"Best" multichannel universal player right now?

Yikes! I would hope so for that price, Tvad. I might consider that beyond the "knee" of the curve. :-0

Audiolui, yes everybody seems to love the BDP-83. Like I said the earlier models I'd seen were truly a great bang for the buck. If you've heard the 83 I'd like to know if you were able to get a sense of its sound compared to other mainstream or upper end alternatives.

oppo blue ray it is

Pretty much. In this case best performance for what might be called "high end" at a price which is just at the point of rapidly diminishing returns if exceeded.