What is the best redbook CD player for 6K to 8K?

TVAD, yes of course you are correct, the comparison of an APL 1000 vintage late 2004, even sporting the very latest engineering changes available at that time, is not a fair comparison with a player which retails for approximately twice as much, even though the latter was released in Japan at a similar time. In some sense that was my very point, the APL 1000 was quite a good performer at its price point, yet not necessarily the very last cry in performance at any price that it was sometimes claimed to be.
As you correctly also point out, I have not had the opportunity of auditioning an APL 3910, nor an NWO-1, nor an NW-02. Comparing one of them directly with an X-01 Limited -- the current latest and greatest in TEAC single-box purely audio players -- would be an extremely intriguing musical experience. Of course any unit involved would need to be completely broken in prior to any serious listening, or the entire exercise would be devoid of meaning. Still, at least in the case of an X-01 Limited pitted against the NWO-1 and NWO-2, the comparison would be in a sense that of an apple -- or at least of a tangerine -- with a couple of oranges, if you only consider the significant list price difference of a stock X-01 with these UX-1 based reingeneered units.

Guido, the SACD1000 mod was introduced at $1350 and then went up to $1850. At that time, the SACD1000 was on sale from Tweeter at $400. Online prices on Audiogon and Ebay were $600 max for brand new units. The X-01 retail is $13K and the X-01 Limited is $14K. So I don't really know what you mean by "twice as much" the SACD1000 price. I figure around 6 times as much. There are very positive reports and reviews from independent parties who don't even own SACD1000. Please also be aware that the SACD1000 featured an output transformer with higher output impedance so it is extremely important what load will be presented to it. Best results are obtained with non-shielded cables and preamplifiers having input impedance of 100K Ohm.

UX-1 and X-01 feature the same transports and the same Digital Signal Processing boards. It’s just that the X-01 video and DVD-A features are software and hardware disabled. The UX-1 Video can be completely shut down too with a button on the remote. So, the only advantage X-01 has over UX-1 is the differential DAC and Analog output stage with 4 instead of 2 DACs and DOUBLE the Op Amps. There are sonic differences between the two, but not huge by any means.

I suspect you may find the $6K price difference between the X-01 Limited and NWO-2 very well worth it.

Regards,
Alex

Alex, thanks so much for your insights!

Seems like having a lights out CD player is a relatively safe investment over the long term. I think there are a fair number of people who hesitate over going all the way out of fear the unit will end up being a big paperweight. And, in the days where no one really knows where the market is going, trying to maximize performance via a modder (such as yourself!) makes even more sense.

I'm quite happy with my players (2 year old Samsung Universal, 4 year old Sony SACD, and 3 year old Granite CDP), and have experienced trouble free service (knock on wood), and think modding one of two of them would be a good idea for me.

Alex, only Babybear, who is currently away on vacation, has the exact list of ECs and value of his unit, which was not however a basic modified unit, but a maximized one. He only can comment on its cost further on his return. On the other hand, at the time of my audition, there was a general confidence in you and the APL tribe alike, that any APL unit would outperform any stock player of any price. A more realistic position should be that at any price point, a quality and well re-engineered unit may have a greater than average chance of outperforming a stock unit of similar market value.
I did go into the audition fully expecting the APL 1000 to outperform the X-01. It did not. The opposite was true, by a significant margin. Setting realistic customer expectation is part of Marketing/sales skill building. To tell the truth, I learned a few hard lessons in this area myself in my own work during recent times.

Concerning X-01 vs NWO-2, the issue is not so much that of NWO-2 yielding higher performance than X-01, but:

1. Does the targeted re-engineered player exceed the performance of stock players in its own market price point, where the price is the typical transaction price for such units, rather than their list price.

2. Does any performance advantage of the re-engineered player for the automatic and immediate loss of manufacturer's warranty coverage on the original unit? Please note that TEAC has stated very clearly that they will not repair any modified machines, regardless of its warranty status.

3. Will the re-engineered unit be as reliable as the original, or will it require a greater or smaller amount of maintenance?

4. Which company has the best track record for most reliable customer order/tracking/delivery management, and post sales customer service?

A certain amount of research online and offline may assist a consumer in making a decision. Ultimately, it may simply come to personal taste, preferences, or beliefs.

Redwoodgarden, is your head spinning now? It is safe to own most modded players these days and you can get a lot of bang for your buck.