Levinson 31 transport - A good buy?

... can only comment on 31.5. It is the best I've tried (vs jadis, denon, krell, marantz). As I understand, .5 upgrade is mechanical upgrade (ie the lid etc). Drawbacks (again for 31.5) - the laser mechanism is in the open. Therefore, if you have kids who play with things, or very dusty / hairy (pets) environment, this might not be a good choice. Sonicly, however, it is unbeatable (16/44.1).

Depends on your other gear. I'd ALWAYS prefer a WADIA - even the 830 beat the ML in a ML / REVEL environment.

I have a 31 transport. I compared it directly with the 37 and Theta Jade and David. I found it to be better. I hear that the 31.5 is a big step forward, but the price of the upgrade is stopping me. I disagree with the above post, I owned a Wadia 830 and used it as a transport/cd player.