Tube or solid state CD player

I am putting together a 2 channel system separate from my HT setup. I will be using Meadowlark Kestral2 speakers driven my a solid state HK 6650 integrated amp. Not sure on the source yet. I am considering the Ah Tjoeb Model CD 4000 with upscaling. Stereophile had a pretty nice article on this player. It is basically a modified Marantz player, but uses tubes. Another option is the Philips DVD963SA. While I do care about price, I am willing to pay the extra for the Ah Tjoeb ($1,200 vs $500 list for the Philips) if it is truly a better sounding unit. Both have upsampling (I assume that does improve Redbook). Since it is only for audio, I do not care about the video capabilities of the Philips DVD player. I do like the SACD capability, however. So which would any of you choose? Any opinions you share will be appreciated.