This somewhat surprises me, to say the least, but I don't doubt it as straight feeds from progressive players have always appeared to me to offer very, very good picture quality. And the Ayre is supposed to be the best of the best when it comes to progressive DVD players according to the reviews I've read. But I can't comment on whether the Ayre is better than the DVP3000 having not compared the two myself. But I will point out that the NR is supposed to be a bit better even than the vaunted DVP3000, so perhaps it would be a closer call against the Ayre than the DVP3000.
What the Faroudjas will give you that no DVD player or computer can, is excellent DSS. If you watch a lot of premium movie channels, pay-per-view, sporting events or even talking-head shows, the Faroudjas with their DCDi algorithms are phenomenal. That's an invaluable feature to me, but not to everyone presumably.
One question, alexan07: Why the choice of the M2000? Why not the new JVC D-ILA, the GT150HT? It's optimized for home theater, as you might surmise from the suffix. It would seem an obvious, better choice to me. I believe the prices are roughly comparable -- $17,999 list for the GT150HT.
[This message has been edited by PF (edited 07-31-2001).]