I've finally accumulated enough SACD and DVD-A titles that both of these players are cheap enough to probably warrant a purchase. A used 2900 on Audiogon is roughly $200. And there are so many Oppo models I don't know which are the good ones. Video playback doesn't matter, it won't be used. Or any other options in the $200 range that I didn't think of. I like a slightly warmer sound, not the stereotypical "digital playback", so from reading this is sort of pushing me towards the Denons.
Modding capability is a plus since I wouldn't be opposed to that in the future. Basically I'm tired of spending so long figuring out the copy protection on DVD-A discs tearing my hair out trying to rip them to my PC (plus one of my favorite bands is continuing to heavily support DVD-A).