Conclusion
 When we say this player isn't for everyone, we mean it. It really  isn't. If you are connected via HDMI or digital audio, you absolutely  will see zero benefit from this upgrade. In that case, save yourself  some coin and get the standard 
Oppo  BDP-83 player which did extremely well in our testing.  The  "Special Edition" upgrade is for users that utilize an analogue  connection with very high quality gear. While there may be some sonic  benefit, 
Oppo seems to be catering this upgrade to the esoteric crowd  that worries more about Supertweeters and speaker cables than they do  about room acoustics. For that crowd, we think that Oppo is making a  very good decision that will surely bring them a lot of sales that they  might not have gotten. For the rest of us, the BDP-83 will be just fine  thank you.