Maxcast: This will not get you good sound right away, but if you have "any" kind of CD player (even a Walkman) that you can use in the meantime, you might want to hold out for one of the upcoming low cost CD/SACD/DVD players that may be on the market in the next 3-6 months. Even if you do not get into multi channel sound you should still be able to take advantage of the DVD feature (if you have a compatible TV), plus have the option of playing SACD's. Will the new models sound any good? I don't know, but you will kick yourself if they do sound good and end up costing the same as the CD players that you are looking at now. You can still build the rest of the system in the meantime and if the new combo players suck, then pick up one of the suggestions above or something else that you like. I am just suggesting this because you seem to be on such a tight budget. I also am holding off on upgrading my player/transport to see what becomes available, as I am interested in adding SACD to my system (DVD does not interest me). I figure that once the low cost players hit the market the software will become readily available (unless the companies are intending on commiting marketing suicide, which I doubt that they are).
