Reference disc player...UDP 205 or Marantz?

@hifiman5 

I know my experience stands out. Through conversations with Modwright, I determined the player was not for me. It was not even partially satisfying to listen to in my system. Again, I've never had an experience with a component like this, ever.

For the record, I prefer a warmer, dare I say, romantic, presentation.
I hate bright - which made me think I might like the Modwright player, based on the reviews I had read. I had considered the Oppo BDP-95 a bit lean, although, in retrospect, my cables added to that impression on all sources. I wanted a player that corrected the omissions of tone and musical density that I considered were built into the Oppo-BDP-95. The Modwright Oppo BDP-105D seemed to be a compelling option.

At the time, I believe my system was as follows: McIntosh C500T 2 box pre-amp, McIntosh MC501 mono block amps, Oppo BDP-95, either Shunyata Triton 2 or PS Audio P10 power conditioner (can't remember which), and mostly JPS Aluminata cabling (I came to regard these cables as mildly tilted up toward the upper frequencies). My speakers were Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Concert Grands.

I've since mostly changed almost everything in my system except the speakers, to come to a more balanced, tonally realistic, less bright or etched, presentation.

No question, Marantz is a better CD player. As for the Oppo...
no matter what the audio rags say, it is what it is - a very, very good Blu-Ray player. 

Folks can convince themselves that the Oppo is the best, but it is not.

Whatever I wrote is just my and my many friends’ opinions based on our experience, so no excitement from the Oppo owners is necessary.

@rnrmf1971 

Thanks so much for your response.  I too prefer a richer, more musical, especially a smoothness of texture music through my system.

Perhaps tube rolling may have helped a bit.  I found the included Jan/Phillips tubes in my modded player to have a hardness about them.  I prefer the NOS Tung-Sols I am currently using.  Also, as you observed, your cables at that time were on the brighter side and may, therefore, not have produced an enjoyable resulting sound.

The good news is that it seems like you have worked your way toward a more musically satisfying system now.

@rnrmf1971 

Thanks so much for your response.  I too prefer a richer, more musical, especially a smoothness of texture music through my system.

Perhaps tube rolling may have helped a bit.  I found the included Jan/Phillips tubes in my modded player to have a hardness about them.  I prefer the NOS Tung-Sols I am currently using.  Also, as you observed, your cables at that time were on the brighter side and may, therefore, not have produced an enjoyable resulting sound.

The good news is that it seems like you have worked your way toward a more musically satisfying system now.

@hifiman5 
I tube rolled a bit. I got the best tubes that Modwright offered and bought some NOS that Modwright recommeneded from Upscale Audio.
Something just didn't gel despite things seeming like they should line up, on paper.
I bit the bullet, changed almost everything, went solid state, and for the time being, I'm pretty damn happy with the sound I hear. Thanks.