..and if it's all about a DAC, then it's a non-argument...your DAC's are in the speakers !! A dealer should know this and not try and sell you a great DAC in a player.

If you have 2 copies of your demo CD's, you can play both players direct into speakers and just toggle between input 1 and input 2. This way you'll get as close to an A/B as you can get.

Rgds,
Nick