Okay......best single box reference CD player

@Mapman my reply to your question is simple as that:
If you think you have already a good system (speaker+amplifier one match) then for that kind of money, ask for a home demo with your 5000 player (or at least loan one) and you will know the answer.
For many years now I was listening of the capabilities of the "perfect cd sound" only now after the dCS Puccini home demo I enjoyed my huge redbook collection so much (with dsd upsampling) and considering my previous top gear.

So only that way (listening home to your system) you will eventually know the answer to your question, everything else is speculation and I do not wish to push puccini, just listen foryourself or get over it and enjoy your music anyway.

Now if that is going to make you open your pocket is another story, hopefully in Europe it's easier for us to buy it.

Mapman asked Dcstep:
"Are you running a new CD player in your system other than the Pioneer listed in your published system here on Agon??"

In fact I am. I was going to take some pictures and update my Virtual System this weekend to reflect the addition of a Playback Designs MPS-5. The Pioneer stays in to act as transport for the discs that the MPS-5 can't handle, DVD-A in particular.

Dave

Kops,

Yep, the only way to know if an investment like that is worth it is to listen on the target system in the target room.

Ironic isn't it that we discuss subtleties of high end audio in a place where we can't really listen to a darn thing?

hahaha

you're right, I'm listening right now internet radio though from my pc...

The notion that one has to merely wait for superior products to appear at lower prices because of increases in computing power ("Moore's Law") does not necessarily hold. It is true that most manufactures are captive to basic parts (transport mechanisms, DAC chips) that are made by big manufacturers. But, it is hardly true that these parts are improving. In fact, basic DAC chips are designed to serve many functions, and increasingly, doing basic redbook decoding is less and less a priority and chips have been going down hill in terms of their abilities on that front. That is why many manufacturers of premium units horde old chips and pay a premium for chips that are 10-years old or older in design and no longer manufactured. Even designers who have not been able to do this have admitted as much (I believe Charles Hanson of Ayre has said this).