On some CDs, maybe 30% of them, the 976 will "lose the signal" in the silence between tracks, and when the next track begins, there is a short delay before the sound un-mute and resume with a fade-in, resulting in a loss of half the first second of the track. The same behavior is hapening when playing files on iTunes in a computer, via Bluetooth. I find this highly annoying. In pop/rock, it's often the first drums hit that is outright obliterated!

Deromax, I tried to duplicate this and could not. The only CD in your list that i own is Dire straits On every street. I played several tracks from it, and 5 other cd's, through the Marantz CDplayers coaxial digital out. I also used my Oppo players HDMI and analog outputs playing the same discs. I also tried bluetooth with my phones song playlist - nothing !
I have never heard this phenomenon you describe on anything i own !
Sorry, I do not have this problem - wish i could help !