Nice trick is to use the Pure Audio mode as this defeats the video outs and viola 85% less fan in my experience, But I never hear it anyway unless right on top of it changing a disc! |
Sure! and with detailed notes, out of the box the 95 is listenable but restrictive, It takes 50-60 hrs to lose the restrictive out the box sound and hints at its spacious nature, many have described this to be a warm sound but this is a premature evaluation.
100-135 hrs bass shows up and your favorite tracks have all the previous goodies but with new and more revealing details and a better since palitability. The next milestone will occur around 300-400 hrs as the overall sound for me became very addictive, this is where the 95 became neutral in my setup not the cool or the warm side but had the ability to resolve complex passages previously unheard regardless of the sources. Having heard different types of dacs I've always wanted some from this one and some from that to get the sound I was after the Ess sabre is clearly the king of dacs at the moment and for good reason. Now comes the 500-700 mark and the 95 gains the elusive "Air" this I must admit I never heard before but its pure magic tonally rich highly detailed with extended powerful bass. The method I used for burn in 12hrs of playtime using sweeps and test tones and music with 30 mins shut off and then back on. I was trying to get as many hours as possible befor the 30 day trail ended. , At 400hrs this thing was not going back. March 12th marked 1 year with 95 and I'm still elated with the way its restored my passion for this hobby.
Hope this helps! post your findings!
Regards Jeff |
It sure will compete with the upper end, in fact it is the upper end!dedicated or not. |
I went a couple of rounds with vibration control I tried BD #3 cones with and without there new carbon fiber disc and also Herbies tender feet, in the end I found better results with the stock feet and an upgraded VTI rack asymmetrically filled with 75% stainless steel bb's and 30% sand. I used some of Herbies grunge buster dots between the rack and shelves.I do have a question though are you using xlr or rca's? My first round with the 95 was with the rca's and could have lived with them not knowing any the better. I went balanced outs 3 months ago and it took about another 400 hrs to settle back in and to be honest at first I felt the overall balance was thin in comparison to the wonderful sounding rca's. To be sure there would be a difference in sound quality after adjusting the gain and such, I used the same cables both where AQ Columbia's rca and xlr. Now for awhile there the xlr's where about to go back but cooler heads prevailed and as I type this the beautiful brass from Bruckner's 9th Paavo Jarvi sacd via xlr was well worth the wait and I now use xlr exclusively for 2 channel playback. But back to the myrtle wood blocks I may have to check it out and try again.
Thanks for the tip! |
You've pretty much answered your own question,The least path of resistance, compression and as you say environmental stress all play a role and I'm sure many more factors we probably haven't dawned on just yet, but adaption to this is key for all life and what we call inanimate objects.It maybe a moment of brief sustained stability but in the end it will transition to what we call failure, ahh! but for a moment we have stability a prime of life and then a slow demise.One need only to look at one's own life!
This is all subjective of course but can still be measured! |
I personal have not directly compared the 95 to any Hi end players save the units I had over the years Sony's, Phillips, Denon 5900 and Pioneer and many others ,but many have done direct comparisons against universal and stand alone units. I have demoed many highend players over the years from Esoteric and the like but that never transitions well when you get it home. My opinions on the unit are based on what I hear from my system and not some one elses ( which is finally the best Iv'e heard in 25 yrs at this) and are not biased in anyway. I took a gamble on the 95 and came away in "shock and awe" for what I had in my possession. only thing I had on hand was a knowledge base of what bad, good and great sound is regardless of price. I posted in another forum a year ago (as obtained one first batches of 95's)It was a "Giant killer" and I still look across the room and can't believe what this unassuming black box is capable of producing. Now that the reviews are in and comparisons have been made I'm not crazy as I thought I was! Do your research don't take my word for it! In the end It doesn't mean much at all. In a game of who will blink first I wouldn't bet against the 95! |
And there you have your answer! you automatically assume a speaker breaks in because you see the drivers moving,I'm almost certain the atoms compressed together at the subatomic level are not just sitting still(but can you see them) we humans trust our eyes first. I'm sorry no one can show you (just yet) why break in occurs I do know nothing in this Universe isn't excluded from the rules, atoms compressed together in any form or state they are in, has a lot of activity going on capacitors, chips solder joints etc.. are all subjected to the laws of physics and will fail.But can and will reach a point of what I call stability and will repeat the desired result for a while( maybe years) until one day no more. Not here to be a professor, just sharing info! |
