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$5000 universal player ... am I a fool ?

So now ... recently my old reference source player finally died and I needed to upgrade to keep up with the times, and I'm not sure if I played the part of a fool or no.
Redbook CD is of the utmost importance to me, even though it is done in the context of my home theater system, Egads ! So I went on the search to find a DVD player that would hold it's own against about any CD player in the $5000 range on down. I'm fairly sure I found that in the Lexicon RT-20 I purchased used off these forums. SQ is as good as any CDP I have owned up to about $7000.
Here is my dilema though : Blu Ray seems to be the future, and this "universal" player does not play Blu Ray.
I've read EVERY long post on these forums about Blu Ray playing 2ch audio, but there seems to be absolutely ZERO concensus about this subject.
So simply put, are there ANY Blu Ray players that MAY equal my RT-20 from it's analogue outputs ? Anyone heard a good comparison, or are we still just guessing ?
timtim
timtim OP
84 posts
 
Jylee ... Sorry, I mis spoke. The Theta DAC I owned was a Pro Gen V, and not a Gen 3. It's been a few years.
Post removed 
timtim OP
84 posts
 
Tvad ... Read my post on this thread dated 4-28-09

Here it is copied and pasted :


Responses (1-23 of 23)
Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.

04-26-09 Yes i believe so. Glory

04-26-09 I also bought an rt-20 on here new for about $1000. my thin ... Ddg123

04-26-09 Wait for the new oppo which will be a bluray universal forma ... Ckorody

04-26-09 Some reports say that it's still buggy on audio. bluray appe ... Metralla

04-26-09 Why compromise with a universal player that attempts to do e ... Cruz123

04-26-09 There's a used esoteric ux-3se available now under $5k. best ... Tvad

04-26-09 hello, i have heard some very nice high end units but end ... Sonicbob

04-26-09 If you're playing cds through your ht system, why are you wo ... Bob_reynolds

04-26-09 keep the lexicon and buy the oppo once they fully release i ... Blindjim

04-26-09 can you list some of those cdps and some comparison of sq? Jylee

04-27-09 I second the ayre c5xe as an excellent universal player with ... 4musica44107

04-27-09 Another option is denon will be releasing their new bluray l ... Theo

04-27-09 I use a spectral/mit system and the lexicon is a "remar ... Psacanli

04-27-09 Opinions will vary....buy what you can afford, and like. as ... Jaybo

04-28-09: Timtim
OK, back to the thread at last. Some of you mis-read my post. I do not have a $5000 budget to spend. I bought a $5000 Lexicon for $800 off this forum .... and it is just that, a FABULOUS sounding cd player with probably the single best DVD picture that is non HD.
But it won't play Blu Ray. Soooo, do I keep the Lexicon as simply a CD player and then add a $500 Blu Ray player to it, or are relatively inexpensive Blu Ray players soooo much better at playing Redbook Cd's that I can just replace the Lexicon entirely ...
Players the Lexicon equals or betters ? Naim CDX, Naim CD5, Sony SCD-1 , Linn's $5000 player, Arcam FMJ 36 ? , Theta Miles w/ Theta Pro Gen 3a, and others I have owned.
Why don't I just get a great Pre-pro ? Because I already own a nice B&K AVR-307 that has better SQ than literally ANY big receiver I have ever heard, and I mean ANY of them. Much more musical and realistic than Sony, Yamaha, ect, ect. Having said that, I've never heard a Pre-pro that sounded as good as most good separate DACs do, unless they are REALLY expensive, and I just can't afford those anymore.
Timtim (Threads | Answers)

Key words are "and others I have owned.
No big deal though ... chill pill taken :-)
Post removed 
dougmc
105 posts
 
Small point, Timtim, but you said your Arcam FMJ 36 used the DCS Ring DAC. I believe the last Arcam CD player to use the Ring DAC was the FMJ-23. The immediate successor, the FMJ 33, and the next model, the FMJ 36, used chips made by Wolfson.
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