Just passed 150 hours on 95 this morning. Jdub39's burn-in schedule has been spot on (a big kudos!). It sounds like a totally different player than out of the box and becomes very acceptable for me. Can't wait for the 300 and 600 marks. I will still hold my judgement until then, but sounds very promising. |
Oh boy, I just bought my 95 (maybe modwright mod soon).
Roscoeiii, is there any estimate release date of 105? I just read on a blog, 105 highlights for me are - no fan, optical/coaxial/usb inputs. No mention of the dac. |
Well, if you aren't satisified, maybe the just announced 105 will float your boat. No fan. And a ton of just killer featured. |
Passed 60 hr today and it's still edgy and non-cohesive. :( I see subtle changes here and there and soundstage isn't that restrictive anymore. But I start to worry it won't meet my expectation and have good synergy with the rest of my gears. I have Focal Electra speakers, Paradigm sub, Pass XA30.5 amp and XP-10 pre that are considerably pricier than Oppo 95. Pretty revealing yet sweet sound due to pure class A amp.
How big of a difference between a fully broken in unit and a unit with 60 hr playing time??
BTW I used flac files from USB drive for burn-in. The music is mostly Diana Krall, Nora Jones, Cassandra Wilson, etc that I downloaded from HD Tracks and some very bass heavy EDM from iTunes. |
Shouldn't OPPO be able to tell us EXACTLY how long the 'burn-in' period is? |
Jdub39, thank you for the info.
My unit currently has about 15 hr. Sounds slightly better than out of the box. Still far away from how it is described in Absolute Sound review and from this thread. Hopefully breaking in really does the trick (from my limited experience, breaking in is real for some electronics but not so much for others). But I do sense the detail nature of sabre 32-bit dac. After breaking in, I'll do a comparison with my Electrocompaniet ECD-1 24-bit upsampling dac (old but still in production) using optical out from Oppo. |
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. |
Picked up an Oppo 95 from Magnolia today. Purchased this with Modwright mod in mind, somewhere down the road.
Question is how far the 95 gets to after a few hundred hours of playing? Does it sound like a totally different player than right out of the box? Now it's kind of brutal. The music is all over the place!
I'm running Focal Electra with Pass Labs XA.5 amp and XP pre. Running all balanced with Nordost Heimdall ICs. |
Picked up an Oppo 95 from Magnolia today. Purchased this with Modwright mod in mind, somewhere down the road.
Question is how far the 95 gets to after a few hundred hours of playing? Does it sound like a totally different player than right out of the box? Now it's kind of brutal. The music is all over the place! I'm running Focal Electra with Pass Labs XA.5 amp and XP pre. Running all balanced with Nordost Heimdall ICs. |
When the "itch" returns its high on the to do list! |
Jdub39 just get the mod, you won't be mad and you will thank us in the morning. I guarantee it will be the best thing you did in a long time. |
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 ! |
Jdub39, yes to all the improvements you listed and more. With good recordings, it's the difference between good "hi-fi" and something more akin to live.
Both Modwright units(Sony 5400 & Oppo 95) sound waaay more refined, better resolution, more open, transparent and detailed, than the stock units. Also, more power and weight to the music.
The stock unit is very good "for the money" but if the rest of your system is up to the task, the modded players will take you to a much higher plane.
As for cabling, yes good cables should bring out the best in any component but they're not going to turn a $999 player into a serious contender. Don't waste your money on band-aids. |
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. |
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! |
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. |
I own the stock Oppo 95 and as many have said, it's a very good player "for the money". I bought mine specifically for video but I do enjoy it for casual listening. On the other hand, I couldn't live with it for everyday use and despite what some may think, there's no way it competes with the true high-end stuff, which unfortunately, is usually priced accordingly.
For serious listening, I have a Modwright Sony 5400 with a few upgrades, including NOS tubes. It absolutely stomps the stock version the same way the Modwright Oppo stomps it's stock version; no contest, none! I've heard JWM's modified Oppo enough times to know what I'm talking about.
