Cooper,
I certainly agree that the only way to know for sure is to bring one home and listen to it yourself. Unfortunately, since the RP82 is discontinued, it's not easy to find one, especially one I'd be able to demo without buying it. According to Panasonic the S55 model is supposed to be similar to the RP82. Would anybody vouch for them on this? I emailed a couple of time with questions on DACs in the S55 but they haven't gotten back to me.
I'm actually along your thought lines though in looking towards a Denon 2200 or 2900. Both seem like great universal players.
