Scott99, I would audition the new Sony S9000ES. It is a progressive scan DVD and plays SACD(as well at all CD formats). Looks pretty cool too. The retail is $1500, but generally you can find Sony for a discount price. I haven't auditioned unit yet, but have heard good things about this player as well as SACD superiority to CD. Good Luck.......LR
CAL Audio or other CD/DVD players
I'm considering an upgrade to replace my 10-year-old Sony CDP-C715 carousel CD player. Also considered selling both my Sony DVP-S530D DVD player (no complaints) and the CD player for ~$400 and putting it towards a better CD/DVD combo unit. I like the idea of eliminating one component in the rack for simplicities sake in both controlling and wiring.
The CAL Audio stuff looks pretty nice to me for the money. The CAL CL-20 CD/DVD player ($1,500) is a bit on the expensive side, but not totally out of consideration. For quite a bit less, maybe the CAL Icon Mk II CD Player (~$400) or the Pioneer DV-37 (~$600).
The player will be used in my main HT system with B&K preamp/amp combination and Monitor Audio PCM speakers. Currently using the digital outs into the B&K 1030 DD preamp, bypassing the Sonys DAC's.
Any suggestions on other brands/units I should look at? Not looking for the latest/greatest (last years or used is fine), just a solid entry-level transport/DAC combination without major flaws. Thanks in advance, I appreciate the opinions.