I played Blu-reys of Legends of Jazz and the 2nd movement of Beethoven's 7th using the 105 then the 205. The 205 provided more of a sense of transparency than the 105, the mids in particular seeming more open. It's a sound I could live with easily.
I played Waltz for Debby SACD, a CD of Corelli concertos, and DVD-A of Pet Sounds using the Ayre C-5exMP and 205. The 205 closes the gap with the Ayre substantially compared to the 105, but doesn't match its sense of transparency nor its depth of sound stage. The 205 doesn't quite get to that intangible sense of listening to music that's just there, i.e., not being reproduced. The big surprise was Pet Sounds. Played with the Ayre it has an amazing sense of depth, but seemed flat with the 205. I tried the video side of the disc with no improvement in sound but a display of lyrics for those who like to sing along.
The 205 is a very nice sounding disc player that lacks the magic of the Ayre. It is a substantial improvement over the 105. Of course I can't play Blu-rey discs on the Ayre, but the sound of Blue-reys using the 205 is so good I needn't look elsewhere. Fortunately, that's the purpose of the Oppos in my setups.
