+ Reply to Thread
Page 18 of 21 FirstFirst ... 81617181920 ... LastLast
Results 171 to 180 of 202

Thread: Hey....guess what I’m about to do? [Major Oppo mods]

  1. #171
    Join Date: Mar 2009

    Location: Chelmsford, Essex

    Posts: 433
    I'm Gareth.

    Default

    A noticeable improvement for sure.

    When I first spun a blu-ray in the 203 after selling my 205 it was uuurrrggghhh, what the hell? Picture quality was pretty disappointing but now it’s looking darn good following the mods. Hoping the OCXO mod will improve the HDMI output even further.

  2. #172
    Join Date: Oct 2008

    Location: Glasgowshire

    Posts: 9,656
    I'm Gary.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Getgaff View Post
    A noticeable improvement for sure.

    When I first spun a blu-ray in the 203 after selling my 205 it was uuurrrggghhh, what the hell? Picture quality was pretty disappointing but now it’s looking darn good following the mods. Hoping the OCXO mod will improve the HDMI output even further.
    Good stuff, found the same thing playing CDs.

    Wonder if you found this when doing the mods?
    Fitting the Silver power cable I had to loosen the 4 sprung screws holding the drive in place to make space to fit the cable underneath it.
    I found, even with the stabiliser plate kit fitted that noise from the drive varied according to how tightly you clamped the 4 screws down.
    First time I fitted it all back together I’d torqued them down till they were tight, but the drive was quite noisy, especially with 4k discs.

    Backing them off half a turn quietened the noise down, which makes sense given ‘full clamp’ effectively disregards the benefit of the springs.
    Did you find this, and if so did you find a sweet spot for the tightness of the screws?

    Thanks.
    AC POWER
    Hardwired 10kVA balanced mains powering entire system
    AMPS
    Meridian 557 power Amp (Modded) / PS Audio BHK Preamp (Modded)
    SPEAKERS
    Wharfedale Evo 4.4
    DAC
    PS Audio Directstream (Modded)
    TURNTABLE
    Pro-Ject X8 balanced output via XLR / Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge
    PHONOSTAGE
    Pro-Ject DS3 B balanced Input (TT and Phonostage powered by Pro-Ject Power box RS2 linear psu)
    DIGITAL
    OPPO 203 (Modded: Linear PSU, i2s output to Dac) - Roon Endpoint, HDMI input used for all things Streaming/ PS5 /AppleTV ... also good for movies apparently?
    MUSIC PLAYBACK
    Tweaked AP-Linux based Roon Server into Oppo 203 as Roon endpoint
    Ipad Roon Remote.
    Apple Music/ YouTube via AppleTV, fed to Dac via Oppo HDMI input/i2s output to Dac.
    SPEAKER CABLES
    Biwired: Duelund DCA10GA (Bass) Duelund DCA16GA (mid & treble) Duelund 12DCA used as jumpers (On
    "Blackcat Cable" Chris Sommivigo's advice - yup, even with biwire it sounds better - and it does)
    INTERCONNECTS
    All Balanced: Ghost+ recording studio XLR cables

  3. #173
    Join Date: Mar 2009

    Location: Chelmsford, Essex

    Posts: 433
    I'm Gareth.

    Default

    If truth be known, I’ve not been that impressed with the BD-ROM stabiliser and only use the aluminium lid with the original Oppo spinny-thing. The Oppomod spinning widget introduced far too much noise and vibration, BUT I hadn’t considered adjusting the drive clamps.

    I’ll try that next time I have the lid off.

  4. #174
    Join Date: Oct 2008

    Location: Glasgowshire

    Posts: 9,656
    I'm Gary.

