Magnetar

@mahler123 If you referring to the Panasonic blu-ray player, the new model is the UB9000P1k (MSRP = 1100 USD), which i have. It is unclear where you’re getting the 1500 price tag. It can also serve as a great sounding CD player/network streamer/DAC/Preamp in a hifi system.

If you know something about blu-ray drives, reliability and so on, no one on earth is beating the Japanese brands. Magnetar (UDP900, price = 3000 USD) is a higher end Chinese brand like Oppo and i don’t doubt their competence. But, it’s "new" and doesn’t have as long a record as Panasonic. I don’t know much about it except that it’s getting some good reviews.

I now own a Magnetar UDP 900. It is a real boat anchor. The transport is eons faster than anything else on the market and as a music transport is all you could ask for. I can’t speak to the DACs as I do not use them. What really sets it apart is the picture. Is it perfect? No. The buttons are too small and hard to find in the dark. I do not care for the front panel aesthetics. The remote is not backlit. In short if you have a high end system and need a universal transport you have no where else to go. The Panasonic is a tinker toy in comparison.

@mijostyn , Cool, good to know, I guess i’ll hop on the Magnetar bandwagon myself shortly. I am a sucker for them heavy thangsss.