"These midlevel players are NOT a throwaway item"

Just wait a few years, they will be.

As I said, a minor change in the analog frequency response will not impress me one way or another. Unless someone can demonstrate a substantial improvement in the D/A converter in terms of linearity or non linear distortion, I'm not interested. I don't think they can because I'm not convinced there is anything wrong with the cheap ones. I'll stick with the $100 to $300 price level and use the savings elsewhere.