Buy a hi-end CD player/transport now?

Buy something that will offer you the most bang for the buck. This will hold you over while waiting and give you something enjoyable to listen to in the meantime.

As have many of the magazine reviewers, i would suggest something that upsamples. This really DOES make a difference if done properly. If you already have a transport / dac combo, you might want to check into the G & W upsampler. Martin DeWulf of Bound For Sound reviewed this a few months back and said that it was great. I think that Stereophile just had something on it ( maybe it was a quick "blurb" or just a mention ) and i think it was positive also. This add-on box sells for about $400. They are supposedly coming out with an upsampler DAC with tube outputs sometime shortly, so that might be VERY interesting.

Personally, i'm not putting too much faith in SACD regardless of who is backing it up. Sony "supported" Beta and it WAS better than VHS ( just like SACD is better than DVD-A ). Do you see how far that got them ? Besides, it seems as if larger "commercial" artists prefer DVD-A for the video potential. Besides that, i just read somewhere that some of the major record chains and on-line dealers are slowing down on how much SACD material they are carrying, if at all. Sean
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The "blurb" in Stereophile was a small review in Sam Tellig's February column if you want to check it out. Sean
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Ncarv and Sean give good advice. But I think that regular ol' CDs are going to be THE dominent music format for years to come. Cheers. Craig

I took the plunge and purchased a Cary 303/200 player with some of the same concerns that you seem to have. I listened to a few Sony SACD players and, IMHO, they did not come near the sonics of the Cary on standard red book CD's. There are many companies, Meridian, Krell, Accuphase, and Levinson come to mind, that are producing amazing CD players that compete in the Cary price range.

What I know is that I have over 1,000 CD's and expect to purchase and burn many more because of my love for music and the components that make it happen. Despite our obsession with the hardware and software involved in the music delivery process the majority of people could care less and go with what they know. If I am correct it was only recently that CD sales surpassed prerecorded tape sales in the United States. It will take quite a while before another medium becomes popular. I would place my bet on DVD because I know many more regular consumers that own a DVD player already and the DVD-A medium has that base of potential clientle that do not need to purchase additional hardware to use the product.

I am not sure I follow Drewfidelity's comment. Do all DVD players play DVD-A?
Rob