Michael
I purchased a Sony DVD-NS500v from Best Buy back in the summer for $150. For the price it is a very good machine. CD playback is decent and Super Audio CD playback is very good plus DVD-V to boot.
The Philips I bought to replace it, SACD-1000, was their flagship SACD unit. It was the first Multi-Channel SACD player in fact. Originally priced at $2000, the Tweeter chain has been blowing them out for $399. The Phillips blows away the Sony in terms of dynamics and lack of digital edge so common in consumer grade digital. However I highly recommend the NS500v for an entry-level foray into the world of SACD. Get the Philips if you can...its Redbook performance is excellent. Pioneer has units that play both SACD and DVD-A. I have a Panasonic DVD-A unit and enjoy it too, although I feel SACD has a bit of an advantage in terms of fidelity. The best SACDs I've found so far tend to be Telarc's DSD recordings. They bring a new level of spaciousness and dynamics that I've never heard from any CD.
I keep hearing people complain about no digital outs on SACD and DVD-A players. While they would be nice, I think people think digital out is better just because it is digital. For one thing there are currently only a couple Receivers capable of decoding either format and they use proprietary connections. Most people would have to upgrade their front end just to take advantage of a highres digital output. Most decent front ends have at least one set of multi-channel analog inputs, which bypass internal processing, thus taking the signal directly to the amplifier section. I doubt the fact that Im using analog interconnects adds any appreciable distortion or other artifacts to the sound. It has to go analog at some point before it can be heard.
Brian C.