Looking for an inexpensive Blue ray player

I second yamaha.  The aventage bd 1060 features balanced analalog output and you are buying a lot for the money.
I have had the yamaha bd-s677 for the past 3 years, love it for sound and picture, but mostly the sound through the analog outputs...it sounds much better than my msb dac.
I recently have tried the sony h1, kept it for three weeks and sent it back because of audio.  So compressed, flat, same as the bottom of the line 2008 sony dvd player i still have.  To play cds, you have to have the screen on and gracenot because there's no display on the unit to select tracks.
No comparison with yamaha on sonics.  With that said, it could make a nice transport with its rigid chassis, i think that's what sony intended it to be, and it does offer excellent video.

+1 for Yamaha
If the sound is the first priority the Yamaha BD-S681 or used Oppo should be on first priority in your list.

mesch, the new sony uhp-h1 is really an old 2010 blu-ray player in a more rigid chassis.  It is so not "premium" that they just dropped the price to $200.  After having tried it continuously for 3 weeks, i would not even get it at $200.

Well, I just purchased a new Yamaha BD-S681 from a certified dealer via Ebay. Paid $270 for it shipped. After receiving and putting it into play I will get back to everyone as to what I think. Thanks for your help!