Best under $2000.00 : Denon,Marantz,Onkyo,Pioneer?

Hello All,
I just received my Onkyo DV-SP1000 yesterday.
Wow, what a well built player! This thing is SOLID!
Even though this unit is fresh out of the box, I am extremely pleased with its sonics, and build quality.
This player has the best Redbook CD performance I have ever heard in my home, and this includes my SCD-XA777ES and my former EVS modified Pioneer DV-47Ai universal player.
The DVD-Audio performance is outstanding as well.A little better than the modded Pioneer, and much better than the stock Pioneer.
The SACD performance is at least as good as my Sony, in my opinion.
The picture is outstanding, probably the best I have saw in my home.
I cannot wait until it is fully broken in!
This is an outstanding player, worth every penny, and I cannot recommend it highly enough!
Lanny

About the sound of the Onkyo DV-SP1000:
It is extremely detailed, transparent, airy, open, and smooth sounding.
The bass is exceptional. Mids are top-notch. The imaging is outstanding. The highs are all there, smooth, and very extended. What I like most is the way the 1000 gets you involved in the music and makes you seem to forget that you are listening to a digital music reproduction device.
The 1000 has to be one of the overall smoothest and most balanced sounding digital players I have ever heard! It is smooth, yet it does not loose fine detail, air, or openness in the process.
The picture is sharp, clear, and extremely focused.
EARS: Thanks for steering me in the right direction!
Lanny

Daltonlanny,
You are welcome...

I rarely like anyhing at this price point enough to reccomend it, but I feel exactly like you do about the sp 1000 and think it is about time it got some due recognition on an audio board.

This is the first dvd based player that I am not in a hurry to modify for redbook/sa-cd.
I can't find one negative thing about this player, which is amazing because I am quite picky.

Enjoy your sp 1000 because you made a very wise choice.

Greg

Hey Greg,
How long did it take your Onkyo DV-SP1000 to break-in?
What changes were there to the sonics before and after break in?
Thanks again, Ears, for everything!
Lanny

Lanny,
I would say about a 3-4 weeks to break in using all formats whith usually a cd/sa-cd running 24/7 when not actually listening to the player, or using it to watch a flick.
The soundstage grows wider and deeper whith 150-200 hours and the overall sonics remain much like stock whith everything improving somewhat.

The thing whith the sp 1000 is once you start listening to music, you don't want to stop, so I had very little time for it to break in whithout actual use.
Normally, I will listen to a digital source and then let it run 24/7 for 4 days, listen again ect,but the sp 1000 got my toes tapping like they had a mind of there own, right from the get go.
If I had to guess, I would say there is a 10% improvement in sonics across the board after 3-4 weeks.

This is the first digital source I have owned that sounded musical right out of the box besides my Modwright signature 9000 es which was already broken in when I bought it used.
In other words, I did not pay much attention to break in like I normally would as I was enjoying the music too much.

Greg