Which is the best cd player under $10k?

I have heard the AMR 77 extensively and I would say that it does not need an external dac as it is that good. That unit and only a hand full of others competes with the Bidat. I own the MSB Power DAC (latest version) but the AMR is in another league. I know RobertBrown likes the MSB stuff very much, but as one who had been able to compare the MSB and the AMR 77...it is simply no contest. The AMR is one of the BEST digital players I have ever heard.

Melbguyl, I agree with you that the unit is very heavy...I don't understand your point though. Who buys a $10K CD player (which they would know to be heavy) and then possibly places it on an inferior shelf? My former ML 31.5 was heavy...so was my Wadia 7 and especially my Sony SCD-1...Never had a problem as I purchased an adequate rack...as I believe most audiophiles would do.

I am purchasing the Playback Design MPD-5 DAC and maybe it will beat the AMR, I don't know as yet but I do know that no other DAC I can name at this point has been better. The Weiss Minerva was assassinated by the AMR LOL... that sounds funny but it is true.

The main reason I am not going for it is simply because I am into my Mac Mini as a music server controlled by my iPhone or Harmony 1000.

One thing I forgot about, as of Jan 1st of this year all of the AMR 77's have SPDIF in/out as an option along with USB inputs. The 777 always had this. Just a quick FYI, so you can use it with your' DAC should you find a dac which you feel betters the native performance of the unit.

Karelfd: My pleasure and yes the unit is a GREAT player and a fantastic transport.

Cool, I am glad that will work for you. As an owner of a Bidat and the DCC-1 I (and others LOL :) I know what it is like to have a special dac that you don't want to part with. Even though I believe the future is 24 bit 96khz+ downloads there are literally billions of CDs out there and so that litte shiny disc is going to be around for a long long time and if you love your dac it behoves you to hang on to it :)

Racks can and do make a big difference. Now have said that I am certainly not naive enough to fall for the marketing hype of some in the world of audio, but there are some very solid non resonant stands out there to be had...for less than the cost of a used auto :)

I looked at Mapleshade which looked like it would be a good deal until I configured my stand and got sticker shock when the price was quoted to me. I think i am going with Steve Blinn; his stuff looks great, is solid and I love his not bull approach. None of this... "I only use metal whose grain is aligned with the earths magnetic field lines ...during summer solstice" crap. I am of course exaggerating but I get so tired of all the marketing hype. Mr. Blinn just seems to offer a solid product at a fair price :) We shall see...

Melbguy1: I too have been thinking of having my furniture guy build me a rack, it would be quite a bit more cost effective.