Upgrade CD player or wait

Jack, I am in the same state of decision you are in now. I was not happy about the DVDA/SACD battle so I bought a cheap CD/DVD player, the Pioneer DVD525 and sold by beloved Theta Data Basic and Muse Model two DAC. What a drop in sound quality. The Pioneer is just an average CD player and is a decent DVD player. Your CD player is probably nearly as good. I am considering the Sony XA7ES the SCD777ES or the new XA777ES. The one problem with older CD players is that the transport mechanisms are no longer in production. That is why I hesitate to buy an older cd player with a 16/44 transport mechanism, if it fails, it dies. DVD and the Sony transports are what are in production (also CD rom mechanisms)now. The excellent Phillips CDM9 Pro mechanism was used in many high end transports, but is no longer in production and has not been made in probably 4-5 years or longer. What would I do? This is a tough question. Many of the DVD players do not sound as good as cd players made 4-5 years ago. If you buy a cd player, check the availability of transports and parts. The only DVD player I would consider is the Sony DVP 9000ES. Listen and research...Jeff