"My own feeling is that, where CD players are concerned, you can hit the upper limit on sound quality at a relatively low price point--heresy for some, I know. Could the discerning ear hear the difference b/t a 103 and the 105? I doubt it. In fact, I doubt discernible sound differences between my old Sony $99 dvd player and the Oppo 103 that replaced it. I only got the Oppo for it's build quality and versatility--not only playback variety, but convenience features."
That's probably not welcome news for many folks who have sunk beaucoup bucks on high end CD players, including yours truly who spent a small fortune upgrading my own Oppo 103 to at least two levels above Nose Bleed level.