After reading all the comments on wadia and AA Cap. II, I wonder why nobody mentionned the Ayre D1-X player. I own one and I´m extremely satisfied - before and after modification. I listened to Wadia 861b in my home system and was very stisfied with the sound, although I choosed the D-1X as it is superior in areas such as musical flow, speed, transparency and sound stage whereas the Wadia wins in the lower frequencies. I don´t know the AA Cap II but I once had the AA Cap. MK I in my system. Very relaxed listening, impressive performance but my modified D-1X blew it away. But at US $ 5k for a used unit I would recommend the AA Cap. II strongly. Can´t comment on the 861 SE or the modified versions. Hope this helps - by the way an extremely good cdp is the Lindemann 820 SACD in Germany regarded by many as the final one box cdp. A friend of mine let his AA Cap MK I go for this machine without thinking twice.
Easy listening, Frank
Easy listening, Frank