Oppo Vs Esoteric

Agreed.  I have both and the Esoteric is so much better.  OPPO is very good as a universal player (awesome on video) but it is a "digital" player with that distinct character.  The Esoteric is designed to deliver Cd's and SACD's with a wonderful "analog" character, which it does in spades.

I think the Esoteric should sound much better than the stock Oppo. The real test would be between the Modwright Oppo and the Esoteric. This would be a closer competition in sound and price.

@gdhal 
Thanks for the heads up - though I will state my -205 was "absolutely" set as 'Brick Wall' as default when I set it up. At the time (quite a few months ago) there was nothing on the 'net about filters, filter setups, and any reviews on them. Since then I've seen some tips on what people have liked. After you post I went back and did some more critical listening and landed on a 'slow somethin-or-other' filter. Seemed smoother over time - I found nothing was super-drastic sounding and took quite a few days of heavy rotation to develop a preference. Peace, and thanks....

@boneman73

You're welcome!

Yeah, I'm unable to speak to what the filter was set to on your particular unit. To be clear, I'm merely stating that according to the manual, mini-phase fast is the default. As to "brick wall" being a diagnostic setting, note that Oppo makes no claims whatsoever regarding what each filter does or is supposed to do. Upon doing my own Internet research and overall do diligence, I have concluded that brick wall  is a diagnostic setting. However, of course you or someone else could prefer the sound when using the brick wall filter, and if that is the case by all means do so.

I agree with you that any of the filter settings are subtle. I'm happy to understand you did some level of research and/or listening on your own to arrive at the filter setting you currently like. :)

So, I got my Oppo UDP-205 about 10 days back and been listening to it, when ever I get a chance. For the first few days, I let it "run in". Have probably about 120 hours on it. I find it strange - I find this player a bit too smooth, even from day one. Not sure if anyone else experienced this. I distinctly remember the Esoteric+Canton room from AXPONA this year. That system sounded super hi-fi and the "highs" were super extended, even at low volume. Of course, the cabling in that system was probably more than the entire cost of my current system. So, is that the difference between the Oppo and the Esoteric players? Mind you, it was not the lower end Esoterics at AXPONA. It was some $20+k system with a transport and DAC. One thing I should mention that, I did update my player with the latest firmware.