Repair or Replace ???

Ok, again. Does the new Oppo 105 Darbee sound as good as a hi-end levinson or Esoteric from say 2008? Please?

Your expectation might be skewed I feel...my sim i5.3 is on the fritz and they don't seem to be in any hurry to help me get fixed...Sorry I don't have any experience to your specific players,but I did replace it with the 105d...

I have had that (sim) player for 7 years and really got comfortable with the house sim sound...as you are w/what ever your player was...

I believe you shouldn't expect it to sound like anything other than an oppo 105d...saying that...it is not as over emphasized on any of the frequency extreems/...neutral fits this player.

There are so many pluses to this player over my sim (detail,strings,ect)...it cant be justified...It does sound decent in my system and that's all that matters...and is upgradable as you are surely aware...A lot of retailers offer 30-60 return?...I hope this helps.

Ptss-

the Oppo is only as good as its price-point (non-modded).
There is no way it could compete w/ a Levinson nor Esoteric
at x3-4 the cost. Ultimately, get one and try it in your system, no harm in that, and eval how it performs.

I will give props to the Oppo because it is a true "universal" machine. It is not expected to get all of those physical formats absolutely "right".

As a purist, I prefer several machines (CD/SACD, DVD/BR) to get my physical media "right". If you are on a budget or simply prefer 1-stop shopping, then the Oppo could be your next spinner. Keep me posted & Happy Listening!

It did take me over 400 hrs of solid burnin to get er right though...fwiw...

I think you have to divide it into two components, the transport and the DAC. I had the 95, and certainly preferred my Simaudio Moon Nova to the Oppo, but it was close. I now have a combination of a 103 and a Audio-gd Master 7 DAC. I still prefer the Nova, but the difference is marginal. I suspect that the narrowing of the gap is that I prefer the 1704 DAC's of the Nova and the Master 7.

You might want to try out the 105. If you don't like it, the resale value is pretty good.