OPPO BDP 103/105, sound quality???

Make it easy on yourself, and avoid regret by just buying the Oppo. You will not be disappointed! The 103D goes for about $600, and the 105D about $1,400. The difference that I see is that the 105D has balanced outputs.

Just FYI, I would hope by now that most people realize that universal players take considerably longer to load than a conventional CD player. I have an Oppo 105D and a Pioneer BDP 09 for video. On the rare times that I use them for listening sessions, I plan on almost a minute before music starts. My Pioneer PD 65 (used with a Benchmark DAC1) starts playing as soon as the drawer closes. I'm no engineer but I believe the newer machines (especially Blu-Ray and SACD) need time to read the disc to determine what format they are being asked to play. 

reubent,

Of all the universal players I have had, the Oppo loads the fastest! Don't be concerned, my comment was just a heads up to people who think that there must be a problem with their universal player because start up time is considerably longer than a dedicated CD player. 

FWIW, I have never put much stock in tweaks, or upgrades, believing that they are just snake oil. That was my error. I had my Denon 3520 (from the early 90’s) modded recently and it is like a new machine. I would never attempt upgrades myself but I do believe that tweaking, specifically updating older machines, makes good sense.