    Default

    Try it Gareth, it takes a bit of trial and error, but theres a sweet spot there where its whisper quiet with the stabiliser rotor in.
    AC POWER
    Hardwired 10kVA balanced mains powering entire system
    AMPS
    Meridian 557 power Amp (Modded) / PS Audio BHK Preamp (Modded)
    SPEAKERS
    Wharfedale Evo 4.4
    DAC
    PS Audio Directstream (Modded)
    TURNTABLE
    Pro-Ject X8 balanced output via XLR / Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge
    PHONOSTAGE
    Pro-Ject DS3 B balanced Input (TT and Phonostage powered by Pro-Ject Power box RS2 linear psu)
    DIGITAL
    OPPO 203 (Modded: Linear PSU, i2s output to Dac) - Roon Endpoint, HDMI input used for all things Streaming/ PS5 /AppleTV ... also good for movies apparently?
    MUSIC PLAYBACK
    Tweaked AP-Linux based Roon Server into Oppo 203 as Roon endpoint
    Ipad Roon Remote.
    Apple Music/ YouTube via AppleTV, fed to Dac via Oppo HDMI input/i2s output to Dac.
    SPEAKER CABLES
    Biwired: Duelund DCA10GA (Bass) Duelund DCA16GA (mid & treble) Duelund 12DCA used as jumpers (On
    "Blackcat Cable" Chris Sommivigo's advice - yup, even with biwire it sounds better - and it does)
    INTERCONNECTS
    All Balanced: Ghost+ recording studio XLR cables

  5. #175
    Join Date: Mar 2009

    Location: Chelmsford, Essex

    Posts: 433
    I'm Gareth.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Gazjam View Post
    Try it Gareth, it takes a bit of trial and error, but theres a sweet spot there where its whisper quiet with the stabiliser rotor in.
    Ok, will do. And a Happy New Year to you

  6. #176
    Join Date: Oct 2008

    Location: Glasgowshire

    Posts: 9,656
    I'm Gary.

    Default

    To you too mate.
    AC POWER
    Hardwired 10kVA balanced mains powering entire system
    AMPS
    Meridian 557 power Amp (Modded) / PS Audio BHK Preamp (Modded)
    SPEAKERS
    Wharfedale Evo 4.4
    DAC
    PS Audio Directstream (Modded)
    TURNTABLE
    Pro-Ject X8 balanced output via XLR / Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge
    PHONOSTAGE
    Pro-Ject DS3 B balanced Input (TT and Phonostage powered by Pro-Ject Power box RS2 linear psu)
    DIGITAL
    OPPO 203 (Modded: Linear PSU, i2s output to Dac) - Roon Endpoint, HDMI input used for all things Streaming/ PS5 /AppleTV ... also good for movies apparently?
    MUSIC PLAYBACK
    Tweaked AP-Linux based Roon Server into Oppo 203 as Roon endpoint
    Ipad Roon Remote.
    Apple Music/ YouTube via AppleTV, fed to Dac via Oppo HDMI input/i2s output to Dac.
    SPEAKER CABLES
    Biwired: Duelund DCA10GA (Bass) Duelund DCA16GA (mid & treble) Duelund 12DCA used as jumpers (On
    "Blackcat Cable" Chris Sommivigo's advice - yup, even with biwire it sounds better - and it does)
    INTERCONNECTS
    All Balanced: Ghost+ recording studio XLR cables

  7. #177
    Join Date: Oct 2008

    Location: Glasgowshire

    Posts: 9,656
    I'm Gary.

    Default

    Ok, so an update to my 203 mod thread:

    Done two things to it since the last post before I tightened the case screws for the final time.
    Been a bit of a journey, but the final results make it more than worth it, so much better over a stock Oppo.
    Anyway,
    Two further mods:
    OCXO femto clock upgrade and silver plated copper 8-pin power cable from linear PSU to the players main board.
    Both took things up a few notches, so well worth it.

    OCXO CLOCK UPGRADE
    This required surface mount desoldering/soldering so outside my paygrade.
    Took my 203 down to Tirna Electronics, who some of us might remember did upgrades to our Beresford Dacs back in the Day.
    Basically it required removing the 25 MHz clock for the drive mechanism laser as well as the 27MHz main clock from the underside of the Oppo's motherboard.
    Then, the upgrade board is installed and soldered connections are made from the upgrade board to the solder pads where the stock clocks used to be.
    Finally, the board is connected to the linear PSU and job's a good'un.

