I thought Fred Thompson might reply regarding a replacement for your SACD1000. Seems like he's always trying out a new DAC or transport, so I thought he might chime in. If he doesn't see this thread, you might write to him directly. Just look for one of his posts and click his name to get his E-Mail address.

I do have a recommendation for you, and it's a product I own so I can vouch for it personally. It's the $399 Onix CD-5. I own the previous version, the XCD-88. The CD-5 is built for AV123's Onix line of electronics by Shanling, which means it's built by an OEM manufacturer with state-of-the-art quality control, and not in some back room in Hong Kong. This player is not equal to $1K players, and especially not the SACD-1000, but it does sound very good considering the price, and it's built like a tank.

Its build quality also makes it a good transport, and it has coaxial and optical digital outputs, so when you receive your next executive bonus (e.g. your wife lets you spend a few more dollars on audio junk) you can upgrade it significantly by adding a Lite Audio DAC-60, a Paradesia, or any of the other high quality budget priced dacs that are popular these days.

I've read good things about some other players in the $400 and below price range, but I'm not personally familiar with them. Also, if you want to replace the SACD-1000 with another SACD player I can't offer any advice because I no longer own one. When the SACD-1000 died I didn't have many SACD's so I decided not to reinvest in a format that's on its way out.

• Onix CD-5