Avguru, thanks for the input. Actually, I was going to use them as transports - sounds like that may not be the best idea now. Maybe that old NAD in my second system or my son's Marantz would be a better idea. (He'd love a shiny new do it all player :-).
Sounds like you have considerable experience in this area and a fair amount of access to equipment. Any other thoughts on players in this or perhaps slightly higher price range (up to $750)? I'm starting to think that perhaps it's just not possible to do this right with one player and maybe I'd be better off with a higher cost SACD player and a total budget DVD-A player - since I don't have or plan to have very many DVD-A discs. Maybe something like a Marantz 8260 used and a total budget DVD-A unit. Use one of them, possibly the Marantz as a transport.
Sounds like you have considerable experience in this area and a fair amount of access to equipment. Any other thoughts on players in this or perhaps slightly higher price range (up to $750)? I'm starting to think that perhaps it's just not possible to do this right with one player and maybe I'd be better off with a higher cost SACD player and a total budget DVD-A player - since I don't have or plan to have very many DVD-A discs. Maybe something like a Marantz 8260 used and a total budget DVD-A unit. Use one of them, possibly the Marantz as a transport.