Yo, JWM and I spent a few hours at his house last night going back and forth between both modified players and we continue to agree on most points.
The Sony is a wee bit more revealing and I think it excels at leading edge transients. I hear more air on top and more decay. To my ears, it's more exciting to listen to and I think more believable. The Oppo is somewhat forgiving of mediocre discs but I think you get more truth with the Sony. It never offends and to my ears, is superior to all digital I've heard previously, including the $15k Playback Design that JWM unloaded recently.
That said, the modified Oppo doesn't fall all that short of the Sony in terms of resolution and it really does sound very open, airy and extended. As I mentioned previously, it might be preferable with solid state gear.
Bottom line for me, I like 'em both a lot and could easily live with either one. Fortunately, like JWM, I don't have to choose. After hearing both players side by side, first at RMAF and again last night at JWM's, I'm ready to pull the trigger(is that phrase politically correct?) on the Oppo for my AV system.