    A thread over on a French AV forum detailed the process, and was great help to Jimmy Dripps (Mr Tirna) in doing the work.

    First up: Disassemble the Oppo, allowing access to the clocks for desoldering, replacement.

    So all the boards inside had to come out.
    Main board:


    Dac Board:


    i2s Board:


    Then, the two existing stock clocks had to be removed...scary stuff!
    First one, the main 27MHz system clock had to be removed, on the underside of the main board.



    The components to be removed are TINY, I'm talking 0.4mm x 0.2mm!


    When removed and residue cleaned off your left with empty solder pads ready for new connection to the OCXO board.


    Soldering the wires to ground and the clock solder pad:


    Tape the wire down to the board (it sits on the underside remember?), making sure it doesn't cover the boards mounting hole.


    At this point we mouonted the Clock upgrade board on the motherboard:


    Then, soldered the 27MHz main clock connection points from the desoldered and reconnected pads on the mainboard to the corresponding pins on the Clock upgrade board:


    Oh boy, one more down one to go.
    This wasn't quite so hairy, as the solder points were more accessible.
    The same desolder/clean up procedure, this time with a diffrent set of surface mount components elsewhere on the main board.



    OCXO board/ resoldered clock wiring done



    AND...this wiring connected to the corresponding solder pads on the clock upgrade board (Showing both connections here):


    FINALLY...
    Now both the stock clocks have been removed and new wired connections established between the clock upgrade board and the mainboard, last to do is connect the upgrade board to the power supply.
    (The Yellow wires)


    Jobs a good 'un!

    From getting the 203 home and plugging it in it was a big step up in both video and audio.
    (I'd been using the Oppo 203 as a Roon endpoint into my dac over it's i2s connection for a few weeks at that point (the Dacs best sounding input) and was very familiar with how it sounded.
    With the Clock upgrade, even fresh out the packet it was a "whoa" moment.
    Big upgrade.


    .
    AC POWER
    Hardwired 10kVA balanced mains powering entire system
    AMPS
    Meridian 557 power Amp (Modded) / PS Audio BHK Preamp (Modded)
    SPEAKERS
    Wharfedale Evo 4.4
    DAC
    PS Audio Directstream (Modded)
    TURNTABLE
    Pro-Ject X8 balanced output via XLR / Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge
    PHONOSTAGE
    Pro-Ject DS3 B balanced Input (TT and Phonostage powered by Pro-Ject Power box RS2 linear psu)
    DIGITAL
    OPPO 203 (Modded: Linear PSU, i2s output to Dac) - Roon Endpoint, HDMI input used for all things Streaming/ PS5 /AppleTV ... also good for movies apparently?
    MUSIC PLAYBACK
    Tweaked AP-Linux based Roon Server into Oppo 203 as Roon endpoint
    Ipad Roon Remote.
    Apple Music/ YouTube via AppleTV, fed to Dac via Oppo HDMI input/i2s output to Dac.
    SPEAKER CABLES
    Biwired: Duelund DCA10GA (Bass) Duelund DCA16GA (mid & treble) Duelund 12DCA used as jumpers (On
    "Blackcat Cable" Chris Sommivigo's advice - yup, even with biwire it sounds better - and it does)
    INTERCONNECTS
    All Balanced: Ghost+ recording studio XLR cables

  8. #178
    Join Date: Oct 2008

    Location: Glasgowshire

    Posts: 9,656
    I'm Gary.

    Default

    Next up...the replacement main 8-pin power cable swap out.
    Basic 0.00000000 (and then some extra zero's) pence stock cable, with an aftermarket silver plated high purity copper one.
    Its the main link between the power supply and the Oppo's main board, so a pretty important electrical connection.

    Looks like this:



    Here's the stock cable:


    Comparison:


    And the new one fitted:



    Ok...so job done, but what's it done for my 203?
    This...was a big one.

    I'm convinced now the better power supply (with the silver played OFC cable) to the clock upgrade board is letting me now see what its capable of.
    Noticed the improvement at second one...the Oppo logo screensaver...it had jagged edges and it looked a lot brighter?

