Philips 1000 vs 963 for 2 channel. Which one ?

I thought the 963 to be a lightly polished turd sonically. No bass, lacks prat, upsampling was gimmicky and synthetic sounding, build quality not something I could live with. Great for the $360? Sure, nothing to brag about in the grand scheme of things, however. The SACD1000 isn't a gem either, redbook can be summed up in one word: Blah. Very uninvolving, boring, even in my system although SACD was much, much better. I would give both machines a C+ rating. SACD/CD machines from Marantz I feel walk all over the Philips and Sony offerings on all fronts. It stumps me that people get excited about products from sony and philips when a company like Marantz is making machines that are of consistent higher quality yet never get any press for whatever reason.

If you have to have a DVD/SACD/CD player with a focus on 2ch music, go for a Sony 9000ES with an external dac, it makes a much better transport then the 999es, and from the horses mouth, is a better transport then the PS Audio Lambda dedicated transports. Just my experience, others experiences clearly vary....

Anytime a 500.00 list player stomps all over a 1500.00 player it deserves an A+ period.
My sota speakers that replaced my Thiel 3.6's reveal that the 963sa is a steal.
Does Marantz have a player for anywhere near 500.00 list that can touch the 963sa......not even close.

Try 3k list for sacd/cd only player that is hardly a fair comparison,but the 963sa gets a c+??????????...maybe if your deaf.
The positive press for the 963sa is well deserved as seen on every forum.
This player does 1080i also with a firmware upgrade for those that have hi def.

Btw...there are 18k players out there that make the Marantz sound like less than a turd so there fore it should get an get an F, even though it costs 6 times less right?

Ears, that has to be some of the most pathetic, illogical, irrational, ego-driven drivel I've ever seen, and one sees a lot of it on audio BBS....This is why I try to avoid reading Audio BB's, nothing but crap like this gets posted; noone can have a descenting opinion, every review has to be gushing, especially when a flavor of the month or declared "bang for buck" (hate that term) product is involved, any honest and accurate critique gets poo'd on by fanatic, mindless-drone, my dog is bigger then your dog, owners. Hey, whatever. You're right, I'm wrong, you're ears are golden, mine are tin, you're new toy syndrome holds within divine judgement, you're ego trumps my ego. Peace.

Socrates - I agree. If you want great redbok playback, use the 9000 as a transport with a good upsampling DAC. If you don't care about SACD, just buy a used Sony 7700 and get it modded.

Socrates,Whatever...comparing a 3k player to a 500.00 player and then grading the cheaper player a C+ and a polished turd....give me a break....you are the one who has it wrong.
I had the 9000 es for two years and its sonics are severly lacking in comparison to the 963sa, and why even talk about transport use...it wasn't part of the original question.
I can add 3-400.00 in parts to the 963sa and probably equal the 3k Marantz in sonics.
I have already done mod 1 as that is what i hear in the 963sa.....mod potential, and lots of it.

All of the positive online reviews of the 963sa....but you step in and claim it a polished turd,and insinuate everyone else is wrong....you are the one being ignorant and egotistical.
I can afford a much more expensive player if I choose to,but don't like losing 50% value in a year when I can mod and get 3k sound for hundreds of dollars and even get some of it back when I decide to sell.
All the business that all the modders are getting, tells me I am not alone in this thinking.
Speakers,amps and analog preamps are were to spend money imho...not ever changing high dollar digital.

I will ask again,seeings how you want to avoid the cost issue...what player does Marantz have that compares to the 963sa that lists for anywhere near the price???....nuff said.

I personally do not care if you visit the boards any more...or less than you used to.
Who are you, that I should care?
I have been a member here for years and anytime someone compares a 500.00 player to a 3k one, and calls it a polished turd, I will have to question there reasoning,whether I own the player or not makes no difference.
You act as if people are claiming the 963sa to be a world beater in your first post, and that the almighty Socrates needs to step in and tell the world that they are wrong and that its merely a "Polished Turd"