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Oppo 205 modification

I wanted to reach out to people with the Oppo 205 unit who are considering getting it modified. For the last two years I was looking into a DAC to replace my Sony SCD-XA5400ES. I was going to use my Sony as a transport for the new DAC. We'll in doing a lot of reading on forums and on the Internet I decided to get a modified unit by Ric Schultz of EVS. He raved about the Oppo Sonica with his mods but then production on the Sonica stopped and I was unable to get one. Ric then switched his focus to the Oppo 205 and discovered that it was even better. So I got an Oppo 205 when the the closing of Oppo digital was announced (Ric helped me to get one of the last ones when there was a run on them). 

We'll it's been about a month with my Single Super Single Ended version of the EVS mod plus the optional power supply that Ric makes for the unit. Total cost for the mod plus the optional upgraded power supply was $1300. I am extremely happy with the result. The main attributes I noticed with the stock Oppo 205 was soundstage size, detail retrieval and the openness of the player. With the mod these strengths of the stock unit all get significantly better. The decay of instruments is incredible. The end of a track takes like forever for it to decay into nothing. Timber of vocals and instruments is just so natural and organic sounding. Everything also has a texture and three dimentionality to it. Instruments are very precisely located in the soundstage now. The sound has a very black background where you hear very faint details in the background come out more. Definite increase in the depth of the soundstage as well as heighth and width. Shocking how much information is actually on those Redbook Compact Discs! Though every disc sounds pretty darn good so far, I have tried probably 60 to 80, the soundstage and fidelity on each still varies greatly with the recording. Most discs sound wonderful with a good amount just sounding way what I  ever expected from any disc.... SACD included The sound is just so coherent as everything just fits into place so nicely and cleanly.  I heard a lot of good Dacs and equipment at AXPONA and audio shops througout the years and my system is way above what I thought it could be without buying really expensive components. I always liked the Sound of the Salk Sound speakers,  most recently their model Song 3 Encore speakers at AXPONA the last 2 years,and this sound rivals that sound, maybe betters now, and my speakers are the 15 + YEARS OLD Hales Design Transcendence 5's. Although still pretty good I would bet, I would love to hear those Salk Sound Song3 Encores speakers with this setup.Trust me the sound is so good I am not in a hurry to change speaks for a while though.

When you first put the modded player in your system you will instantly notice that the soundstage is noticably bigger with more detail. Everthing just keeps improving. I only play my system on weekends so yours may break in even faster. The bad side is I used to be content with 2 to 3 hour listening sessions...now it's 3 to 5 hour sessions. Obviously no digital fatigue. In fact you find yourself listening to songs on discs you skipped over in the past because you hear so much more. I listen to all kinds of music. I found the better my system got the more types of music I like. From folk to hard rock and  bluegrass to classical.

  The rest of my system consists of a heavily modified Bada Purer 3.3se Hybrid Integrated amp (165 watts with first 30 in Class A), Core Power Technology 1200 balanced power conditioner, 2 Teo Audio Ultra RCA's run in parallel (see Doug Schroder method thread here in the forum). Silnote Anniversary biwired speakercable, Synergistic Black UEF power cord, Cerious Technologies Extreme Yellow  power cord, Audio Archone Blue powrr cords. OPPO and BADA PURER sit on Starsound Sistrum SP-4 stands.

I would say the stock Oppo 205 is about a 6.5 or 7 and the EVS modified unit I now have has to be close to a 9 on a scale from 0 to 10. Big,  big increase in audio performance over stock. The Oppo 205 stock probably competes well against 2 to 3k Dacs. The EVS mod has to take the Oppo 205 to the 5k and up range (i.e. ... I heard the Denafrips Terminator Dac demonstrated at Axpona this year and it didn't sound this good to me). With the DACs you also have to buy a Transport another power cord and more cabling! Sorry if this got a little long-winded!
tuffy72561
samh
14 posts
 
