Well that was entertaining,just stop those long paragraphs,hard to read.
Billyb
In my system I have your Arcams little brother the cd73t and I also have a Sony cd player(SACD actually,but a cheap older one).I have compared the 2 players extensively and of course the Arcam is better in every way when compared to the Sony playing back cds that is.SACD is of course a different story as that format will better the cd format.SACD's,like cds are not all created equal,some sound great some do not,depends on how well they are recorded.If you love classical music,SACD is the way to go,lots of new releases.

bill