What were the two players involved?

Comments like Jim's are scaring me into thinking maybe I should go with the Denon 1920 over the oppo...even though I would be using the digital out for both...

I don't know that the Oppo is much different in quality than the Denon 1920 - it's inexpensive, but it's very popular for a reason. Aside from the super-thin tray (which always makes me nervous but hasn't actually given me any trouble after a year of use), it's pretty solidly built and they've been pretty reliable. I'd certainly lean away from a Coby player or the like, but Oppo doesn't deserve to be placed in company like that.

Gonk,
Chances are, you're probably right, but it's tough to say without an A/B comparison. I'm strictly talking about sound quality, though, as my dvd player will also be my cd player...

Jim, out of curiosity, what players are you referring to (the cheap and current one)?

The player with the underwhelming audio was the Samsung HD845. I swapped it out with the Sony DVP-NS975V.