Oppo UDP - 205

I got my OPPO UDP-205 last night and had some time to spend with it and listen to some familiar tracks.  I know it's brand new and it didn't have enough time to burn in but I was already very impressed.  I used analog outs and connected it directly via XLRs to my incredibly good Golden Maraschino Cherry amps made by Digital Amplifier Company and down the road to KEF Blades 2.  The interconnects and speaker cables are Serious Technologies Graphene Extreme.  I am familiar with OPPO and it is probably my 5th or 6th player (following the evolution).  Two of them were highly modified by Modwright.  I can already tell that this one is a winner and will probably stay with me for a very long time.

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.  

dbphd,
So the Oppo is not a giant killer after all. But looks like it can get get you so much closer to the mega priced dedicated CD players at a much smaller outlay. Would like to hear your opinion after a few hundred hours. May be the burn-in will get the player a notch up?