Thanks for the quick response! My buddy just got a Panasonic DMP-BDT500 and is really happy with it. It uses Burr Brown DAC. I've heard arguments that the Panasonic is actually better than the Oppo for music/audio, but I haven't done back to back myself. He also has an Oppo DVD-CD player that he loves, but after doing a lot of research, he went with the Panasonic for his Blu-ray player. I'll probably give that one a try and save the money for a little better receiver than the Denon 1913. I've been looking at Pioneer Elites now.

GOBLUE80,
Please tell us how you get on.
Let us know how it goes with the Panasonic Blu-ray player.
I do think spending more on the receiver to get a better one will be a good move to maximize your return on investment. There are a LOT of things in audiophile land that prove the law of diminishing returns in a hurry!!!!!
That is why I am sold on GoldenEar speakers, they are what I call great value for money!!!!
Enjoy and please report back,
Thanks, Wayne

Thanks for your responses Wayne... these forums are pretty dead so it's nice to see someone is still reading! That is also what drew me to the GoldenEar speakers. I went into the store wanting to listen to Def Tech speakers, but the salesman steered me to the GoldenEar Tritons and I was blown away. They are at the high end of what I'd want to spend on speakers, but to me the performance to value is incredible. So when shopping around for receivers, Blu-ray players, etc. I am looking for a similar performance to value. That is a bit more difficult though. I am settled on the Panasonic Blu-ray player and will let you know how it is. Now to figure out a receiver... Pioneer Elite SC-61 is my top contender at the moment.

We used a new Pioneer Elite receiver for our recent CES Trade Show demonstration in one of our rooms, sounded great, worked perfectly. Demo'd the 3D Array soundbar with ForceField 5 and the Aon 2's in that room. If you read any of the press, we got lots of raves for the fidelity from the high-end audio reviewers.

That is good to hear! Well if Pioneer Elite is good enough for your CES set up, it is good enough for me! Of course there is quite a range of Pioneer Elite receivers, but the SC-61 I'm looking at is in the middle of the line up. Have you guys ever used Marantz receivers for demo? My buddy said to check out the Marantz SR-7005.

We haven't used the Marantz but many GoldenEar dealers sell Marantz and think very highly of its performance and value. We used the Pioneer Elite model SC-67 at the show, one down from their top model I believe.