Oppo 95: Burn-in...and Fan

Nice gear!, I use the 2 channel balanced and the 5.1 rca ( using the rca stereo outs with the player set with the FL/FR option) outputs to an Anthem avm20v2 in the analog direct mode for both. I still find the rca's seductive until you hear the xlr's you think it gets no better, the overall difference is the xlr offers a more blacker carved out presentation and a longer decay. At times during the comparison of the two, the rca's seemed more together and harmonically richer (tube or analog like) and why I fell in love with it in the first place but that's until the xlr's reach there full potential. Nothing I would worry about now though and look at it as just something to get around to latter. Now running the Oppo 95 direct to my Halo A21 via rca or xlr is high on my to do list, especially since the recent firmware update includes smaller volume steps! I now have no excuse to try what many say is the uncut version of the 95!

Jdub39 - many thanks again for relevant info. Firmware upgrade, huh? I'll do that soonest...sure seems like a good idea to connect balanced to power amp directly and look forward for report on that experience ;-)

I know I'll end up there at some point (it always happens for some reason) so might as well check with OPPO 95 owners now so I have some ideas when I get there - any positive experiences with aftermarket power cords? The one that comes with the player seems relatively good, but...

Aftermarket powercord is ground zero, it all starts at the wall in my book. My initial run with 95 was with a Ps audio AC3 (12awg) I had fantastic results with this low cost entry level cable and I cant recommend it enough! with that being said I did try the AC5 (10awg) but it ended up sounding better with preamp. I recently put an AC10 (10awg) on the 95 and oh boy! its been about two weeks and it definitely takes it up a level or two. treat it like a $5000 + unit and it responds like one.

Something I forgot you guys may find important! upon removing the plastic caps from the rca connectors on the 95 there is more than a small amount of residue left over. I used Caig pro gold and polished them to a shine, you wont believe the difference in how dull they where, I'm not sure if this contributes to the sound, as I did this on day one, but I'm sure its not helping it either.

Thanks - I do use Kontak that I like, so did that (I do have a bottle of Caig Deoxit Gold as well, I tried it once way back and stopped using it as it's 'oily' and affected the sound negatively in my opinion...maybe I'm just using it the wrong way)...burn-in continues and the Oppo sounds really sweet now (I can no longer have it playing in the background and ignore it - I didn't expect CD's to sound this good), my only complaint being the fan noise (it really doesn't matter)...I've upgraded the firmware and set FL/FR as advised...right now I have a Nordost Shiva on the CDP which sounds good...I've even found a few other threads that discusses power cords and such...