Bah, I changed my order to the Classe CDP-100. My Dick's picks Grateful Dead bootlegs are mostly HDCD.

After careful consideration (and a less than useful encounter with Classe Customer Service) I've come to the conclusion that there are no glaring differences between the CDP-10 and CDP-100 to spark my interest, besides the look-and-feel and TFT display. The customer Support rep was also less than useful in telling me what the actual differences were, even after I caught him pulling my leg with the "DAC is improved" statement (The CDP-10 and CDP-100 both use the same DACS!). All he could tell me after leaving me on hold for a few minutes, was that after comparing the innards side by side that the circuit paths were different. Sorry, but that isn't explicit enough to get my vote of confidence.

I decided to go with a Meridian G08 after testing it at home (it blew the FMJ 33 away IMO). I have both the Meridian G08 and the Arcam FMJ 33 right now until the audio store where I bought the Meridian receives my order. The Arcam lacked the ability to create cohesion out of the different elements in the music I listen to, especially classical, the Meridian didn't. It often sounded/felt like the musicians were not quite in synch.

As far as HDCD decoding, I've decided to splurge money on a Denon 5910 for DVD, SACD, DVD-A and HDCD. That should take care of me until Blue-Ray and/or HD-DVD become fairly established, that is, if they ever do...

Monty,

I found the FMJ CD23 to handle the elements more cohesively than the FMJ CD33. I also found the Rotel RCD -1072 to handle them more cohesively than the FMJ CD33, but I liked the CD23 better than the Rotel, but not by a long shot. The CD23 seemed to accentuate detail a little more and it seemed to have more bass extension in all the sounds. The soundstage seemed deeper as well, to me (probably because of the bass extension).

The CD33 did have an up-front clarity, perhaps the CD36 will solve the issues with cohesiveness of musical elements, or perhaps I am just nuts... LOL