Best analog sounding cd player under 5K


Hi,

Im looking for a new or used one box player mainly for redbook. My budget could go up to 5K.
I know and have read a lot of threads about cd players but none deals with the analog sounding issue. Also, not everyone like his cd player to sound like his analog set up.
I can define analog, as neutral(good tonal balance), organic, natural, with a lot of low level information retrieval, inmediacy,with very good 3d image, not forward sounding and not analytical. I think the extension at both ends is not a must. Obviously, It cant be dark or too bright sounding.

I have in my short list so far, resolution opus, bluenote sttibert, apl denon 3910, audio aero capitole mkII, ayre Cx5.
For the reviews and comments on several forums it seems that the most organic and natural sounding is the Stibbert. How does it compare with the others? And also what other should be included in this list?
Thanks
Alan Brain
alanbrain

Showing 2 responses by cdwallace

I'm sure its been mentioned before, but why not divide the budget up between CD player (as the transport) and D/A Converter? Considering the CD player is digital in nature, IMO why not purchase a comparable D/A converter to match, instead of searching for a digital component that sounds analog?
Hi everyone -

I hope I'm not missing something important here, but I haven't learn how to find an analogue sounding digital CD player. Especially a digital CD player that doesn't sound...digital. I know I don't have anywhere near the experience many of the contributes have, so I need to learn this.

Apparently, I have been misled in feeling that a digital CD player would sound analogue. I presumed a CDP/DAC combo would produce the best results. Can anyone help me out on this?