This common discourse reminds me of the new at the time Sony 7700;thing. It was supposed to be the be all transport;going into a quality dac.(according to reviews) At that time I had the Theta Data 3 and their Gen 5a. I hooked up the 7700 using the same dig.cable to the 5a--- My conclusion was: only if your hearing is nil,could you not hear the difference a quality transport makes.While I'm pretty sure the BD83 is a "great for the money" and a great starter/entry level item. AND--as always---don't pay for what you can't hear and save money doing so.