oppo 105d mod or look for a new cd player ?

"07-24-15: Mechans
I personally think the industry pulled a fast one on us with the idea of using stand alone dacs."

Actually, you can make a pretty good case for the opposite. If you remember when CD's were starting to get popular in the late 80's and early 90's, someone figured out that jitter was degrading sound quality. And that it was much more prevalent in transport/dac combos. At the time they found one of the best ways to reduce jitter, was to use a single box CD player. As a result, a lot of very high end CD players were made and they outsold component CD players by a large margin.

Dac's are getting very popular now because so many people are using a PC as a transport. And to answer your question as to why there are not many disk players with digital inputs, its that the industry is getting away from disks in general and the demand keeps getting lower. So, if manufacturers started putting optical transports in all the dacs they build, you could say that you're being charged for something you don't need.

A modded Oppo should allow you to add a PC, if and when that should become your source. I'm using an EVS modified 103 and it's great, light years ahead of the stock sound. The Oppo's are built to last. But, give Ric a call; he's great to talk to in general and he'll be glad to freely discuss All your long-term options, regardless of whether or not you want to go with him from the start.

I owned a Modwright tube modded 105 and yes it is way better and I'm sure you would enjoy it. I would however would look for a used Aesthetix Romulus cd player. This allows you to upgrade if you wish in the future to their signature series and it is a great DSD and 24/196 dac.

I think Chayro has a point ... Consider either the EAR Acute 3 or the non-DAC EAR Acute offered here on audiogon. You won't be disappointed in the sound quality of this fine design.

No affiliation to either seller. Just a Acute owner who'd like to see others enjoy a really outstanding sounding player.

Good luck.

Many great suggestions here! But my vote is for a high end CD player. With under $4k you can get a very fine stand alone SACD/CD player, like one of the Esoterics, the Ayre, high end Marantz, personally I just got the Cary 306. I thought my Sony was high end, until I heard the Cary! And it has D/A in and out, so it's DAC can be used by other gear, ie computer. Keep the Oppo for playing all other formats, and buy a used CD player of the high end variety. A few reviews should help you decide which ones might lean toward your tastes. My 2 cents, worth about a cent and a half.