    Not the kind of improvement benchmark you look for, but it was obvious without even looking for it.
    The fact it stuck out so much...was relevant.
    Long story short, the screensaver looks better but holy hell stream Netflix or put a 4K bluray in??

    Yup, its a worthwhile upgrade.
    Think now I'm seeing what the benefits of the linear PSU and the OCXO digital clock upgrade board in their entirety now.

    Streamed YouTube, Roon music through the 203 to the dac...whatever...anything you put through the player is so much better than the stock Oppo 203 now.
    Wow.

    And then all mods were done, and I just enjoyed what it did.
    Time well spent.
    Happy not to ever have to unscrew the top plate off ever again, (I'd actually named the individual screws I'd gotten that familiar with them!)
    Last edited by Gazjam; 31-12-2018 at 20:21.
    AC POWER
    Hardwired 10kVA balanced mains powering entire system
    AMPS
    Meridian 557 power Amp (Modded) / PS Audio BHK Preamp (Modded)
    SPEAKERS
    Wharfedale Evo 4.4
    DAC
    PS Audio Directstream (Modded)
    TURNTABLE
    Pro-Ject X8 balanced output via XLR / Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge
    PHONOSTAGE
    Pro-Ject DS3 B balanced Input (TT and Phonostage powered by Pro-Ject Power box RS2 linear psu)
    DIGITAL
    OPPO 203 (Modded: Linear PSU, i2s output to Dac) - Roon Endpoint, HDMI input used for all things Streaming/ PS5 /AppleTV ... also good for movies apparently?
    MUSIC PLAYBACK
    Tweaked AP-Linux based Roon Server into Oppo 203 as Roon endpoint
    Ipad Roon Remote.
    Apple Music/ YouTube via AppleTV, fed to Dac via Oppo HDMI input/i2s output to Dac.
    SPEAKER CABLES
    Biwired: Duelund DCA10GA (Bass) Duelund DCA16GA (mid & treble) Duelund 12DCA used as jumpers (On
    "Blackcat Cable" Chris Sommivigo's advice - yup, even with biwire it sounds better - and it does)
    INTERCONNECTS
    All Balanced: Ghost+ recording studio XLR cables

  9. #179
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    Good to hear you got a major improvement Mate. Be a player for life now.... just stockpile a laser or 2 in case...
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  10. #180
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Yorkshire

    Posts: 9,302
    I'm Andrew.

    Default

    Fantastic thread.
    SS
    CD Teac VRDS25X(Audiotuned) DECK 1210 Mat Crystal Audio Mods MN Base/Bearing/Platter+Ebony armboard Feet Isonoe PSU Paul Hynes SR7EHD-27XL/DCSXL Ag DC lead/3 Stage Regs/Recap PCB+No Pitch/Strobe/Light ARM SME V(Kondo Ag Rewire&Tags) MC Cadenza Black FGS CABLES Arm Yannis SPD-4 IC Yannis 222 Litz+Ag bullets Power WAR PRE ATC SCA2 SPEAKERS ATC 50ASL STANDS Atacama PHONO Sugden Masterclass PA4 SUT Ortofon ST80SE POWER PSAudio P10

    VALVE
    PRE
    Croft Epoch(Modded) AMP Sondex S100 (Modded) SPEAKERS Tannoy 15"MG+RFC Warwick cabs+ Ref XO + Batpure supertweeters DECK Garrard 301 Mat Teunto Bearings 401(Bastin) Plinth Bamboo Arms 3009/3012 PSU Eagle+Tachometer MC Ag Meister II/FGS + Ortofon SPU MONO CABLES Arm Yannis 420.5 Litz+ SpeakerPC Tripple C+WBT-0681 Ag IC Oyaide FTVS-510 AgWBT 0110Ag Phonostages Paradise(4 Box Mega-Modded) / Croft Musicmaker



+ Reply to Thread
Page 18 of 21 FirstFirst ... 81617181920 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •