

The good news is that it seems like you have worked your way toward a more musically satisfying system now.