ModWright Oppo BDP-105

TubeBias said:
OK i got this bad boy up and running last night and here are a few thoughts.
I listened to David Gilmour Live in Gdansk Disc 2 since i have listened to it dozens and dozens of times.
The first thing i noticed was the pitch black background.As if the equipment wasn't even powered up.
Incredible detail jumps out at you as well.Obviously it needs to burn in but when you listen to a new piece,part,tweak etc and you are hearing things you NEVER heard before from the disc you know you have positive results.I was hearing a few details and nuances of the songs i didn't realize were there.Vocals were amazing and i could hear the strain of Gilmour's voice during a few notes i had never heard before.
The soundstage was a hair wider but the depth was much more noticeable.I expect it will open up wider with time.
Bass was much more pronounced and a hair tighter but needs time.
High end was silky smooth on some details that i now realize had a hint of harshness to them.I also did a quick A/B with live Allmans cut of Trouble No More and The High Cost of Low Living from 2011 this morning that has Derek Trucks tearing up the slide guitar.What i knew could be a few "piercing" notes were now smooth and silky.
Vocals were very defined and natural so any improvements on that is a bonus.
I'd say the mids need the most work which is no surprise but during Echoes when Gilmour and Wright go back and forth between guitar and keys was special.Again hearing little things never heard in the past.
Tonight a few SACD A/B's i think will be on the menu.As of now i have 19 hours of run time.Not much listening though.
For those wondering i am running a Joule Electra L150MKII pre and Rogue Audio Zeus amp.MIT S3.3 shotgun IC's and speaker cables all around and either Polk 3.1TL's or 2.3TL's.Both with crossover upgrades.
More later....
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Nice, sounds like thats going to upgrade the whole system with some break in.
So does that mean the M1 is up for sale?

Have I told you how "buff" you have been looking lately Mike?:D
Been working out?
Shoot me a price on the M1 first?:flowers::lovesme:
 
JJinID said:
I just noticed your questions ajayrav. My modified SB Touch is decent in terms of analog out - think of close to a $1k CD player. The upgraded power supply I have from Bolder makes a BIG difference in terms of the analog output as well, especially in terms of scale, weight, and dynamics. Not as detailed as the stock Oppo, but very close and very musical and enjoyable. However, the digital out from the Touch into the modified 105 really is night and day. The speakers literally disappear, and the placing of instruments and singers in the soundstage is much more precise with greater depth. Much more detail even over the stock Oppo, more dynamic, and better at both ends of the frequency range.

It really is a shame that the SB Touch is no longer being manufactured, and also that Bolder Cables is no longer running strong from a business standpoint. I feel very, very fortunate to have been a customer of Wayne and to have had him work on my SB3 and SB Touch. I couldn't be happier with my digital source components in my system right now! :happy:
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Thanks for that. I'm very excited about getting my modded 105. And yes, Wayne's mods are awesome. I have his digital mod on my Touch and also have one of his supplies with the Nitro umbilical (not the deluxe one, unfortunately). My Bolder modded MiniMax DAC is really very good, with amazing depth and imaging. I'm hoping the Modwright will surpass that. A little over a week and my Modwright Oppo will be in my grubby hands! And it will be broken in already... Life will be good! More later....
 
Oppo 105 Mod Testiomonial - Arnie Nudell!

Courtesy of Dan Wright - originally posted at his Audio Circle subforum:

In all of my years in audio I have and never written about any of the myriad of products that I have used. As one can imagine, I have used more products than almost any individual will see or use in his or her lifetime. As is well known, over the years I have very much favored Audio Research products and used many of them over the years. For the first time, I am compelled to write about a product that is so extraordinary it has completely allowed me in a wonderful way, to enjoy music as never before. I've always prided myself, and lucky enough, to have experienced some of the greatest and most expensive audio products ever made. Some of my own products luckily have fell into that category.

The product that I am writing about, and obviously extraordinarily crazy about is the Oppo 95/105 with the complete Modwrights vacuum tube modifications. The Oppo without the modifications is a wonderful device on its own and given class A designations in the midst of many other far more expensive players. Many people I know use the Oppo as it comes from the factory in their systems and are delighted with the results. Before sending the Oppo 95 to Modwright, I spent several weeks breaking in the device and listening carefully. I found the device to be very musical with great articulation, excellent imaging and very satisfying. Having had several Modwright player modifications in the past, I knew what a great difference they would make.

After receiving the modified Oppo with all of the important Modwright magic including the double 6sn7 vacuum tube modifications of the analog section, and also, the complete three vacuum tube power supply, I had one more thing to do which was taking Dan Wrights suggestion of using the Sophia 6sn7s and a new old stock Mullard rectifier. I then took my first listen to this device and this is where all my words will not be sufficient to really properly describe the sound that issued forth.

