Anything better than Proceed?

I have a Cal Audio 2500, and can say that its DA for straight stereo is much better than I exoect it. I am comparing it to a tweaked Wadia 270 w/Wadia 27ix and the Cal audio has a Perpetual Technology upsampler in front. The Wadia combination is better, but no that much better, and the price difference is a lot. For movies I believe you will be hard press to find a better unit. As far as upgradability I question any companies ability to keep up with technology.

That's great news that the Perpetual tech upsampler works well with the Cal SSP-2500, I will try one. I was considering the 2500 series dvd player since it also upsamples but really wanted to hold out for one that did dvd-a as well. Do you won the video switcher?

All good responses. I find my Krell HTS and Krell amps with all Aerial speakers to be outstanding on surround and stereo. The HT world is in a constant state of change, so I think it's important to ensure that you also have a good stereo setup; I'm currently using a Meridian for that. Still, I can see changing the preamps within a year.