As for balanced vs unbalanced, I've listened both ways through my Atma-Sphere gear, and the differences are mostly sutble. If you're running single-ended amp/preamp, I wouldn't worry about it. |
Thanks Jwm! It sounded like you were saying the Oppo sounds much better using the balanced outputs. |
Jdub39, I agree nothing special in standard Oppo, but modified by Modright it beat every player I had in house, including the 15,000 Playback Designs CD player. Jfz same thing applies to the unbalanced outputs. |
Thank you, Jwm. I don't have a balanced preamp. Could you tell me what you hear via the unbalanced outputs?
Thanks! |
Owned the Oppo 95 as well as many competetive players along with several High End players and found the Oppo 95 to be uniquely unlistenable to me. I am a 2 channel guy and I must say it had a very strong signature DSP style sound that overlayed everything I played on it. Sounded artificially expanded and spacious on all recordings, robbing them of their individual acoustic characteristics. The fan was also quite aggravating after only a few days. |
More refined sound. More natural warmth in the midrange, much less of that digital sound. This is only through the analog balanced output stage. This player beat the Playback Designs CD player I had that sold for 15,000.00. |
"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! |
Jwm - Can you tell us specifically what differences you have heard between the stock and Modwright-modded 95? I ask because I have read several places that the modded version is significantly better; and, based on experience with my modified Denon, I believe it. The problem I am having is understanding what those improvements or differences are - specifically.
Thanks! |
Send it to Dan and get the Modright tube mod of the 95 and you will beat most players out there at any cost. |
I stand by my comment. It will not compete with the upper eschelon players, and why should it at its price? It is a fabulous machine offering tremendous value and probably competitive well above its price range. |
A friend of mine got the Oppo 95 and told me it would blow away my $5,000.00 Mcintosh 871. Needless to say I was not a believer. After begging him to bring it over (he only had it 2 weeks so not much break in) I threw everything at it in the pure analog mode and I now have my Mac in audiogon and expect my delivery of the Oppo tomorrow. I tried the XLR out to my C2200 preamp and it was WAY better than the same brand RCA. As a side note I too cannot explain cable and electronic gear break in but I have experienced it and even my wife who really does not care that much agrees. I guess we are both crazy..... I hope this unit has a long life reliability as that is the only thing that has yet to be determined. Hopefully 400 hours from now I continue to be a believer. |
I have a fan here that may be lower noise. I will be trying it very soon. I will let you know if it works and where to get it if it does. As it states on my website you can remove the cover and not only will it sound better but the fan will only come on when you are playing Blue Rays. |
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! |
Go4vinyl,
Are you using the Oppo connected to a preamp via
regular RCA's as a stand alone cdp, or are you using a separate DAC with a digital cable?? |
Thanks - I do use Kontak that I like, so did that (I do have a bottle of Caig Deoxit Gold as well, I tried it once way back and stopped using it as it's 'oily' and affected the sound negatively in my opinion...maybe I'm just using it the wrong way)...burn-in continues and the Oppo sounds really sweet now (I can no longer have it playing in the background and ignore it - I didn't expect CD's to sound this good), my only complaint being the fan noise (it really doesn't matter)...I've upgraded the firmware and set FL/FR as advised...right now I have a Nordost Shiva on the CDP which sounds good...I've even found a few other threads that discusses power cords and such... |
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. |
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. |
Jdub39 - many thanks again for relevant info. Firmware upgrade, huh? I'll do that soonest...sure seems like a good idea to connect balanced to power amp directly and look forward for report on that experience ;-)
I know I'll end up there at some point (it always happens for some reason) so might as well check with OPPO 95 owners now so I have some ideas when I get there - any positive experiences with aftermarket power cords? The one that comes with the player seems relatively good, but... |
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! |
Guys, sorry, don't mean to come across as disagreeable and I understand everyone's here to exchange ideas and info. This is obviously a pet peeve of mine that occurs often in the audiophile community. If you think your electronics sound better after 500 hours than brand new then more power to you...as someone above said this could very well be caused by your believing it should sound better...the placebo effect. I'm going to stay firmly planted in my universe though. ;-)
I would ask you though to continue to try to explain to yourselves why, if an electronics component "drifts" or settles" physically in some way when new, why it always drifts in the direction of better sound. Even if I thought I heard improvement in sound of a new component, I don't know how I could logically explain it always getting better instead of sometimes getting worse if it was due to random changes in some physical parameters. |
Jdub39 and Jfz - I probably have 100 hours on it now and soundwise it clearly follows the 'break-in' schedule you posted...the sound has opened up considerably and inching a good bit closer to the analog rig (naturally I am using the 'Pure Sound' setting)...I'm really looking forward to continuing running this one in. I have two wonderfully sounding integrateds but none has XLR - Creek Destiny and Marantz PM-KI Pearl - so RCA will have to do. Do you think the XLR sounds much better and what type of pre/amp do you have? Also, I have tried BDR cones and other softer vibration dampers but for me the myrtle blocks does the job. |
I know nothing about the physics. I have, however, compared two identical components, the only difference being that one was new and the other had several hundred hours on it. The one with more time sounded better. I have done this with cables as well.
