[kelly]

I agree completely with tangent, but I'd still go with the source.

From what I've heard of modern (last 1-2 years) DVD players, the sound coming out of them is a lot better than the sound from my Sony S7000 DVD player from 1998 (their first and flagship model). The S7000 sounded, to me, equal to the $600 Sony ES and Marantz CD players of its day (keep in mind: the S7000 retailed for a lot more than $600).

To put this in persepctive, all of those $600 players from ~98 sound noticably better than the CT570--but the technology has moved quite a bit and I now believe you can spend $150 on a DVD player and get something even better--quite a bit better. Nick's Pioneer 440 is a good example of this. He typically uses it with an ART DI/O external DAC but I've had a couple of opportunities now to hear the player without the DAC and it's not bad at all, especially at that price.

The META42 will reveal more to you than the CHA47 will--for better or worse. The META will give you the air around instruments, the brush of fingers against strings--but how enjoyable is this with harsh treble and distorted sibilants? To me, not very. Overall, the trade off is still worth it for the META because everything improves. If you're stuck with a portable for other reasons, I'd still buy the META if I were you. But if you're planning to build a home system and you don't need the portability, buying the source first will probably make your upgrade path a bit more enjoyable.

And yeah, hey, having the ability to play DVDs isn't bad either.

 

[MacDEF]

Like Kelly, I definitely say go for a source upgrade first. I would normally reommend a good $300 CD player like an NAD, but with the Sony NSV500 going for around $170 right now, with the ability to play CD, SACD, and DVD, and provide amazing sound quality for the price, it's a no-brainer source upgrade IMO.

The one area I disagree with Tangent is on portable vs. component for $200. I own both the CT570 portable and the aforementioned Sony CD/SACD/DVD. I paid $80 for the CT570 and $163 for the Sony. The Sony is much, much, much better sounding in every way.

 

[erikiksaz]

I think i know of my plan for now:

Buy a source. From the looks of it, the Sony players seem to be most recommended. I'll also look into that Pioneer player. But what about the older NAD cd players, mainly the 520 and 540? How do those compare to the newer Sony dvd/cd players?

After the source, i'll purchase the META. I know that if i purhcase this first, my system would be a little wacky, as what i have right now will go in a carrying case, strictly for portable use.

 

[wacomme]

For $200 I'd buy (and did buy) the Sony SCD-CE775 SACD player. I'm now looking to upgrade this source (it never ends), but there's a vast improvement compared to my Panasonic 570 pcdp, especially on SACD.

 

[wacomme]

For $200 I'd buy (and did buy) the Sony SCD-CE775 SACD player. I'm now looking to upgrade this source (it never ends), but there's a vast improvement compared to my Panasonic 570 pcdp, especially on SACD.

 

[tangent]

One thing I neglected to consider when comparing portables and full-size players is that the portable will be using low-voltage low-current parts. The full size player can use parts that cost the same as would be used in a portalbe, but which use more power to sound better. In other words, you probably can get a surprisingly good improvement by only spending $200 on the source. Look carefully, though. A $200 Sony DVD player I bought about a year ago sucks soundwise, while my Pioneer DV-444 (also in the $200 range) sounds pretty good.

 

[erikiksaz]

This is terrible, all the places around me do NOT carry both the Sony 500v (didnt get the chance to ask about the 775) AND the Pioneer 440/444. I really want to audition them, but it looks like my options are running thin. I CAN visit different stores to audition them, but i don't quite think my aural memory can last that long. And, if say i wanted to test the audio portion of these cdps, would plugging my Etys into the headphone out suffice? By suffice, i mean that i'll be able to get a sense of the quality? I don't have the spare cash to spent on another cable (rca-mini) so that i could test the line-outs with my cha47.

 

[erikiksaz]

Yay, i just found out the local Good Guys has the 500v (floor model) on sale for 130 without tax. I think i might pick that up.

 

[bootman]

Thats a good price.
Now you can get the Meta too.

 

[erikiksaz]

I wish

I still have to buy the interconnects! So it'll still add up to around 200, since the Outlaws are 50 (right?), and i still need to add tax to the cdp.