Oppo BDP-95 as a pure two channel audio source?

I can say I have done direct A/B comparisons between the oppo 95, Ayre C5xeMP, and Emotiva ERC-1. The ERC sounded much more natural on cd playback with a deeper soundstage, obviously could not play SACD's. The oppo won out on ERC-1 to oppo sacd playback with details being a little better on the SACD's but still did not match the depth the ERC had. The Ayre beat them all in every category, just a better player. When I took the Oppo 95 into the movie room it shined, creating great dynamics and wonderful picture. As long as you are not needing SACD, if I were you looking for a 2 channel player I would go with the ERC-2

I can confirm statman remark about the ayre being picky with scratches. I had a couple used cd's that were slightly scratched, never had an issue with my other players. Lets just say they were not playable in the C5xeMP. Since I realized this I have not purchased a single used cd, I also keep my new disks in immaculate condition, have not had a single skip since I got rid of the used disks almost a year ago. On the oppo 95, I felt it was an obvious sonic downgrade, but as statman pointed out I tried it for a month and only paid about $30 or so for the shipping and was promptly refunded. It's worth trying if you can detatch from a grand for a few weeks. But after a year with the Ayre I am still thrilled with it and have no desire to sell it, which as an audiophile is definitely saying something lol.

I believe that the Ayre probably does not have as much error correction to try and give you as pure of a signal as possible. I would guess Mr. Hansen cares more about sound quality than playing uncared for disks.

I would assume that the Ayre does not have as much error correction in an attempt for a purist approach. I figure Mr Hansen cares more about the quality of the sound than his player working with uncared for media. That is also my priority, I would MUCH rather throw out the disks I purchased used than sacrifice any audio quality due to error correction.

Lets say your vinyl had a scratch across it and knocked your needle out with your best sounding cart. If it played with one that sounded pretty good, would you throw out your best cart and keep the one that sounded ok for the usability? I infact even stated that if interested oppo had a wonderful return policy that I myself even took advantage of. I believe that for the money the oppo is very good, but not as good as other options out there, even chaper cd only options. There are better players in the wild and I believe from the op's stated desires he is looking for a stereo player that is unrivaled. This does not fit the oppo, hence his decision to not play the upgrade game and simply try and decide on a player that may last him. To the op, if you are looking at esoteric I listened to a x-05 a few days ago. I took my Ayre with me to A/B, the esoteric was a lot more forward and slightly more dynamic than the Ayre. The Ayre did have a little more depth and sounded more natural, but neither player had more detail than the other and each sounded wonderful on their own. Good luck on your quest for stereo perfection!!

Jay, I know I sound like I am about to feed you another companies kool-aid, but the Emotiva ERC-2 is an absolutely wonderful CD only player. On top of that Emotiva has their Christmas sale going and 30day hassle free returns. If you do not need SACD and would like a wonderful cd playback to test against the ERC is wonderful and cheap enough to not have to sell to fund an A/B. Have fun!!

That Copland looks pretty slick, let us know how it turns out.