"06-04-14: Dbphd
IIRC, I read that the mechanicals are Pioneer, and that Ayre has stocked backup units for meeting future service needs."
That's true. They do that with all their players. Also, just to note, there are no transports that are made outside of Asia. Every CD/DVD play, regardless of brand or country of origin, has a transport made in Asia. There was only 1 exception that I know of. Linn used to make a Redbook only transport that went in their high end units. I don't know if its still in production.