I'm not normally a fan of the all-in-one player concept, but in this instance I'd have to put my vote in for the Meridian 800 as well, especially if you want to use the internal DACs. It costs enough that they were able to throw in everything plus the kitchen sink and make it sound good to boot.
Best 2-channel audio from a one-box DVD player?
OK- obvious contenders are:
Ayre D-1 ($10 or 12$k?? 'the King', or so they say)
Muse Thalia (~$6k- Upgraded Nine Sig- excellent audio)
Camelot Round Table ($4k best bang-for-buck of the top dogs)
New Audio Aero Prestige ($10k- not released yet)
Next level down:
the new Cary (D-3 or something?)
EAD Theatervision
Toshiba S9100 (or some similar model #)
new Pioneer Elite (AVX-10??)
Pioneer Elite DV-09 (my unit!!- better as transport only...)
Sony whatever...
Anyways, those are just a few from the top of my head. OK- what is YOUR choice for absolute best 2-channel audio from a DVD player? Only stipulation is your choice MUST include using the DVD players' INTERNAL DACS (as opposed to using the DVD as a transport only, and using an outboard DAC, in which case a thousand possibilities open up, and that's a whole different discussion...). So- bottom line, forgetting the video capabilities, what is the BEST ONE BOX DVD PLAYER FOR 2-CHANNEL AUDIO?
Ayre D-1 ($10 or 12$k?? 'the King', or so they say)
Muse Thalia (~$6k- Upgraded Nine Sig- excellent audio)
Camelot Round Table ($4k best bang-for-buck of the top dogs)
New Audio Aero Prestige ($10k- not released yet)
Next level down:
the new Cary (D-3 or something?)
EAD Theatervision
Toshiba S9100 (or some similar model #)
new Pioneer Elite (AVX-10??)
Pioneer Elite DV-09 (my unit!!- better as transport only...)
Sony whatever...
Anyways, those are just a few from the top of my head. OK- what is YOUR choice for absolute best 2-channel audio from a DVD player? Only stipulation is your choice MUST include using the DVD players' INTERNAL DACS (as opposed to using the DVD as a transport only, and using an outboard DAC, in which case a thousand possibilities open up, and that's a whole different discussion...). So- bottom line, forgetting the video capabilities, what is the BEST ONE BOX DVD PLAYER FOR 2-CHANNEL AUDIO?