Received a fully burned in Oppo 95 on the 17th of June.  A new paradigm is born.  I have spent the last 6 months fine tuning this mod to give the best sound by far that I have ever heard from digital. This modded machine will re-write what value is.   The digital volume control in the Oppo 95 works in the DAC and is operating at 32 bits....so digital attenuation is transparent.  Great for running the machine directly to your amps!!!

Check out the pic at the bottom of the page to see for yourself how serious tweaking looks. 

Link        to page describing the differences between our mods and others.  



Standard Mods:

Stereo analog out mod
5-13-2013...updated mod: $650 for unbalanced only, $750 for both unbalanced and balanced outs. 

We remove various distortion producing parts in the AC supply, damp parts in the AC supply, and change the main diodes in the switching supply.  We reduce noise by wiring techniques and isolate the linear toroidal transformer from the chassis and mount it on a piece of thick pressboard.  
Damp the transport in various ways and black all around the laser assembly and underneath the transport cover to reduce laser reflections.  We ground the cover of the transport.  ( New for 2013...we damp the transport tray and apply a black inked green thick paper to the tray for seriously better sound.  We also damp some caps with a new damping/shielding material).  
Remove the toslink connector as this is an LED and they mess up the sound.  (please let us know in advance if you do not want us to remove the toslink connector) 
Change the diodes in the analog linear supply and use a special technique to reduce ringing in the transformer when the diodes shut off.  
(New for 2013):   Remove the entire two channel output stage and substitute our own hand wired perf board with a zero feedback J-fet circuit.  The output coupling cap has a WA Qauntum chip on it and so the its .33 modded Wima cap.  The resistors used are state of the art surface mount jobbies(extremely small and hard to work with).  The output voltage is 1Vs RMS on each phase (stock it is 2.1V).  This output stage might not work well in a passive based system or where you are running the amps directly from the Oppo.  If you have a premap then you are fine.  We use a separate discrete low impedance cascoded current source shunt regulator for this output stage. This regulator is made by hand on two separate perf boards and hardwired in.
 

Multichannel mod (better center channel) addition to stereo: All outputs (2 channel and 8 channel) are improved by the above mods. However, only the stereo outs have the super output stage and better parallel DAC. Here is the good part: when playing multichannel you can set the Oppo up to have the front stereo channels be the left and right surround channels.    This way the front channels get the advantage of the parallel DACs, super output stage and my better power supplies. I can additionally modify the center channel using the same output stage as the stereo outs and run this output stage on separate modified Dexa regulators. I don't think you would get much of a sonic improvement to do the surround channels nor the sub channel.  The cost of the center only mod would be $175 .  

Inverted output mod $50   For those that will never use balanced outs and want a set of inverted outputs we can remove the balanced jacks and substitute some RCAs in their position and have them hooked up as inverted outputs.  You could turn down your preamp volume and plug the outputs into the inverted outs whenever you have a disc/source that has inverted phase to get best sound or you can run a set of cables from each set of outputs to your preamp and select the one you want via the selector on the pre.  Here is another way and its free: Use a normal RCA interconnect for a non inverted out and have a second cable that is RCA on the preamp end but has an XLR female jack on the other end but is only terminated into pins 1 (ground) and 3 (inverting pin). This will give you an inverted signal on that cable and you can switch between them on your preamp. If you do not know anything about absolute phase and this seems too out there then just forget I mention it.  For those that know about this and are hardcore absolute phase freaks...this is a must have option.  If you are running balanced outs then you could simply get another set of balanced output cables that have pins 2 and 3 interchanged at one end and switch between the cables (you would have to plug and unplug each time).
 


Advanced modification options:
If you are getting any of the advanced mods you must run the unit with the cover off or with a suitable dust cover as described below. I will not warrantee my work from overheating unless you run the unit with the cover off or with a suitable dust cover. The Oppo sounds mucho better with the cover off. It also runs cooler and the noisey fan comes on less often(see below).

Low jitter clock for the main processor:  We have found a more expensive even lower jitter clock and now use our shunt regulator running off its own dedicated power supply feed for even better analog sound, better digital out sound, HDMI out sound, improved picture.  $200 .

Improved regulation for digital DAC supplies and installation of low jitter clock for both DACs: Change the pre-regulator for the digital supplies to a highly modified Dexa regulator mounted on large heatsink and change the stock 54meg clock for the DACs to a super low jitter 100 meg clock powered by its own separate discrete cascoded current source shunt regulator. Much faster, cleaner and detailed sound. $275

Discrete shunt regulator for stereo DACs analog supply:  The 32 bit ESS DACs need great power supplies to sound their best.  The Analog supply is the most critical.  We remove the entire stock feed and power supply to the DAC and substitute our hand made cascoded current sourced shunt regulator running directly from the raw supply.  Wow! Way more musical and detailed.  But not that in your face detail.....the kind that comes from hearing the instrument without the hardness of the stock supply.  Simply way more involving and you can sit back and just listen and grin!   $150

Modified Dexa regulator for multichannel DAC analog supply:   We cannot fit another shunt regulator near the multichannel DAC but the excellent sounding modified Dexa regulator improves the sound for multichannel outs.   $100

Audio Magic Pulse Gen ZX:  Adding this "thing" makes the sound more pure, spacious and clear.  $400 installed.  Check out the Audio magic website for reviews and info. Improves the video and digital/HDMI out as well.

