We offer a special upgrade package which we have developed for the Oppo DV-980H Universal Player which gives high end stereo replay from redbook CD, SACD and DVD-Audio. Whatever music disc you have or want to puchase it will play it (excluding blue ray).In addition it will play multi channel audio and DVD-Video.

The upgrade comprises:-

1. Substantial Power Supply Improvements - These include replacing the 3 main voltage regulators with high performance types one of which is a Tentlabs Shunt regulator that powers the DAC chip. Many capacitors are also changed or added. Although the players switch mode power supply is retained these upgrades result in performance better than many linear supplies. Retaining the switch mode power supply means the players energy consumption is low. These improvements also benefit the players other functions such as SPDIF and video.

2. Audio Output Stage Improvement - A new output stage is installed using a unity gain buffer to filter RF from the DAC chip and provide a low output impedance. Output level is 6dB lower than normal which is easily corrected by turning up the volume control of your amp. Optionally the multi channel outputs can also be upgraded.

3. Audio Master Clock Improvement - Low Jitter is well documented as an essential requirement for good digital music replay. Most DVD Players have high jitter clocks which cannot be improved by the usual clock upgrades such as we and others do for CD or SACD players. This is because most DVD players have a single master clock to serve video and audio. This clock signal has to be converted to a different frequency for audio processing and this conversion adds a lot of jitter in the process. Upgrading the master clock does not make enough improvement for high end audio therefore. What we have developed for the Oppo 980 is circuitry which effectively removes most of the jitter from the audio frequency master clock before it is fed to the audio DAC chip. This dejittering circuit is itself powered by our own ultra low noise ChronoClock power supply which has its own mains supply to ensure a high level of isolation from the players other circuits.

The full stereo upgrade for your player costs £340. These players are no longer available new but its worth checking second-hand market for one (they were about £150 new). Later Oppo Players are all Blue-Ray and much more expensive.

For either version upgrade of multi channel outputs costs £20 per output.

Links:- TNT-Audio Review  Oppo 980 www.chevronaudio.co.uk