Hello again! Yeah, I chuckled over your hdmi "mess" article. I guess the bottom line is that we're stuck with whatever technology we elect to purchase.

For me: SACD or UNCOMPRESSED PCM via analog to my Outlaw 990 is perfectly fine sonically. I probably could not "hear" a difference using hdmi.

BUT...I do want great sound...so I need an SACD player with great DACs (ie, pay more $$$ for an SACD player and not utilize the great DACS in the Outlaw 990). I also have a separate Blu Ray player (the Samsung 1200 - which is EXCELLENT for both Blu Ray and Upconvert sDVD) but lacks SACD support.

Bottom line: to get what I want today...I need an SACD player and a blu ray player ... and both feed audio via analog out to the Outlaw 990.

gesh...marcus