All of us have heard the descriptive words like resolution, articulation, huge sound field, and slam. None of these appellations can adequately describe the sound of this device. One of the ways that I would choose to describe this device over all the other DACs, players, and transports that I have heard, would be that the Modwright Oppo is the only one that really lets the emotion of the music and the players of the music really be heard in a way that is closer to the live experience than I have ever heard before. Sure, the Modwright has all of the above descriptors in spades. It has the most enveloping sound field that I've ever heard and all of the articulation and resolution that one could ask for without making the music edgy. I've heard many DACs and players that have great articulation and resolution but they seem to get it with a little more edginess in their presentation than real music ever has.

In my opinion, the best recordings of classical music has been made over the years by Reference Recordings. Now with this device,at 24/176.4 I can play their sensational H R X recordings and hear them exhibit music closer to the real thing than I have ever heard before. Also, hearing my best SACD recordings also takes the emotional quality of music to a new level.

My final remarks are very simple. If you want to hear music in all its glory I would implore you to rush out and get this Modwright Oppo,you will never be sorry.
Arnie Nudell
 
Wow, that is high praise indeed! All I can say is I've received my modded 105 and I am very impressed so far. And that is with the stock tubes.... Itching to try the Sophias....
 
Just a little bit more to add....

To me the difference between the modded and the unmodded BDP-105 is huge. I'll admit it, I was less than wowed by the stock BDP-105. Sure, it was a great blu ray player and good SACD spinner, but for regular 44.1 FLAC files, my Analog Research Technology modified squeezebox Duet feeding my Bolder modded Eastern Electric Minimax DAC trounced the Oppo... decisively! FLAC files fed to the coaxial input were 2 dimensional, at best. In contrast, when fed through the EE DAC, the soundstage widened and had significantly more depth. I'd heard all the rave reviews for the Modwright mods, but had major issues paying 2X the cost of the player on a mod. Yes, every one who got one, seemed to rave about it... and the Modwright Oppos were being used as demo sources by a number of companies at audio shows. So I decided to take the plunge...
As of now, I've only listened to standard rez FLAC files via my Bolder modded Squeezebox Touch and ART modded squeezebox duet. They are both spectacular and significantly better my modded EE DAC. The sound is balanced, individual instruments are discernable, but yet a part of the whole without over-emphasis on any part of the spectrum. The soundstage is more 3D, even more than the EE DAC, which is not at all shabby in this regard. The background is inky black and the air between the instruments and notes is clearly evident. And we haven't even touched upon hi-rez yet.


At this point, I guess the word 'Wow' about sums it up. Is the mod worth its not-insubstantial cost, in my opinion? Personally, I think it is chump change for the performance it provides. I'm certainly a convert!


More after I spin hi rez. For those who are wondering, my amp is a Primaluna dialogue One with winged SED EL34's, speakers are ACI Sapphire XLs, speaker wires are Reality cables, power cables are Shunyata Venom and ICs and coaxial cables are WyWires.


I'm now salivating at the prospect of tube-rolling in the Modwright Oppo..... and that is how a monster is created :-)
 
ajayrav said:
Wow, that is high praise indeed! All I can say is I've received my modded 105 and I am very impressed so far. And that is with the stock tubes.... Itching to try the Sophias....
Click to expand...

ajayrav said:
Just a little bit more to add....

To me the difference between the modded and the unmodded BDP-105 is huge. I'll admit it, I was less than wowed by the stock BDP-105. Sure, it was a great blu ray player and good SACD spinner, but for regular 44.1 FLAC files, my Analog Research Technology modified squeezebox Duet feeding my Bolder modded Eastern Electric Minimax DAC trounced the Oppo... decisively! FLAC files fed to the coaxial input were 2 dimensional, at best. In contrast, when fed through the EE DAC, the soundstage widened and had significantly more depth. I'd heard all the rave reviews for the Modwright mods, but had major issues paying 2X the cost of the player on a mod. Yes, every one who got one, seemed to rave about it... and the Modwright Oppos were being used as demo sources by a number of companies at audio shows. So I decided to take the plunge...
As of now, I've only listened to standard rez FLAC files via my Bolder modded Squeezebox Touch and ART modded squeezebox duet. They are both spectacular and significantly better my modded EE DAC. The sound is balanced, individual instruments are discernable, but yet a part of the whole without over-emphasis on any part of the spectrum. The soundstage is more 3D, even more than the EE DAC, which is not at all shabby in this regard. The background is inky black and the air between the instruments and notes is clearly evident. And we haven't even touched upon hi-rez yet.


At this point, I guess the word 'Wow' about sums it up. Is the mod worth its not-insubstantial cost, in my opinion? Personally, I think it is chump change for the performance it provides. I'm certainly a convert!


