Best Blu Ray video and for 2 channel transport?

Oppo scores a 94 out of 100 in 2 channel transport duties

Sony scores about a 87-88 out of 100

That's pretty darn close and I'd guess the discrepancies you mention (power cord and burn-in) may account for some of that difference. Are you using an Oppo 983H for comparison. Also differences may be system dependent, and dependent on the DAC you use. Anyway, I was astonished that a transport could actually make that much difference, but certainly the difference between the Panasonic and the Oppo was significant in my system. Sounds like the Sony 550 will be a great choice for you. This should be very useful information for anyone considering a reasonably priced BluRay player at this point in the game. Many thanks for posting your impressions.

Also I found out that the sony has priority settings for the digital outs... I had it selected to HDMI vs. Coax, I did not know if this would make a difference or not... I will check it out on the new machine when I receive it.. Also there is like an audio output reduction mode, supposedly it eliminates distortion further by simply lowering the voltage coming in from the transport on the sony, but I don't know yet if this simply effects the actual Dacs power output or from all digital feeds as well... Again gonna have to be checked out. Also something that should effect the transport out is its ability to be manually chosen on the sony to output 16/44 or 24/96... I have heard this change by just switching on a movie thru hdmi, the 24/96 softened up a bit... Might be the ticket depending on the source material so I don't know if this will effect the sound Via standard CD...

So anyway a few more things to toy with once the sony gets settled, no doubt its possible in 50 60 hours of use it can in fact open up a little more as well...The oppo went thru a little of this at first too.

The oppo 980h and the 983 are identical in transport applications, I had both, the 983 is also identical on the DAC analog outs, however the 983 used a little further isolation of the dac probably with some RF type shield or something, and also has some supposedly better capacitors on the outputs of the DAC... Whether this was hugely a big enough difference seems not many found a big deal, but to say the 983 might have a little better bass due to the capacitor change.

The oppo 980h and the 983 are identical in transport applications, I had both, the 983 is also identical on the DAC analog outs

So are you currently comparing the output from a 980H or a 983H?

Currently the 980h... But again I was actually using the oppo at the time as a stand alone unit, not as a transport, then I had the 983 which pretty much is identical especially as a transport. So I am not sure if your asking via the audio attributes, or video.. I will say this, the 983 rendered better contrast in fact mostly eliminating ghosting on a bigger display where the 980 had a little less cleanup...Also the 983 was actually a tad bit sharper, kinda how the whole panasonic impression was at first, but still the 983 was a little more film like, the sony especially in blue ray however beats them both in video.

I asked because I had a friend's 980H (current production) in my system for about three weeks just before getting the 983. My impressions of it were quite different than yours, but this, of course, is in my system (same one as the 983H is currently in) and with my TV (34" Sony CRT using 1080i DVI input). I did not like the 980H. The picture was too dark at default (as was the 983, though not as much so) and tweaking it was less rewarding than with the 983 - I could not get the picture to be very impressive or nearly as seamless and sharp as the 983. It was also a disappointment in comparison to the Modwright Sony 999ES that I recently sold, which had an excellent picture (and sound of course). Audio was a world away in the two Oppos via coaxial out into my Modwright Transporter. The audio via the 980H did very little to grab me. It was OK for movies but soundstage was a bit restricted and it just was easy to get up and walk away from. The 983 audio via the same means is immediate and engaging and has a great soundstage. Again, I cannot explain this and was surprised that a difference in transport could render such a difference in sound through the same DAC. Both units were brand-new, late production, and not burned in so I don't know if and how those things may change over time. With both I was using a TG 688 cord. As far as Blu Ray I certainly agree - nothing I've viewed has been sharper and more lifelike in appearance than the Panasonic Blu Ray picture I saw. Once they start issuing something worth watching on Blu Ray I might reconsider that direction. Sounds like the Sony will be a winner!