Best sounding CD player

Thank you for sharing your review. It is very thorough and informative.

One comment. The character of streaming service is dependent on your streamer. With the right streamer it will equal the sound quality of files read from a CD. 
 

Thank you again.

To answer directly I love the Audio Research Reference CD9. Really natural and detailed. But in all honesty, I use it as a DAC nearly 100% of the time.

Streaming is surplanting all other forms. The best service is Qobuz and cost $14.99 / month… less for an annual subscription… the price was just reduced. For the cost of one CD per month you get access to millions of albums… over half a million of high resolution albums! This has got to be the best deal on earth! It is practically free. You also get access to thousands of HD internet radio stations through your streamer. 

You mean Audio Research Reference CD8 ? 
 

If yes… I have read reviews of many earlier versions of Audio Research Reference CD / DACs and own a Reference CD9SE… I would definitely buy one. They have shown a wonderful natural, musical sound increasing the detail with each generation. I have owned a number of CD / DACs… Sonic Frontiers, Sim Moon 650D + 820 power supply ($18K) and the ARC CD9SE bested them by a large margin… simply as a DAC it bested a Berkeley Alpha Reference 3 ($22K). So, while my data points strike all around your question… I think they still point to a yes… ARC Ref CD8 being a great choice.

Burmeister, is probably it, or at least really close.