More after I spin hi rez. For those who are wondering, my amp is a Primaluna dialogue One with winged SED EL34's, speakers are ACI Sapphire XLs, speaker wires are Reality cables, power cables are Shunyata Venom and ICs and coaxial cables are WyWires.


I'm now salivating at the prospect of tube-rolling in the Modwright Oppo..... and that is how a monster is created :-)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the updates Ajay! Yet another convert - I love it!! ;)

I believe you are going to be even more impressed once you get the Sophia 6SN7s swapped in! I had the comparison experience between the two with my MW 95, so I knew what to expect, and I was going to break in my 105 with the stock tubes. However, I couldn't stand it for long and had to try out the 105 with the upgraded tubes. Let's just say that the stock tubes have stayed in their boxes since then...
 
Just wondering how much clearance I need if I want to use the Sophia Electric 6SN7 tubes. I have about 3.75 inches above the unit for the tubes and am wondering if that would be enough. Ideally, I would like the tubes to jut out no more than 3 inches from the top surface. Also would changing these have the largest impact on sound? What about the rectifier tube in the power supply? What improvements would replacing those with Mullards bring?

Thanks,
Ajay
 
Here's a vote for Sophia 6sn7 tubes in ModWright design. They work wonders in my ModWright Sony xa5400es
 
ajayrav said:
Just wondering how much clearance I need if I want to use the Sophia Electric 6SN7 tubes. I have about 3.75 inches above the unit for the tubes and am wondering if that would be enough. Ideally, I would like the tubes to jut out no more than 3 inches from the top surface. Also would changing these have the largest impact on sound? What about the rectifier tube in the power supply? What improvements would replacing those with Mullards bring?

Thanks,
Ajay
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The Sophias stick up just a hair under 2.75 inches from the base of the top of the unit, so you should have just about 1" of clearance.

My opinion is that replacing the stock 6SN7s makes the bigger difference than the rectifier did from what I was able to notice. The NOS Mullard adds some depth, texture, and body to the sound, and does make a definite improvement. I noticed that the Sophias added increased clarity, resolution, extension, and balance to the sound with better dynamics and soundstage. A definite improvement that those still running the stock tubes will notice immediately!
 
Dpod4 said:
Here's a vote for Sophia 6sn7 tubes in ModWright design. They work wonders in my ModWright Sony xa5400es
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I have no doubt that are as equally tremendous in the Sony, Darrin! I am wondering if Joe has gotten around to replacing the stock tubes in his ModWright 5400ES...
 
Right on and i replaced the rectifier in the power supply with Create tube, and upgraded fuses. 5400 is close to vinyl now.
 
Dpod4 said:
Right on and i replaced the rectifier in the power supply with Create tube, and upgraded fuses. 5400 is close to vinyl now.
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Do you have a source/seller for the Create rectifier tube? I tried locating one earlier and could not find a seller with them in stock. I'd love to try one out based on your recommendation!
 
Yes there is a seller on audiogon - u can due a search for "create" - if that doesn't work let me know and I will hunt thru my records. Also eBay has them straight from Asia even cheaper
 
Thanks JJinID. My Sophias are on order from Galen Carrol :-) Where dd you get your nos Mullard rectifier from and how expensive were they? I guess I might as well go for the whole hog...

Dang! Upgradeitis never ends....

On another note, the newest Modwright ad in The absolute Sound shows the 105 with Treasure Cv181 tubes...
 
ajayrav said:
Thanks JJinID. My Sophias are on order from Galen Carrol :-) Where dd you get your nos Mullard rectifier from and how expensive were they? I guess I might as well go for the whole hog...

Dang! Upgradeitis never ends....

On another note, the newest Modwright ad in The absolute Sound shows the 105 with Treasure Cv181 tubes...
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Hi Ajay,

I had Dan Wright find my NOS Mullard 5AR4 for me when I did my order. I'm pretty sure he found them on eBay. I've never had tubes in my system prior to my ModWright gear, so I asked for and gladly received Dan's recommendations and assistance with the upgraded tubes!

I am aware of the Black Treasure/Psvane CV181s and I will likely try them out at some point, but Dan recommended the Sophias and I'm very pleased with them. My MW 105 sounds phenomenal and I have a hard time breaking away from listening to my system now that it has fully broken in! :audiophile:
 
Dpod4 said:
Yes there is a seller on audiogon - u can due a search for "create" - if that doesn't work let me know and I will hunt thru my records. Also eBay has them straight from Asia even cheaper
Click to expand...

Darrin - I wasn't able to find anything currently on audiogon with the Create rectifier being available. Let me know if you are aware of another source - PM me on this if you would like. Thanks!
 
JJinID said:
Darrin - I wasn't able to find anything currently on audiogon with the Create rectifier being available. Let me know if you are aware of another source - PM me on this if you would like. Thanks!
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Hi. Audiogon username "Fork" ....JaguarAudioDesign.com
 
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