Old Philips CD as transport or new playe

Seldenr, like you, I've been pondering these things. I like the idea and simplicity of a one box design, but have been intrigued with the spate of glowing reviews for inexpensive (relatively) dacs. I listened to Arcam 9 and Conrad Johnson DF-2. Not enough improvement over my Cambridge CD4se to warrant the expense. I've been listening to a new Assemblage 2.7 Signature dac driven by the Cambridge for a couple of days now (using bnc/bnc cable.) I honestly believe that you'd never find a new cd player for $948 (Assemblage price) that sounds this refined and musical. Excellent value for dollars spent. I figure that I can upgrade to a good used transport if the Cambridge expires and still spend less than a new quality one box player. You'd probably find a similar situation with your player, but a 10 year old unit could go at any time. As to the format quandry Dekay mentions, who knows how this will settle out? I've got hundreds and hundreds of cd's I love and have no intention of replacing in sacd even if the titles become available. I just decided to quit worrying about that issue and buy something that will let me enjoy what's available now.