I searched and found this thread. I do appreciate the feedback on this subject, as it really helps. It's time to send my BDP-105 to EVS for the upgrade! I was set to go with the Modwright conversion, but it appears from actual owners of the EVS modded unit, it provides more for the money spent. The other factor is I already have a tube preamp, and feel the Modwright unit would be redundant at this stage. |
I have a Ric Schultz modded Oppo BDP-95 that I've been running for 2-3 years (can't remember exactly) with the Stereo Mods (1v output) and the result is just stunning. Every time I listen to music I just can't help but grin.
I can't tell you how many times I've been in listening rooms with systems with $5-10k cd players and where the speaker cables cost more than my Oppo, and just had to shake my head and say I'll just have to go home to my system so my ears can get right again.
Ric's mods are worth every penny. I'm beyond satisfied! Don't cheat yourself, spend the $700-800 clams for the stereo mod at least. Guaranteed you'll be happy you did.
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I have never purchased a product from EVS. But Ric is very open with his mods and explains them on his website. I copied 2 of his ideas and they worked very well.
One was using the Audiomagic Pulse Gen field generator in the Oppo player. This improved everything. Bizarrely it even made the color richer on my TV via HDMI.
The other idea was to remove the optical output connector from the mainboard in the oppo. This is a must have mod to implement. He says it introduced noise into the system due to the optical light, and he is right. Best time to do it is when the board is out getting a clock upgrade.
Ric knows his stuff. Ric Schultz and the other Rick Schultz! both of them out of the box thinkers and tinkerers. |
I am another very satisfied EVS customer.
I had my Oppo BDP 105D for over a year, and, although it sounded very good out of the box when fully broken in, I was looking for improvements, as we in this hobby just do. The stock unit can be a little brash during complicated transitions and generally a little too forward, but still one great unit for $1300! I researched the various companies modding the Oppo 105 and what mods each modder was specifically performing, and costs for best bang for the buck.
I went with Ric Schultz at EVS. His basic mod, a $775.00 upgrade to the stereo output board and transport is what I felt would do the trick, at least for now.
Turn around time was quick. My Oppo was back at home in its position in less than 2 weeks.
Upon playing my go-to music, it was immediately apparent that the bass was much fuller, defined and extended. Not louder, just more present. All other frequencies are more defined, cleaner and just plain easier to listen
to than the stock unit was. One thing to note with this mod, your output voltage will go from 2.2 volts to 1 volt, so you will have less output and need to turn it up a little bit more (15%-20%) than before. But when you get there, it will sound so much better than before the mod.
Ric offers other mods, specifically a linear power supply upgrade, which I will likely have him do when the time comes. |
Hi.
Look on Rick's website for his explaination of the differences between his mods and other modders:
http://www.tweakaudio.com/EVS-2/Oppo_95_mod_comparisons.html
Michael |
Thanks Bob. That's actually what impresses me about the two guys I mentioned, but I'm not discounting what Ric does. |
yes I am. The thing with Ric is he's always trying new really different things. He never just stops n says good enough! So that to me is what made me go with Ric.
Bob |
Rjbwb - I don't doubt what you are hearing with your modded Oppo 95. I am puzzled with why you say Ric does a lot more than other modders, though. Are you aware of what Dan Wright or John Tucker are doing? |
Would someone with the EVS mods comment on the wooden covers and whether the fan still comes on.
I have temporarily removed the stock cover and the fan does not come on now. |
I had my Oppo 95 modded by Ric Schultz of EVS and was the first person to get the Audiomagic pulse Gen ZX and the new clock and power supply for the main clock (the very latest goodies). Before I sent it to him I burned in the unit for about 500 hours, listening every 100 hours or so. Out of the box it sounded kind of closed in, not much bass, just so so. At 500 hours it sounded really good
everything opened up, nice bass and soundstage. But the EVS modded player
this is something else!!.....a whole different machine. This is the best sound I have ever heard in my setup. CDs sound fantastic now
.pretty darn close to SACD. And I compared SACDs to my vinyl and I gotta tell you
.it is pretty dang close! I love my vinyl, but this is the 1st time I can actually say
.I could live with just this machine
it is that good. This machine is just so much fun to listen to now
..goose bumps all over the place
..very accurate, very detailed but not analytical at all
.very real. I also checked out the video before and after and the picture is better as well
..not just a little either
..regular dvds improved the most but even blue rays look nicer too!.....talk about surround sound! Just unbelievable!
