Best Blu Ray video and for 2 channel transport?

Thanks, totally understand.. and I agree on many fronts, just figured I need a little more for fun and hobby, got some freebies coming to me, and I own some hi rez displays that have everything already so why not?

I will look into both the pioneer and panasonics..Does not have to be purchased tomorrow, waiting about a month to see what shakes out and I am sure pricing by then with new models etc... will drop probably another 50 bucks.

The Sony Bdp2000es Blu-Ray is the first Blu-ray Disc player in Sony's "Elevated Standard" (ES) line and was designed with many audio enhancements. Its an excellent CD player as well as a Blu Ray player. Athough, a used one will probably cost a few hundred above your range, it excels in both Blu Ray and CD playback.

It has rigid dual-shield construction. The high-end quality construction employs highly tuned audio parts including multi Channel 192KHz/24bit Audio D/A Converters as well as a solid beam chassis that contributes to minimized vibration and drastically improve playback. The unit's off center aluminum insulator feet combined with the aluminum top panel helps isolate the player from external vibrations , while a rigid drive bracket adds stability of the drive system and a separate isolated audio board prevents interference and keeps the signal as clean as possible delivering better sound.

Jax2 the dmp-bd55k looks nearly perfect... One issue is that the dmp-bd35k the lower model is identical in performance, and can be had much cheaper but drops the damn coax out! Literally it looks as the 100 to 150 more people are willing to spend buys them the 7.1 analog outputs(completely useless in my case) and a Coax digital out.

The bd35k only has an optical out of course my luck.

Guess I will have to pay the penalty(performance and money wise) and just to get a decent digital out and have to have another 7.1 processor built in dragging on the power supply!

Always something looking for the exact next big thing. There is a little more info on the fact supposedly although not listed by panasonic that the audio sections are futher isolated/insulated and with better capacitors than the bd35k... Not sure how much of this will translate to the transports ability however I guess it can help justify paying a little more for it in an attempt to hope that the digital side of the transport is slightly better...

There is a reviewer saying it has much better heaft and weight with resolution over the bd35 on the audio side.. And I believe that they only used it via HDMI for the 5.1 and 7.1 connection meaning that it was not the performance of the analog section but actually of just the transport working its magic, the clock and transport simply feeding it to the outboard dacs..

Whether it is fact who knows, but it will help me shovel out the extra a little more on the 55 model to get the coax out at least :-)

I guess my only question is will the panny have a menu option to down mix everything to 2 channel with the digital out? Problem is that that is the only other difference between the 55 and 35, the 35 actually has 2 channel analog outs, and the 55 does not...

Undertow - Yes, I'm very aware of the 35 model and did consider it. I ultimately did not try one so cannot comment on perceived differences. I chose the 55 for the coaxial out option (which I did use to feed my DAC). It also has an ethernet connection if you want to use BD-Live or make future firmware updates "easier". On the 55 you can easily down=mix to 2ch - interface is pretty simple. I think you can also output 2-ch audio via the 7.1 outlets and downmix settings. It was a damn good unit for the money as far as my short audition was concerned (was $346 a few days ago). You probably got a sense of that reading other's feedback. It had a very nice soundstage, even on movies, via the coaxial out downmixed. I'm sure digital via 7.1 would be even better but I have no processor (don't even know how to use them).

Likecap - I think that model has been succeeded by the Sony BDP5000ES. Looks like a nice player with a stiff price tag ($1999). I like Sony's gear. If you get into that price range you may also want to consider Pioneer's Elite players which are a bit less expensive and supposedly quite good too, and will fill as much space on your shelf with an equally heavy box. I'd make sure to read through plenty of real-world feedback on any player you are considering as some, it seems, can be a royal PITA. It is not known to be a plug-and-play medium thus far. The Panny was just that. No doubt there are others.

Undertow....I have the Panny 35 and it does NOT have 2-channel analog outs. You have to get the 55 for those.