I own an Oppo 83 which was modd'd by The Upgrade Company several yrs ago. I am no techie. I do not know what they do. I bought it on a recommendation without A/B'ing a standard Oppo 83...and i liked it. As for Oppo 95, all i know is comparing the TUC 83 and the Oppo 95 is like comparing my a low-end Esoteric or ARC transport to my old DVD player. In fact, the gulf between the VRDS5 transport in the $40K Audio Aero La Source to the TUC Oppo 83 is far smaller than the gulf between the TUC Oppo 83 and the regular Oppo 95.
Or 1. all these 'pro' reviewers were wrong, or 2. you are right.
It's possible that the new 95 was defective. There is no reason that the 83 should outperform it at the level you report.
Nothing I have read about The Upgrade Co's mods (I haven't heard any myself) suggests that they are dramatically better than Modwright or other reputable modifiers (if even as good)
I'm not surprised at all that the TUC Oppo 83 sounded better on SPDIF than the stock 95. I've owned lots of modified equipment, players and processors, where the mods have improved the digital outputs. This includes:I too have heard great things about Modwright and equally seen the controversy surrounding TUC. What i can say is that some of the controversy probably is at least as much about the cost for a TUC as anything else. The basics espoused by TUC, shielding, damping, improving connections, all seem like fine concepts. And the 83 digital out is superior to my ears than the stock 95 and not by a close margin.
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There's a lot going on in modern players and processors - perhaps TOO much - and all seems to have a detrimental effect on the sound quality of even the digital audio side of the equipment. That's the foundation of a lot of audio, and the analogue side is never going to sound right if the digital audio isn't right first.
Nick
It's surprising (and gratifying) how much difference that one setting change (Color Space "Auto" to "4:4:4") made!
Peace on to all.
Yes, thanks for asking. In my system, it is the best digital source I have ever heard, and I am back to the fun of tube rolling.Hi Jim,
Have you received your modded 105 yet? Any more details/reviews?
Thx.
-Hedwig
I own a 93 & 95, and most folks say the 103 & 105 have similar respective sounds. I spent a lot of time comparing them before I modded my 93,and became very familiar with them. IMO the 95 is hugely better than the 93 - better at everything. I do prefer using the 93 as a digital source, but not as an analogue source - that's why they created the 95. I'd expect the 103 & 105 to rank the same.I just saw this forum. For those who have compared the sound of the 103 vs 105, How much % difference improvement do you get with the 105? is it subtle or is there a big difference that you can hear on each track?
Impossible to quantify but, if you are using the analog outs, it is significant. Via digital outs, not.I just saw this forum. For those who have compared the sound of the 103 vs 105, How much % difference improvement do you get with the 105? is it subtle or is there a big difference that you can hear on each track?
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