I think you are right, same deal a year or two ago with the toshiba 3950 DVD player, I bought one new (60 bucks) as I needed a DVD player. Used as a CD player, it wasnt bad at all when compared to cheap CD players. People were saying the same thing about how great it was and modable and all that. My stock Rotel 971 ( just an OK player) smoked it hard. But for the price of entry.....OK Better than a 5000 or 10000 player? Sorry guys there is no free lunch, and audio ( one of the few areas of electronics where "new" innovations never get cheaper at retail level) I doubt is any exception, but a good use for an outdated game box.
Russellc