At this time, absolutely not. Universal players that play every format are OK for Audiophiles that want an affordable digital front end. However; Audiophiles that have near or state of the art Redbook CD front ends are generally disappointed in the compromises in sound, that have to made in these Universal players. Universal players as seen as some, to expand their choice of formats and software and sort of protect them from the outcome of the format war. This is never the case because the redbook front ends are really now coming into their own, with better software that is competetive to Hi-rez formats. Remember the Cd was suppose to kill off vinyl and vinyl last year sold more than DVD-A and SACD combined. Listen to the music and not the format. IMHO
Are "Redbook Only " CD players Obsolete?
With the advent of Universal Players ;ones that play DVD..CD..SACD..and DVD-A; Are standard "cd only" players OBSOLETE.......The "NEW BREED", like the MARANTZ DV 9500 can play ALL these formats and do it Better than most of the cd only and dvd-cd players at ANY PRICE...and all for under $2000.....why would anyone want to limit themselves......SACD and DVD-A are awsome for us audiophiles..and how much better can the "video" get?...Combine this State of The Art technology with the Fact that the Redbook CD playback is totally natural sounding..very analog like....and better than CD only players I've heard costing much more.... IS This is a NO-BRAINER........