Tough question. Four and a half years ago I bought a new DAC and transport. I made the decision to buy seperates thinking that with the high rez formats coming I would have the flexibility to swap out and/or upgrade the units to take advantge of the new format. It now appears as though I out-thought myself. The manfacturer is uncomitted to upgrades for the units that I bought even though they are both still in production. I currently intend to do nothing until the hi rez formats straighten themselves out. If one or both of the units failed beyond repair tomorrow I would probably look for either a used hi end (Meridian, Levinson, ARC, BAT, etc) single box CD player or watch for a used SACD player. Once the SACD/DVD/CD debate gets straightened out I would/will probably go single box. Regards, Doug
