Recom. for a new CD/DVD?

Daniel,

Thanks a million for your detailed posting. I was in hibernation. (They really should provide Internet access on planes these days!)

I'm glad to see you are enjoying your 963. Here's another one for you. Did you have a chance to compare yours with SACD-1000 or better yet Sony XA777ES? Where do you rank your machine amongst these contenders?

I was dangerously close to buying a cheap Chinese SACD player (either the Xindak SCD-2 or the Shanling T200, both have Tube output stage) but backed off in the last minute in favour of proven technology. Now contemplating between the SACD-1000 and XA777ES. Any advise??

Cheers,

Amal

I was in that situation as well, but decided for the 963 because of the 192/24 CD oversampling not available with the SACD 1000 or the XA777ES(as far as I know). Since my collection is mainly CD and there are few SACD out there, CD reproduction performance was paramount over SACD. After running-in, the Philips on oversampling is just excellent, and the difference with SACD is not that much(tested on 2 CDs only). The 963 is a machine with a lot of attention to audio. Besides the dual laser one for CD and the second for SACD, there is a "direct mode" switch on the front which switches off all the video circuits to avoid interference with audio circuits and best audio performance. The new DAC chip is ailed as superior to other brands. However have not done a direct comparison of SACD performance between the Sony and the Philips. According to informed sources at Philips the 963 is better than the 1000.But again, opinions. My initial intention was to buy the Philips as SACD and use it with the Meridian 566 DAC for CD reproduction since I liked the Meridian sound. But after auditioning the 963 conclude the Meridian was ready for retirement

Daniel

dturbati,
where did you find the 963 for sale, i'm having trouble doing so, thanks