Quality universal player that reads scratched DVDs

I used to sell Audio in a salon in Westwood Ca. One day two Japanese gentlemen came in asking what the best CD player was in my opinion. The Techniques tracks everything I said, most of the others need a pristine CD. They informed me that the Technics player used minolta optics which were the best in the industry regardless of price. The same seems to hold true for my panasonic DVD/VHS combo player. It will read the worst Blockbuster has to offer and although the quality on my Denon 3910 far exceeds that of the Panasonic it is very particular of the quality of the surface of the CD or DVD.

Does anyone know of a sub 3k player that really sounds and looks good but will read just about anything.