looks like my baby is salvageable. david broke it open and sent me back this info:

"I have just dismantled your player. Most of the hardware seems to be fine - the damage was just cosmetic.

The VFD narrowly escaped damage - the photo attached shows that the edge of the glass was cracked, but the delicate fill nipple remains intact.

The IR on the player doesn't seem to be working. I will need to do some more tests and will let you know the cost on this once I have discovered what is wrong."

here's a shot of the narrow escape on the VFD:
http://www.krack.org/temp/IMG_0959.JPG