Sony XAE777 CDP or Bel Canto DAC?

Yor best bang for the buck would be to mod your 963sa as it would more than compete with the 777.

If your not into diy, then contact Doug at www.asi-audio.com for many different levels of mods to the 963sa.

Dvd players that make great transports at there used prices are the Sony 7000es,7700es and 9000es to name a few.

Also, I would buy a Denon 5900[if you can find one] before buying the 777.
I have one I have been auditioning for the last week and can say whith around 90 hours of sacd burn in that this player offers better sacd sonics than the original 777 and Phillips sacd 1000 and is almost as good as a Modwright Signature 9000 es in sacd mode.
I would say that the signature offers slightly better inner detail, but the 5900 could improve even more whith 200 or so hours.
I have hardly any hours on the redbook or dvd-a sections but will comment on them later in the review section.
One new 5900 owner sold his Consonance cd/sacd player after hearing the 5900 and actions speak louder than words.

As for the video section, it offers as close to hi def as your likely to see on well transfered material.
Who says video can't be a part of the mix whith sacd/cd...after hearing this machine....not me.

If you use the video, It is as close to hi def as your likely to see whith well transfered material

Your idea of what sounds good may be very different from what you get from other people in a thread like this. If there is any way you can take a few players home and give them a good listen for a few days, I would. Any player you do a search of on Audiogon or Audio Asylum forum will turn up mixed opinion. I think you can see that from your post here. Good Luck!!

Dave

I had a Phillips 1000 but it died & they sent me a refund check instead of fixing it. I have been quite pleased with both of these machine's performance but I want to take it to another level while staying under $1500.00 used.