80 watt split bobbin transformer:  This replaces the 25 watt toroidal transformer that is stock in the 95.  The higher wattage gives lower impedance and control and having a split bobbin core helps reduce high frequency noise.  The sound is both more dynamic and more pure.  You can hear more of the beauty and delicacy of each note.  $100.
 

All out stereo mod :   Basic stereo mod plus both clocks, pre-reg for digital supplies, shunt regulator for DAC, 80 watt power transformer and the Audio Magic Pulse Gen ZX installed.   This is a $100 discount for getting the whole enchalada.  Please enquire for pricing.

All out everything (stereo and multichannel)   includes separate modded Dexa regs on multichannel DAC and modded center channel using modded Dexa regs. Once again, $100 discount.





Digital out/HDMI out/better picture only mod.....available for both the Oppo 93 and the Oppo 95 :
(for those that let their processor/DAC do all the analog sound processing and conversion).  This mod is included in the all out mods above. 

  We remove various distortion producing parts in the AC supply, damp parts in the AC supply, and change the main diodes in the switching supply.  
  Damp the transport in various ways and black all around the laser assembly and underneath the transport cover to reduce laser reflections. We ground the cover of the transport.
  Remove the toslink connector as this is an LED and they mess up the sound. (please let us know if you do not want us to remove the toslink connector).
  Change main clock to a super low jitter clock run off its own low noise shunt regulator.  $350.


Add Audio-Magic Pulse Gen ZX for even better picture and sound.  $400 by itself or $650 total ($100 discount on package) when purchased with the basic digital out mod.


Dust cover:   We can sell you a dust cover that will allow lots of heat ventilation and allow the unit to both run cooler and the noisey fan comes on less often.  Some people would not care if they run the unit with the cover off but others have children and also might not like how the naked unit looks in their setup.  This dust cover degrades the sound slightly (less than the standard cover) but can be quickly removed. When you want to remove it for serious listening you just lift it off.  It is just sitting on the machine but is very stable. You could leave it on for casual and home theater use and lift it off quickly for super serious listening sessions.  Our standard dust cover is a piece of 5/8 inch thick oak Melamine shelving.  It weighs 3.75lbs.  It has a 3/16" dowel glued underneath that fits perfectly in the slot behind the front panel and also 3 small feet in the back that allow it to rest on the back panel.  This dust cover allows heat to flow in and out the sides and back keeping the unit cool.  We can optionally paint the sides of the bottom chassis black for a better look. 

Dust cover pricing:  $25 for the standard oak dust cover and $30 for painting the sides black.  Most people would want the sides painted but maybe you don't care.  If you want to make your own dust cover I can optionally just paint the sides for you.  The dimensions of the cover are 12 inches by 16 and 15/16 inches.  It can be made from any wood and can be as thin as 1/4 inch.  You can also paint/stain the standard dust cover black or whatever if you feel it does not match your decor.  For more money our woodworker can also make you any flavor of dust cover you like.  Call for details.  3 flavors of black $50 Dustcovers are available.  See pics below.  My woodworker is also going to make me a solid Walnut cover with satin clear finish soon (pic to come). 

Pic of an modded Oppo 95 showing the AudioMagic Pulse Gen ZX sticking out of the power supply cover and the power supply/clock board and the current source board (connected via PCOCC red litz wire).


Customer Comments:  mucho more coming

Ric,
It is almost 3 weeks that I have received the Oppo 95 you modded and I am very, very, very (perhaps three times is not enough) pleased with it.  The way it reproduces music is really astonishing.  It's way better than my Sony Bdp-5000 blu ray player and it also tops easily my Sony SCD-XA333 modded by TRL.

I was first struck by the huge soundstage, very lifelike, with incredible deepness, instruments at the back of the orchestra are heard distincly behind the others and with good space around them.  Sound is also detailed without compromising musicality.  It's a real pleasure to savor the richness of the timbre of each instrument.  I have tried the balanced stereo output, the multichannel output (for the left and right front speakers I now use the dedicated stereo output and not the L/R outputs in 7.1 array; I have remarked that the two work in parallel) with CD, SACD, Blu ray disks and high resolution files on a connected hard disk and the results are constantly fantastic!

I thank you for the great job you have done on this player.
Best Regards,
Jann


Ric,
I notice a much better picture on standard DVDs not so much on Blue Rays.  Sound is much better now.
RP.

The above comment was made by a person who got the $350 HDMI out mod on an Oppo 93 .


Ric,
This player is sounding very good indeed. the 24/96 wave files i've been hearing are amazing.  better dynamic contrasts and rock-solid bass foundation are the first things poeple should notice w/the mods. later the mid/treble opens up nicely, in general, there is what some describe as "ease" or "flow", perhaps owing to a cleaner output stage, better sense of timing than what i am used to with other digital players.  i suspect that the Sabre Ref. DAC is killer.
LR.

This person had the stock player and then a modded one.....he heard the difference....he likes!

One half inch thick black Melamine  $50
1/4 inch thick black Melamine $50
3/8 inch thick black gloss laminate.....shows every fingerprint.  $50
sans cover
Standard 5/8 inch thick Oak Melamine  $30
Please check out the folowing link to the Audiogon forum....some good comments and review of the EVS modded 95.

Pic of an all out modded Oppo 95 showing most of the underside of the output board. Hand made shunt regulators, custom 6N copper in cotton, damped parts, modified Wima caps, seriously transparent simple output stages, etc. This is hours and hours of work.