Maybe Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory could help us? |
Thank you again, Jeff. Very helpful. |
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! |
Minus, Many people think that it is the owner's perception that breaks in over the first 100 or 500 hours. That's possible in your world, isn't it? You'll only find frustration if you try to apply physics to human perception and behavior. |
jdub39 - not the answer I was looking for.
ESS does nothing more than precipitate latent defects -- bad solder joints, loose wiring, bad connectors and weak parts by over stressing parts mechanically, thermally and electrically. This is typically well beyond their normal operating envelopes with the objective being to induce failures in weak parts.
"Burn in" as used at the top of this thread presumes that operating new electronic components under normal stress profiles for x hours causes the normal operating parameters of electronic devices to change, always in a way that makes the sound get better. In other words, these are not RANDOM changes, even though the physical inputs are random...they always move in a direction of better sound, not worse sound.
Are you going to tell me you actually believe THAT? This is not the universe I live in.
To be clear, I fully agree such things happen with new speaker suspensions or any mechanical devices. But...the premise set forth by the OP is that the signal quality out of a CD player improves after the first x hours. Again...I ask...explain it in terms of physics. I don't think you can because I think it's a bunch of BS. |
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! |
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 imagine jet fuel will work better with burn in than kerosene or plain old auto gasoline...if you have something that can ignite it.
Seriously...I want someone to explain to me in terms of physics...I'm talking p/n junction theory, conduction theory, energy wells, Schrodinger's equation, what is it that you think physically occurs during the first 100 hours of operation of a piece of electronic gear that makes it sound better at the end of that 100 hour period than it did at the start of it?
Mind you said piece of electronics gear is comprised of parts & components that have undergone QC testing to ensure proper tolerances on significant operating parameters and have undergone environmental stress screening to precipitate any infant mortality failure mechanisms. |
Hi Jdub39, what high end players have you compared it with? |
Hi Go4vinyl,
I'd definitely be sure you use "Pure Audio". I now have 250 hours on mine. It's clearly getting better.
Has anyone compared a stock 95 to a modified one? If so, I'd be very curious what you heard. |
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! |
I tried the pure audio "trick" at the start of my listening session today and within 30 min the fan kicked in. I am fortunate that I am far enough away from the unit it does not affect the music. As info there is about 1.5" clearance above the unit and it rests on blocks made of cork & rubber - maybe another 3/4" clearance underneath it... |
Awesome Jdub39 - extremely helpful...just what I was looking for! I just got the Oppo 95 today (replacing an Oppo 970 which has been one of the absolute best values I've encountered) - was hoping to give my analog some competition (it's not an easy life being the digital front end in my system - just look at my user name)...'listenable but restrictive' describes exactly what I'm hearing now (but I am aware of the importance of 'burn-in').
I think I've set it up for maximum 2-channel audio only performance (basically what it says in the manual) - do you guys have any 'not so obvious setup setting' recommendations here that you've A/B:ed (listening comaparisons)?
While I'm at it I just have to recommend experimenting with some small myrtle wood block supports under the components (I use 3 under each - one middle front and one in each 'back corner') - it always surprises me that it makes such a noticable difference...it's cheap and you might like it too. |
