Meridian, ARC or Cary?

In my opinion theres no question the ARC is the one.

I realize you may be looking for a HDCD deck but if you only have a small $$$ capability and can find a nice Meridian 508/24 ( non hdcd ) these things are pure pleasure to use.They work well with ARC and B&W 801s. I purchased a new 508/24 player a while back for a previous system with ARC and B&W 801 ( series 2 ) and it was a very good match.I have since moved on with several upgrades but have kept and continue to use the Meridain 508/24 and find it still sounds great and don't wish to spend any more $$ for a cd player upgrade.
Not sure if the helps but good luck...

I actually don't know if this helps you at all. There is an obvious difference in sound between CD and HDCD on at least the Cary 303/100.

I've heard the 303/300 and I was not that impressed.

G08 is a good player but is a bit gentle sounding when it comes to dynamic transients.

I just think ARC CD3MkII would be the better choice. Especially with the rest of ARC electronics. It is a great player.

As far as HDCD, I don't think you will be missing anything because of the way ARC player does redbook.