Dampening an Oppo DV-980HD player
Jan 28th, 2008 by gene
Here’s a worthwhile and reasonably cheap tweak for the Oppo player. Tools required: Phillips screwdriver, a pair of scissors to cut the dampening sheet, and steady hands — you don’t want to knock those resistors and capacitors. It took me all of 30 minutes to do it.
I used one sheet of Herbie’s 1.6mm Grungebuster damping sheet with adhesive for this. It costs a little more than the 3M or Dynamat damping sheets, but I really respect Herbie’s products and had think they’re well worth the money. Your mileage may vary, of course. Don’t yell at me if you don’t hear any improvements or you ruin your player.
Step one is to dampen the CD sled. This mechanism is quite wobbly and noisy in its stock state. Applying strategic pieces of damping around the sled quietened it significantly, and this is sure to increase the laser’s low-level detail retrieval.
I plugged in the unit and opened and closed the sled as I applied the damping pieces, and could hear it getting smoother and quieter. Do not put any damping sheet in a place where it will impede movement of the sled. If you do this, remove it immediately as you don’t want any adhesive gumming up the works.
Then dampen the lower chassis with pieces of damping sheet. Be sure to put pieces on the side and rear walls and near the terminals. I also ended up putting pieces near the screws which secure the sled to the lower chassis.
Dampen the top chassis with bigger strips of damping sheet.
I had also intended to replace the stock fuse with a ceramic fuse, but it doesn’t look like the fuse is meant to be replaced. So I didn’t do it. Here’s a picture of the fuse — I had to remove the IEC cord wires to take the picture.
Hey,
Thanks so much for posting this. I find the drive mechanism in my 980 is just too wobbly/and loud for such a high quality player. How much of a difference did this material make? I want to do this as well, but do you think I would benefit from covering the entire bottom (outside) metal of the player as well as the top (inside) of the entire player? I guess what I’m asking is does more square footage coverage make that much more of a difference?
Glad the post helped you! The material made the drive quieter and tightened the sound of the player, esp. the bass.
I don’t see any reason not to cover the bottom, or do total coverage of the top and bottom. I’d be surprised if you could overdampen the chassis. If it kills dynamics, which I doubt, you could just remove the stuff. Or use plumber’s caulk, which is dirt-cheap.
But you know what made the biggest difference in this player? A $30 power cord.
Good to hear. That Herbie’s stuff is pretty expensive as sound deadening material goes. I may get one sheet like you have, and then use some cheaper car audio mat for the rest of the chassis on the outside. I don’t plan to put too much money into this unit. A $30 power cord and then $25 for sound dampening on a $169 player is pushing the cost/benefit ratio I think
I have some slight flicker on the this player, but I suspect it’s my TV and not the player itself.
Thanks for posting this. I never thought to put dampening material on the CD sled. Has anyone tried this on the BDP-83 and achieved good results? I was thinking about just putting a granite tile wrapped in bubble wrap just on top of my BDP-83. Also would AcoustiPack Sound absorbing sheets work as dampening materials? I have a sheet laying around that I used for a PC build. Thanks and advise when you can.
JD, I’m using a BDP-83 upgraded to SE status, and it sounds so good I haven’t felt the need to dampen its chassis on the inside. It does sit on Herbie’s Tenderfeet which sit on a maple board. On top of the unit is some heavy pieces of Corian countertop material, which my DAC sits on. So I’ve dampened and isolated the unit on the top and bottom, just not on the inside.
The granite and bubble wrap is a good idea. And yeah, I don’t see why the AcoustiPack wouldn’t work either.
Hi Gene
Thanks so much for taking the time out to reply. You’ve given me a lot of ideas to use to dampen and isolate my Oppo. I was on Herbie’s Audio page and was wondering what products I should use. With the maple board you used did you just use a butcher block or order something special? Now with the dampening on top of the Oppo BDP 83SE do you find the unit running hotter? I’m worried about the longevity of the unit. I’ve already had my BDP-83 in for repair already.
I was thinking about upgrading the Oppo BDP-83 to SE but wasn’t sure. Is there a major SQ difference that you notice from the upgrade in your system?
Thanks again. JD
JD, the SE upgrade was so good I stopped using my outboard DAC. The improvement in sound quality was stunning. Every aspect of the audio playback improved. I’m still surprised at the improvement I got for the price I paid.
I use regular maple butcher blocks under many of my components. I don’t see the point of paying too much for fancy blocks of wood. I don’t worry about heat, either. The unit’s fans kick on occasionally but that’s what they’re there for. The 83 is the third Oppo unit I’ve owned and I know if there’s a problem Oppo will just fix it.