[rich@boulder]

Okay, there seem to be a few misconceptions here and I've already been pinged by e-mail about them multiple times today, so I'll do my best to make things clear:

* The competing players: no point in discussing how they sound in comparison since I get paid to tell you our stuff is better! Forum members proclaim the stuff they own to be the best (gotta protect one's investment!), manufacturers say the same of the stuff they make (gotta move boxes!), and dealers do it as well in order to sell gear. Advice: ignore all of them and go listen for yourself. You have no one else to impress or answer to, so you may as well spend your money on the pieces you actually prefer anyway.

* High resolution playback: the 1021 will play just about any high resolution file type you put into the disc tray, all the way up to 32-bit or 192 kHz. To the best of my knowledge, the Ayre player doesn't do that - it's a standard SACD/DVD-A player and will only play those higher resolution formats, both of which we see fading off into the sunset soon (I'm not aware of what the Meridian plays). Actually, DVD-A is already way over the horizon and has fallen off the edge of the world as far as we can tell. Because we didn't modify a player from one of the big Japanese corporations to begin with, we have the ability to make the 1021 whatever we want it to be, including:

* Making the 1021 a network DAC. By using server and renderer software, the 1021 can be connected to your home network and utilized as a network DAC to play any file in your digital library at native resolution in its original data format. This means that it can have equal to or better than sound quality in comparison to the original disc straight from your computer. This upgrade is slated for release in January. It has no digital inputs other than the Ethernet connection, but Ethernet gives you access to anything you can rip.

*The demise of the 2020: it can't be upgraded to operate like the 1021. There are too many differences in their internal workings. There are differences in the way the two sound, too, but demand for the 2020 declined significantly after the release of the 1021. We can build one upon purchase, but we're no longer stocking or sub-assembling them. Other D/As with traditional digital inputs? Yep, in the future, based on what we learned with the 1021, including 800 Series and a replacement for the 2020 eventually.

* What the reviews say: I'm not even going to go there. VERY few members of the public know of or understand the dirty politics involved in the audio review world and kinda like making sausage, they'd recoil if they did. Simply visit a dealer and use your own ears - they're more reliable.

* The TAS Product of the Year Awards: I don't think we're eligible for 2009 because the review was technically in a 2010 issue.

If anyone else had any other questions that were passed on to me and I didn't answer them, I don't frequent the forums much, so e-mail is the best way to reach us. Now if you'll excuse me, it's lunch time!