Reference disc player...UDP 205 or Marantz?

@boneman73, I love my 103 and have considered the 105, now the 205. Are you able to give me any advice on the sound quality improvement?
Thank you,

Tom

@tomcarr , I wish I could expound intelligently for you - but I can't. The 205 is my first Oppo. I'm comparing it to some older (albeit in that 'legendary' category) CD players with the Philips guts and DAC's, as well as a newer TASCAM, which sucked in comparison (but, I really didn't care nor give much credit to digital). I primarily listened to analog (LP and R2R) so digital took a back seat. Maybe the highest praise is that I'm listening more to my CD's, DVD-A and SACD's than ever - and every time it's like I've got a new album! I'm actually preferring most of the digitally recorded albums on shiny disc, more than a digital sourced LP. FWIW, I'm running balanced cables to my Jeff Rowland gear, feeding a pair of Tannoy's. Not exactly a "bright" system by any stretch. I find the sound very pleasant, engaging in the midrange, and completely non-fatiguing. Hope that helps. 

Boneman, thank you for your response and well-thought-out comments. Yes, I can get a feel for the sound based on what you've said. Glad to hear you are enjoying your silver discs so much. I'm pretty sure I'm going to love a 205.

Tom

@tomcarr - when you get it (I am sure I put this explanation farther up the thread...but I'll summarize again): back the output volume off in the settings to something else than 100%. I really thought it was harsh at 100. I have mine set at 90%. Break-In/Warm-up/whatever you want to call it 'was real' in this box. Definitely filled out the sound after a few hours. I supposed some fancy pink noise disc would probably be the best for that purpose. I used Beethoven's 9th symphony, on repeat, for a couple days (mostly because I wasn't there to listen to it).  I wish I could say the 5 or so digital filters (really, DAC processing algorithms) were drastically different...they seem extremely slight to me. I'm still 'playing' with the different ones. The 205 has been out long enough now (I got it in May?) that I bet there are plenty of opinions on the 'net on which one is best. I'll probably just pick one that "people like" and live with it for a while.
Enjoy!!

@tomcarr - when you get it (I am sure I put this explanation farther up the thread...but I'll summarize again): back the output volume off in the settings to something else than 100%. I really thought it was harsh at 100. I have mine set at 90%. Break-In/Warm-up/whatever you want to call it 'was real' in this box. Definitely filled out the sound after a few hours. I supposed some fancy pink noise disc would probably be the best for that purpose. I used Beethoven's 9th symphony, on repeat, for a couple days (mostly because I wasn't there to listen to it). I wish I could say the 5 or so digital filters (really, DAC processing algorithms) were drastically different...they seem extremely slight to me. I'm still 'playing' with the different ones. The 205 has been out long enough now (I got it in May?) that I bet there are plenty of opinions on the 'net on which one is best. I'll probably just pick one that "people like" and live with it for a while.
Enjoy!!

Just a heads up that when the UDP-205 was first released, each volume step off 100 equated to 1 db. A relatively recent firmware update modified that to .5 db per volume step.

As to the DAC filter setting, general consensus is that the default - mini phase fast - is "best". Of course this is merely a preference so YMMV.