I am the owner of an EVS all out balanced modified OPPO 205.,  It is used in my theater system rather than my regular 2 channel system.  I mostly watch concert blurays and dvds along with the occasional movie.  The 205 was very good out of the box, but after Ric's mods there was a very noticeable audible improvement.  All upper midrange glare was gone, and detail increased with improved dynamics.  Unusually, with the increased detail, there was also increased richness.  With old favorites like Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac drums and electric bass were awesome.  With acoustic music like Diana Krall,  piano was lifelike, and acoustic bass was full, deep, and fast. I am now thinking about getting a bigger TV because the soundstage has gotten wider to the point that I need more picture to keep up.   With recordings that I thought were mediocre, there was a drastic improvement, and became much more fun.  Also in my system is a Primare sp-31.7 preamp-processor, an Audire Parlando amp, and my DIY Audio Technology and Morel speakers augmented by a JL Audio 12in. subwoofer.  The only reason I don't use the OPPO in my 2 channel system is that I already have an EVS modded LKS-004 DAC that sounds amazing.  

This may be the last great Bluray player that anyone produces, so get one while you can, get it modded and join in the fun.

Mas
highstream
207 posts
 
Thank you for this thread. It’s timely for me, as I came across a barely used 205 for a very good price this past week (my gosh, is the 203/5 market inflated!). I’ve been using a 203 modified by Stereo Dave’s, which has a nice warm, liquid sound, along with other good sonic qualities (203 not listed on their website). With the 203, I alternate between the s/pdif output and using an external HDMI/I2S card to a Directstream dac, with a separate HDMI cable going to an HDTV. The speakers are ATC SCM19A actives with balanced cables, but I have a pair of JL Audio e-110’s to hook up once everything gets sorted, and so the dac-to-speakers run will soon be single ended (using an adapter subs to . The media I use is USB flash drives (audio, video), along with CDs, BluRay discs and of course TV.

With a 205 coming and thinking about modifications, I have some questions relevant to this thread:

- If I’m using an external dac, along with a TV, what modifications are of benefit to the 205? That’s something I’ve not really understood with the 203, although the mod improved the sound quality quite substantially.

- To what degree does the EVS mod have a naturally warm sound (like acoustic instruments)? I am not a fan of what’s commonly referred to as "neutral," which to me exudes a coolness that takes the life out of recorded sound (in favor of other sonic virtues).

- Thinking of the EVS mod with balanced outputs vs. the I2S I’m using now - or getting OppoMod’s internal I2S card, and assuming good cabling, which output type would like provide better sound - balanced or I2S? Are DSF recordings playable via the the EVS mod’s balanced outputs? The Directstream has both inputs. Thanks,

Gene


highstream
207 posts
 
I didn’t describe my full system because it doesn’t seem immediately relevant to my questions. But to give a more complete picture, there’s a PS Audio power base and P15 regenerator, their AC-12 power cords and I2S-12 HDMI cables, and MG Audio Design AG2 S2 balanced interconnects, with a pair of their RCA’s and Cardas adapters waiting in the wings for the subs. The dac, P15 and speakers have Audio Magic ultimate beeswax fuses.

Oh, and among the media is of course DVD’s but no SACD’s.
tuffy72561 OP
181 posts
 
@highstream,

     Accoustic instruments sound wonderful. Let's just say Clapton's Unplugged is now a revelation.  I just got a chance to listen to my system this morning and evening, after a car show this afternoon in the heat here around Chicago area,  and the sound just keeps improving.  For many many years I dreamed of a really nice full sounding
, warm detailed system and this player has put it above what I ever expected. 

ricevs
1,543 posts
 

The mods that effect the HDMI/spdif out are the removing of the toslink connector, the damping of the heatsink on the main processor, the transport mods (when playing discs) and especially the linear power supply.

Yes, I think my mods have always been warm/natural.

Analog balanced out versus HDMI/I2S into another DAC?  That would be hard to say, you would have to A/B them.  The modified DAC and custom output stage I use give some pretty great sound.

The modded 205 plays whatever files it naturally plays.  My mods do not effect what it plays.  I believe the regular usb inputs can play single speed DSD.  The DAC input can do up to DSD512.

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