Thinking of the Oppo 105 with Modwright mods

[HedgeHog]

Last update: Things are much better now that I've moved system. I guess system synergy (or lack thereof) was a major part. Too much tubes?

Now that the MW105 is running in a solid state setup, things are swimming. More even and definitely more 3D. I switched between HDMI-pre/pro DAC and the XLR out and definitely prefer the latter. It seems to tame my diamond tweeters a bit too.

Cheers!

[RoyMercer]

Glad to hear it. It was not until you mentioned it did I realize you had your 105 before sending it out for modification. I run my Modwright 105 directly to my Decware Torii MKIII. My modwright BDP-95 and PSA Perfectwave DAC II where my prior sources. The Modwright BDP-105 best them all. The 95 and PS were close but I always found myself listening to the 95.

Did you find the source of your grease? Maybe one disk had something on it that has transfered to your Oppo?

[Mike Gillespie]

Two points:

1) Has any one tried putting Symposium Rollerblocks under their OPPO?

2) Be prepared to take a MAJOR hit (as Dan said earlier) if you want to sell a tube-modded OPPO. I have a modded 95 and friends selling them took over a 60% hit on Agon. (2 of them)

But if you're keeping it, it's a fabulous player and a lot cheaper but maybe not as good as the top-of-the-line Esoteric or EMM.

[HedgeHog]

Originally Posted by RoyMercer

Glad to hear it. It was not until you mentioned it did I realize you had your 105 before sending it out for modification. I run my Modwright 105 directly to my Decware Torii MKIII. My modwright BDP-95 and PSA Perfectwave DAC II where my prior sources. The Modwright BDP-105 best them all. The 95 and PS were close but I always found myself listening to the 95.

Did you find the source of your grease? Maybe one disk had something on it that has transfered to your Oppo?

Thx Roy.

So you use the Oppo as the preamp then? I'm still perplexed why the stock 95 sounded better on my Pathos/EA setup than the MW105. On my Classe/B&W setup, the MW105 sounds really nice...more 3D and liquidity. Maybe the other tweaks (power conditioners, dedicated 240V lines, aftermarket power cords, etc.) have something to do with it. Maybe the output impedance changed enough that one component works better than the other.

I am too lazy to swap between the stock 95 and MW105 on the Classe system (the player is sitting on Nordost Sort Kones which sit precariously on the X-beam of those Solid Tech racks...I don't want to have the player drop). Anyway, I compared the MW105 by listening to XLR out and HDMI out. I kinda recall the difference between the stock 95/105's XLR out versus the HDMI out.

Anyway, now I have two setups that I like so no more complaining.

WRT the oil, it's still a mystery. Dan thinks that his mods may have increased the temp around the casing enough that the lubricant in the drive is starting to seep.

[jhrlrd]

Has anyone tried a separate transport with the modwright 105?

[JJinID]

Originally Posted by jhrlrd

Has anyone tried a separate transport with the modwright 105?

Welcome to AA! What type of transport do you have in mind? I am using my Squeezebox Touch to stream digital files and utilizing the coaxial digital input in my MW 105 with great success!

[jhrlrd]

No particular transport in mind, and what I've heard so far is the 105 is doing a great job already, but, trying to identify the weakest link, I thought perhaps an outboard transport of high quality might add another level of resolution. Might give interesting voicing results similar to rolling tubes.

[Mossback]

Reading this with interest thanks to all for sharing.
I will have a Modwright 105 about Christmas? Its a leap of faith never heard one. The reason I ordered from Dan is because I have been very happy with an early MW Sony SACD 777ES the past seven or eight years.

[Jeffy]

Originally Posted by Mike Gillespie

Two points:

1) Has any one tried putting Symposium Rollerblocks under their OPPO?

2) Be prepared to take a MAJOR hit (as Dan said earlier) if you want to sell a tube-modded OPPO. I have a modded 95 and friends selling them took over a 60% hit on Agon. (2 of them)

But if you're keeping it, it's a fabulous player and a lot cheaper but maybe not as good as the top-of-the-line Esoteric or EMM.

Why wouldn't the Modright beat the EMM or Esoteric. I had the 18,000.00 Playback Designs CD player and the Modright 105 killed it.

[Mossback]

Originally Posted by Mike Gillespie

Two points:

1) Has any one tried putting Symposium Rollerblocks under their OPPO?

.

I use Symposium Rollerbolcks under my ModWright Sony SACD777ES with a Symposium svelt the effect is highly positive. I also tried it with our Oppo 85 for a short time it was not as effective as with the better player. It would be my guess the Rollerblocks would be worthwhile. I'll report back when I get my ModWright 105