Oppo BDP105 mod

I would say that it IS the business practice that is the real issue we should take exception to. And THAT is reason enough to jack-slap ANY audio manufacturer for using it. To me it makes no real difference if the product is any good or not. It is far too much of a slippery slope toward opening the door to any future sham, either by Dave or the next clown who can see that what Dave is doing can work for them.

In full agreement that Mod Wright and Ric Schultz are more than legit and provide excellent mods.

Ivan, you are absolutely right, it is the real issue and would make me question the overall value. To be a bit more specific in my dealings with the referenced Nameless Modder, there was a REAL issue. I had a tube based DAC and was exploring modifications to it. When I called up this company to find out what was offered, I pretty much got stonewalled as to what he was going to do. When I suggested that it would be easy enough for me to find out what he did by opening up the lid and seeing first hand I was told that the generous 5 year warranty would become void, he places a seal on the edge that when breeched nulls the warranty. I then asked what happens if I need or desire to change out a tube? Well, the conversation didn't end well and he seemed to get a bit irritated by my incessant questions. I picked up on that, thanked him and hung up. I don't feel that a customer should have to go through this excercise prior to laying down money to have work performed. My conclusion was that the modification probably consisted of little more than changing out a few capacitors and maybe a bit of damping of the chassis with some "proprietary" material. Regardless of what it is, I want to know what is being done.

Prior to purchasing the used 95 Oppo but inquiring about the Oppo 105 I called Dan Wright who was most gracious and took the time to explain to me what his modifications entailed. He also provided info about the Bybee rail and Audio Magic upgrades and the results with his unit. No hocus pocus, just facts, his goals and priorities and listening impressions. I never did hear back from him concerning locating an end user close to me so I just went ahead with a used 95 that had the Bybee rail and Audio magic upgrades at a price reasonable enough that if it didn't work out to my satisfaction or expectation I would be able to resell at little loss.

Go with one that has a money back guarantee. This way you get to listen to the unit and if you don't like it just send it back.

Hello
Tubegroover it sounds like you like tubes. Thats great, but I have the others modders mods and am very happy with them. Some of his modd stuff got very high marks in the audio mags.

Yeah Pete I like tubes but most important, whatever works best in a given system. I'm sure Rick Shultz's mod sounds wonderful as well. The real trick is getting components that work together as a musical whole. I have often discovered in this hobby that things don't always work out the way you might expect. Unfortunately we don't often have the opportunity to hear first in our own system. Interestingly enough concerning the Modwright, I took it over to two other audio buddies to see how it might work out in their systems, I was quite curious. While in both cases it was somewhat of an improvement but in neither was it nearly as revelatory as in my set-up. Both their systems lean towards a warmer presentation with considerably less resolution than mine. I couldn't hear nearly as much improved resolution in their systems, just a general overall smoother sound. One guy was using a stock Oppo 105, the other a W4S. I would venture that Rick Shultz's or maybe Dan Wright's SS mod might be a better fit for them. For me I can't even imagine how much more I would have to spend to get this level of performance, it brought the music to life in a most unexpected way. You never know until you listen first hand.