As a Linn Sondek owner I can sympathize with your search for the best possible source. My own opinion is different from Hdm's--I think there is a lot to gain from looking high up the scale. Higher than Arcam. I would compare both your players with a Linn Ikemi, a very good YBA, a Moon Eclipse, or even a Shanling CD-T100 like mine, before I would compare them side by side. I would do this even if I couldn't afford the best right away, just to know what the good stuff sounded like. Then I would look for the player that sounded closest to that without breaking my budget.
You do get more bang for your buck today than ten or even four years ago, but with respect to Hdm, there is a serious limit to the music you can get from a source under $1000, even with very good equipment downstream. At worst, the electronics and speakers will only reveal the source's imperfections more clearly--but that shouldn't be the case with your system.
One final idea has to do with how evaluations are done, and please excuse me if I'm repeating what you already know. Rapid switching between players--called A-B testing--is not the way to spot differences, in my experience. Instead, choose a varied selection of pieces and listen to them all the way through, first on one player, then the next. Pay attention to the music and the emotion, not the details like timbres, PRAT and the rest. If you find your mind wandering, it's a bad sign. OTOH, if you find tourself touched, that's good.
Best of luck !
You do get more bang for your buck today than ten or even four years ago, but with respect to Hdm, there is a serious limit to the music you can get from a source under $1000, even with very good equipment downstream. At worst, the electronics and speakers will only reveal the source's imperfections more clearly--but that shouldn't be the case with your system.
One final idea has to do with how evaluations are done, and please excuse me if I'm repeating what you already know. Rapid switching between players--called A-B testing--is not the way to spot differences, in my experience. Instead, choose a varied selection of pieces and listen to them all the way through, first on one player, then the next. Pay attention to the music and the emotion, not the details like timbres, PRAT and the rest. If you find your mind wandering, it's a bad sign. OTOH, if you find tourself touched, that's good.
Best of luck !