I have had several long talks with Ric and its obvious he knows what he is doing. He has been doing this stuff for over 37 years. Please read the info on his website and see the pictures and see what he does
.he does a lot more than the other modders
..plus he is a lot cheaper
.that is why I went with Ric......but the proof was in the pudding
and he delivered. Sorry about the rant but this thing is just through the roof great! |
02-21-12: Goatwuss writes: Looks like Modwright goes a bit more heavy duty into the analog mods (ie. adding tubes and a new power supply), whereas EVS can do some digital stuff too. (ie. clock) Actually, Ric's background is in analogue amplifiers. The analogue stage he implements on the full modification is where the magic happens. It's not done with valves, but neither is Allen Wright's board for the 5400. Allen would have put valves in there if he thought that was optimum. After all - he was VSE. Regards, |
I, too, have a modded Oppo 95 from Ric at EVS. Mine is not the full $1200 mod (its the cheaper mod for around $500), but like those above I had a whole 'nother player when I got it back. Previous to the mod, I had it burned in for about 300 hours and had played it enough to get a sense of the basic sound. The EVS mod delivered copious musical detail, better dynamics, and great, wide soundstaging. I previously had a Modwright modified Sony EX-5400 ES and this modded Oppo kills that player in terms of additional musical information,i.e. the usual audiophile checklist (to be fair, how much of that is due to the mod and how much to the basic player I can't say). I will be sending my Oppo back to Ric for the full mod.
I would also second the above comments about the quality and value that EVS provides--its second to none in my experience. |
I have since 4 weeks an Oppo 95 modded (stereo and multichannel) by Ric and I am very pleased with it. I was struck from the beginning by the huge soundstage , very lifelike, with incredible deepness that it offers. Sound is also very detailed and dynamic without compromising musicality. Its a real pleasure to savor the richness of the timbre of each instrument.
I haven't heard the player in its original state. I am living in Switzerland, so it was nonsense to send it several times through the ocean. I bought the player somewhere in the States where they sent it to Ric.
The only direct comparison I can make is with my Sony scd-xa333 (little brother of the 777, only available in Europa) modded by TRL which I always found very good, and I can only note the enormous gain in music reproduction that the Oppo offer.
Since I have the Oppo I am listening not only to SACD like before, but also to normal CD with some real pleasure and to downloaded music files in high resolution which is new for me, but very interesting. |
EVS vs Modwright? Who makes the better player?
Looks like Modwright goes a bit more heavy duty into the analog mods (ie. adding tubes and a new power supply), whereas EVS can do some digital stuff too. (ie. clock)
I'm planning on mostly running from the HDMI out into my Anthem D2, so maybe the EVS clock upgrade would be the way to go for me? |
I'm never surprised at just how surprised people are when they have something modded by Ric. I've come to think he's simply the best modder out there, bar none...and to top it all off, he's also the lowest priced...! How ya gonna beat that?? |
Dclever,
Did you consider other modders? And could you tell us what other modded players you have had?
Thanks |
Hmm! interesting! I've had my 95 since March of 2011( first batch) and the method of burn in I used was 24/7 of actual play time not idle, I gave the unit 30 min of rest between the playing of a Dts test disc with various tones. I did this with great attention to the evaluation of the player as it settled. It stopped improving at around 600hrs ( it developed a since of air)it just might be a good idea to judge the player after idle time and actual playtime! |
In my experience with several 95s most of the burn in occurs as the unit is just "on". If you have the unit on for 500 hours (20 straight days) the thing is about 80% burned in. Some additional improvement comes with playing and with extra hours, but not that much. There are no coupling caps in the stock or EVS modded Oppo that need burning in. Coupling caps, especially Teflon films require tons of hours of playing for them to burn in. None in the Oppo. So, just leave the unit on all the time and you are assured of pretty fast burn in. If you turn the unit off after you play each time then it could take forever for it to burn in. There is no reason to turn it off, unless you are a super energy conservation person (power consumption around 50 watts max when playing a Blue Ray....much less when idleing). |
My stock 95 needed upwards of 500 hrs to burn-in, at around 125hrs it did fill out across the frequency spectrum with nice bass, beyond 125hrs I became amazed at the transformation the sound took on. Only mod's for me on this one may be upgraded fuses, as I already have good Ic's and aftermarket Pc. I may buy a second one to mod one day but as is, its hard to improve upon! Thanks for the great post! |
