Cambridge D500SE ??

Yes the D500SE is 24 bit. I think AudioAdvisor has a few of them for $399. I had the original D500 which was 20bit. Everything you read is true in my mind. Is also a HiFi Choice Best Buy and best play under $1000 in A/V Lifestyle (Austrialian) magazine. The only reason I sold it was I had too many CD Players. What I kept was a Rotel RCD-990 which is/was one of the best players under $2000 (or even $3000 when it was released), and a Cambridge CD6. It was a toss up which Cambridge to keep.

PS: If I would of had the SE 24 bit model, I would probably have parted with the CD6.

By the way, for those with the older version, the DAC chip module was designed to be removed, so you should be able to upgrade to 24 bit. Do not know the cost.

I owned a CD4 for a while in a office system, three months into owning it, I pressed play on the front panel and the front panel literally fell apart (the display fell inside the player). Evidently this is not uncommon with Cambridge. My dealer fixed it under warranty, but you have to wonder about build quality. My dealer stopped selling Cambridge due to questionable reliability, figured it wasn't worth aggravating his customers.

Thank you for the detailed information Sugarbrie. Interesting how Sam Tellig reviewed the non - SE version a few months back, and listed precious little technical information. It would be nice if his reviews contained the same objective data(in sidebars) as everyone else at Stereophile(along with test measurements - hey, JA lives in Brooklyn now...). I enjoy reading Sam, but sometimes his reviews are on par with those from AudioReview. Even worse was his review the next month on the Musical Fidelity A3 CD(one of the most uninformative reviews I have ever read in technical terms). I had been looking at the Cambridge site, but it is lacking in up to date information(doesn't even list the SE versions of the new players). The best I did was following your advice, and checking it out on AudioAdvisor. They were spot on, and up to date. I really need a new player, but am hesitant to buy an expensive one. I am thinking I should wait for a new universal(CD/SACD/DVD-A), but I have now been waiting for over three years to make my move. Maybe getting a player of this regard, for this price is a good option... Thanks again.