Lanny (and anyone else who may be able to help), the thing that gets me about the SP1000 and the Marantz DV9500 is the almost non-existant user feedback comparing the two for audio use (Redbook and HiRes). I've looked both here and on AVSForum, and most often the comparison between these two comes as pointers to the French and German web reviews. But there are very few (if any!) detailed comparisons by real users in this regard. There are tons of comments about how great the SP1000 is, but without any kind of detailed reporting against any of the other contenders it makes it hard for anyone else to guage what that really means.
I'm frankly not too keen on taking the European (or any) published reviews as money in the bank. I find I get a better sense of what people think when it's in an environment like this, where questions and further study can be addressed.
Note that I'm not suggesting either of these machines can surpass a dedicated high end 2 channel machine, but for those who want to find out how these two (they both seem to be the current top contenders for music in this price range, IMO) compare for musical reproduction the info is very scarce.
I'm frankly not too keen on taking the European (or any) published reviews as money in the bank. I find I get a better sense of what people think when it's in an environment like this, where questions and further study can be addressed.
Note that I'm not suggesting either of these machines can surpass a dedicated high end 2 channel machine, but for those who want to find out how these two (they both seem to be the current top contenders for music in this price range, IMO) compare for musical reproduction the info is very scarce.