Oppo UDP - 205

...Personally, I would not buy anything from Schiit. I was treated badly and charged 50% of the purchase price for a return on an item that I only had for 2 weeks and was like new when it was returned. Albeit the item was originally about $150 but 50% was a bit much for restocking, shipping, customer service etc. charges. Never again, there name is appropriate...

@ozzy 

That is unfortunate (for me) to read. Were you within the 15 day return windows?

gdhal,

Yes, I even spoke to them before I sent it back.
ozzy

a25105,

Well I finally did a head to head test between the Oppo 205 XLR analog outs and my Bryston BDP-2 / PS Audio Direct Stream Dac analog outs with the latest Huron firmware. Both were playing the exact same songs from the same external hard drive.

There really was no contest, notes were fuller and more life like with the PS Audio. Music was way more defined with the ability to pick out individual instruments. The Oppo 205 played well and I could see it being used as a all purpose player/Dac until it is compared to much more serious equipment.
The Oppo perhaps has about 100 hours of playing time on it so it will get better. However, the gap is way too large to change my opinion.

But, for such a ("Swiss army knife") device the Oppo 205 is great. Play your 4K/Blu Ray movies using the Oppo's analog outs instead of the HDMI/Digital outs and you'll see what I mean. What fantastic surround qualities. And the video...
The only problem is the over head Atmos channels can't be used with the analog outs.

ozzy

@ozzy , I must chime in. Once the 205 has been modified, in my case Modwright tube output stage with separate power supply, the Oppo does come quite close to my DS DAC. It was extremely close before I loaded Huron.

i think the UDP-205 has an excellent DAC chip and mearly needs attention in some other areas. So modding is another alternative to adding a separate DAC. The "Swiss Army knife" can become a special forces tool.

Lance

@lancelock 

The thought of modifying the 205 crossed my mind as well. A few issues trouble me with that idea though. One, the warranty with Oppo is voided. Two, the expense to get the full mod I understand is between 2 and 3 grand. At that point, a new Shiit Yggy or Mytex Brooklyn DAC just makes more sense (to me). Third, I would be without the 205 for a month or longer while I await the modification. Lastly, there is always a chance (however small) a third-party modification could make things worse.