Nice gear!, I use the 2 channel balanced and the 5.1 rca ( using the rca stereo outs with the player set with the FL/FR option) outputs to an Anthem avm20v2 in the analog direct mode for both. I still find the rca's seductive until you hear the xlr's you think it gets no better, the overall difference is the xlr offers a more blacker carved out presentation and a longer decay. At times during the comparison of the two, the rca's seemed more together and harmonically richer (tube or analog like) and why I fell in love with it in the first place but that's until the xlr's reach there full potential. Nothing I would worry about now though and look at it as just something to get around to latter. Now running the Oppo 95 direct to my Halo A21 via rca or xlr is high on my to do list, especially since the recent firmware update includes smaller volume steps! I now have no excuse to try what many say is the uncut version of the 95! |
Aftermarket powercord is ground zero, it all starts at the wall in my book. My initial run with 95 was with a Ps audio AC3 (12awg) I had fantastic results with this low cost entry level cable and I cant recommend it enough! with that being said I did try the AC5 (10awg) but it ended up sounding better with preamp. I recently put an AC10 (10awg) on the 95 and oh boy! its been about two weeks and it definitely takes it up a level or two. treat it like a $5000 + unit and it responds like one. |
Something I forgot you guys may find important! upon removing the plastic caps from the rca connectors on the 95 there is more than a small amount of residue left over. I used Caig pro gold and polished them to a shine, you wont believe the difference in how dull they where, I'm not sure if this contributes to the sound, as I did this on day one, but I'm sure its not helping it either. |
Yeah the Caig can be oily, I use a separate cloth( some use alcohol) to remove any excess I find that after a week or two the sound character of the Caig wears off and all cables settle back in! |
"I stand by my comment. It will not compete with the upper eschelon players"
Keep standing and I can keep listening, the 95 has earned its place as a giant killer in "mild mannered stock form" I could only imagine what a fully modded one would do. Price is just what it is, price it has no correlation to performance. But of course your dollars are yours to spend however you wish, its good to know that sometimes and I do mean sometimes you can get so much for so little! |
Jdub, I am not commenting from complete ignorance --- I have an Oppo95 in my system. I have also had many higher end players in my system including Ayre, Gamut, dCS, and models from Esoteric including my current K01. The Oppo is outstanding value but I think it is misleading to say it can take on the really high end players. However I would highly recommend it to anyone in and above its price point.
Mike60
There is noway I cant respect that company of components,but my ears tell me it wouldn't be entirely misleading to think it can't walk the same halls as some you mentioned. I'm not saying its the best out there, not by a long shot!The thing just loves its job!and does it with passion! |
When you guys say stomp in what terms do you mean?
Is it more resolution and top octave air?
Deeper and better shades of bass, realistic tympani strikes, fast double bass and plucks from bass guitars and uprights?
Tonally rich mids with increased harmonics that give way to better byte to brass strings and such?
Lower noise floor?
Increased dynamics?
I only ask as I find the stock player capable of highly resolving characteristics and dead neutral. Also if attention is paid to cabling and such mods may not be necessary, if desired results are obtained having said that I'm curious about the mods and may have a second 95 done or wait to see what Oppo does to top the 95. |
I wouldn't consider good cables band-aids, I believe it all starts at the outside box and have heard tremendous increase in fidelity by addressing it as a foundation to which it all sits, from there I do whats in my power to insure signal purity from the individual components all the way to the speakers, from there good placement and acoustical treatments further what I consider true refinement. Now the components themselves have the best chance of yeilding what could be there true potential. My gear is by no means what many here would consider highend "that's by todays standards of course" But over my 28yrs of listening to great gear ( some where price to performance is greatly diminished) I have finally put together something that has left me at times speechless and dumb founded that it didn't take the dream system I always thought it would, and oh man! don"t let me play the Reference stuff.I guess the good thing for me at this point is I have the live sound and If I get any closer I might get burned ! |
When the "itch" returns its high on the to do list! |
500-700hrs for full burn in, but at around 120+ it gets more stability and hints at its coherence, but pass 50hrs or so the unit is listenable. |
