Perhaps I can offer some insight as I currently have most of the players mentioned here (Denon DVD-2200, Pioneer DV-45A & DV-563a).
Firstly, I'd say the performance of the 563 is close to that of the 45A. Very close. Close enough that I wouldn't waste my money on the 45. It has perhaps a miniscule edge in video quality (although I could simply be imagining it, and I haven't watched a lot of DVDs with the 563a- I mostly bought it for audio).
Sound quality wise, neither of the Pioneers can match the Denon, and it's not particularly close. I wish I could say otherwise, but it'd be a lie. Guess there's not free lunch there!
However, the 563 sounds as good to my ear as the 45A, or at least very close.
As a pure transport for CD, I think the Denon is the best of the three, with the '45a not far behind it. The 563a seems to be just a tad brighter, but again I'll have to use it a bit more. I wonder if the power supply just isn't as beefy?
I'll interject one thing, as an FYI- despite what some wags have said in the e-magazine reviews, the 563a does NOT downconvert DSD to PCM. This I get directly from one of the premier modder of the Pioneers on the west coast. Perhaps he's wrong, but he's also the guy that diagnosed the circuit failure for the Philips SACD1000 & created the fix that the Philips service dept now uses.
As for reliability, I've owned & used many, many Denons over the years (and have 5 now) and I've had no problems. Nor have the 3 people I know who also have Denon stuff. Like every large company that's been in business for many years, they've had their highs and lows. But I can say I've never heard any credible reports of problems with any of the stuff that's manufactured in Japan.
Lastly, as for compatibility, the 563a is astonishing. I originally bought it after a cheapo Pioneer DV-260 in my bedroom proved able to read any & every disc of every format I stuck in it, including DVD+Rs where the burn failed. My Denon is a bit finicky about DVD-Rs, and my older 45A also sometimes balks, but the newer Pioneers are bombproof in my experience. Again, I don't use it for much SACD/DVD-A as the Denon sounds much better.
IMOHO, the 563a is a screaming bargain. It's been replaced recently by the 578 (if I'm remembering the # correctly). That same whiz modder says the new one definately DOES downconvert DSD to 88.2 klhz PCM. So I'd try to seek out the 563.
Oh, I also just bought a Pioneer 656 with Modwright Level I Transport Mod package w/Bybees on the digital output. When it shows up I'll run it thru the paces.
