Best Sounding Universal Disc Player under $2000?


Hi Everyone,
I was just wanting opinions from people who have heard, compared, or owned several universal disc players for $2,000 or less brand new:
1. Which has the overall highest quality red-book cd performance?
2. Which has the overall best SACD performance?
3. Which has the overall best DVD-Audio performance?
4. Which has the best overall performance on all the formats together as a whole?
5. Is the red-book and SACD performance on the unit you named above as good as the top Sonys?
Thanks alot.
daltonlanny
I'll have to say without a doubt, the Pioneer 59avi. I had the Denon 3910. The redbook and SACD on the 59 is outstanding. Better than my Sony XA777es. Simply outstanding. The Denon was very clear but extremely bright in my system. The longer you listen, the more irritating. Nice features on the display panel, tho. Good luck.

John
A Denon (pick your model) modded by Dan Wright (with Universal Truth tube output stage) would also get my vote.
I think by the end of this year that the two best sounding universal players under $2,100.00 will probably be the Denon DVD-3910 and the Marantz DV9500.
Any other opinions?
A refurbished Denon is a very smart buy esp if you plan to get it modded, as mods would invalidate the factory warranty anyway. I am thinking about a Modwright 2900 Universal Truth (tube output stage) to replace my Scott Nixon Tube Dac.
Greetings,
Just a quick thought; I did tons of research on this very thing, with an eye toward sound quality as much as anything in a unviersal, yet affordable player. In the end, due to the changing landscape of unestablished standards (i.e. SACD vs. DVD audio) I chose to spend moderately and wait for the outcome.

I ended up getting a Denon DVD 2900 online, and refurbished. 90 day warranty from Denon. But, saved $300 over the new price. I'm elated with it! Sound is good, especially in SACD. Haven't tried DVD audio yet. But, I do have dedicated two channel listening system too.

If $600 sounds good to you; you can't go wrong with the refurb Denon DVD2900

Enjoy!
Denon? Pioneer? Marantz? Any others?
Any opinions would be appreciated.
Thanks again.