Meridian 808.2 CD Player......

The fact that the Puccini plays SACDs (whereas the Meridian does not)is, in my opinion, a very strong point in the Puccini's favor. But there is something in dCs's marketing that I dislike. The Puccini is advertised as a marvelous one-box player. But then we are told that for several thousand dollars more we can buy a master clock for the Puccini that will improve its sound. This not only brings the total price close to $25,000, but the marketing strategy bothers me. I would prefer a one-box player to be a one-box player. A preamp option at an additional cost would not cast a shadow on buying a player. But having to purchase (at a significant sum) a clock option in order to get a better sound does, in my opinion, cast a shadow on the purchase of a Puccini.

......thank you for your posts and positions. I owned dcs gear - Delius, Purcell and Verdi prior to my current set up of Esoteric P-05 and D-05. I enjoyed the dcs gear - however, the transport was nightmare and took a bath when I had to trade it in.....dcs is world class great gear, but getting service here in the US scares me unless that has changed in the past few years. We have all found out that digital gear breaks and needs service....which is why I went to Esoteric - a financially strong company, serviced here in the US and good customer support. Sorry to say that I have made audio purchases on that merit...if you are going to pay these kinds of dollars - I want a company that is going to be around and service my gear. Which brings me to the Meridian ....I am looking at the Meridian 808.2....as I want to scale down my current set-up....for space and ease of use as I just want to enjoy music again...without 4 huge power cords, and HRS platforms and digital interconnects - but I DO NOT want to scale down the sound - I want to improve on that. Now - the fact that the Meridian is not upgradeable is a concern....however, this is a strong company who does know their stuff in digital - it can be serviced here in the US and something about the laser assemebly that I will be able to get service and PARTS for years to come is a postive....I question how the market would be if I do decide to re-sale it in 3-5 years. Big question mark.... The dcs gear is upgradable and which is a positive, but I do not know where it gets serviced and don't know if the laser assembly or parts will be available. dcs gear seems to move well here on Audiogon. The Esoteric stuff I enjoy very much and has all the positives's that I have mentioned above.....but in my stystem - it can sound a little bright / and some times cold which has brought me here. I agree that I don't want to buy a clock to make the player better - then I will keep what I got....also, the Meridian is not upgradable but has a warmer sound than the Esoteric and maybe a harder re-sale in the futture....but is a fantastic one box player - with an ease of use for years to come - still looking at options

Kijanki
I don't care what J.A said about Meridian and dCS. I stated my own opinion about dCS. I bought the Puccini in 2008, May and clock 2009, February. J.A covered Puccini by 2009 December. Check all publications when Puccini first appeared as a test? I don't need others comments when I make my own statements.

Mert - I just had impression from your statement that you think J.A was talking about SACD performance. You are entitled to your opinions but for me, at least, J.A opinion counts more. And this is just an opinion.

Garebear - dCS in the past had many reliability problems with the Philips SACD transport they were using. They were not alone - many great hi-end companies that used the same drive had identical problems.

This is why all their latest offerings (Puccini, Paganini, Scarlatti) use Esoteric tranport. Combining Esoteric transport mechanism, with their state-of-the-art digital conversion, makes it a wining combination IMO.