CD player suggestions...

I really liked my Rega Apollo-R. Very analog sounding. I reluctantly sold it due to space limitations from reconfiguring my system.

If you can stretch your budget a bit, I would suggest Rega Apollo. Looks like music direct has a sale on them for $995. 

New or used? I got an Apollo R for $650 used.

  There is an original Rega Apollo for sale here aGon. 3 days left. It's in your budget. I owned one of these also and really liked the analogue sound that it put out. The Rega Apollo R that I owned didn't have as much of that quality in my system.

Marantz CD6007

Do you have, or intend to have SACDs? 

Also consider, most DVD and Bluray players play CDs.

One issue, does it play copies as well as original cds?

Look at the Emotiva ERC-4, built like a tank, $600 and has an digital input to the DAC

sounds pretty nice for the price

Got to disagree with the Emotiva recommendation.

That one that got sent back.

Looks nice, cool remote, but non-gapless playback is a huge problem.

I opened that CD player up, and it’s a $10 plastic OEM computer drive.

Complete junk packaged in a nice looking case.

In the price range you’re looking at, I would check out Cambridge Audio or Marantz.

Oppo 103, if you can find one.

Nice sounding, built like a tank

Find Raysonic Tube cdp , I am so impress with the 168 , I bought onother one their top of the line ? For my main system.

check this out, ask seller to verify it finds SACDs

sony’s are slow to load, just be patient

IOW, get started for next to nothing and keep your eye out for a great deal on a better one.

btw, I just bought a similar unit for a friend for $15. at a rummage sale. his particular model does not play SACD, but it does play copies of cds which he needs. I am guessing this unit plays copies.

@jayctoy 

I had one. It was fantastic, but I sold it to upgrade to their 2 box unit (I forget the model), but it had mega issues and could not get it repaired as the company went bust. So buyer beware.

Yamaha, Rotel, or Cambridge CXC with Schiit Bifrost 2. Stretch the budget for that Cambridge with a Danafrips Aries II

While I will buy electronics without moving parts. I stay away from buying used with mechanical components. The only electronics I have ever had to repair were CD players.

I'm very happy with my Audiolab CDT 6000. Big upgrade over my Marantz 6007. Caveat, it is a transport only. A capable DAC is required to use it.

Listening to my Audiolab 6000CDT right now. A great performer for the money. Highly recommended

I just bought my first CD player in 26 years.  I wanted one that encouraged me to play the CDs I have, something that sounded more analog.  I purchased a Marantz 6007.  Very pleased with how good It sounds.  Additional, playing music through the USB allowing the player to use its DAC sounds very good. 

I picked up a Denon DCD-800ne not too long ago in your price range. It has all the features I wanted, a decent DAC, USB input (like the Marantz 6007) for mp3, FLAC, and even DSD files. I can use it as a transport later to feed a better DAC, but it sounds fine to me. It also plays CDs gaplessly which was a REQUIREMENT for me. Many CD players today are not gapless, so do your homework if that is important to you. The Emotiva and some Yamaha were NOT gapless. I heard a rumor Yamaha did a firmware upgrade that did make it gapless, but I can’t confirm that.

Cambridge Audio also makes some nice ones (but at least on paper their SNR isn’t as good as others) and NAD, but the NAD are kind of plain looking and the rounded corners might not look good in a system where everything else is sharp edges.

If you already have an external DAC you like, I see many people above are happy with the Audiolab transport. Ah, decisions...But considering CD players were getting scarce for a while, it is good to find something for less than a Jay’s Audio CDT3-mk3 price that offers great sound.

Just beware buying anything used more than about 5 years old. Lasers do age and eventually fail While I have a 30 year old Sony that is still going strong, you might not be able to say that about too many. Buying new offers a bit of insurance against failure and obsolescence and at least you’ll have a warranty for a while.

Rotel CD11 Tribute is an excellent player for the money, priced at $599. 

Buy an old Marantz CD-94 and be done with this.  The Rega Saturn would be next.  Forget all the other suggestions they are nice but nothing special.

+1 for the Rotel CD11 Tribute in your price range. Looks great. I was torn between that one and the Denon but went with the Denon because I found it for a good price.  Nothing wrong with a Marantz 6007 either, but the styling hasn't changed in many years, and some don't like the way the front looks. You either like it or don't. 

@peterpetre 

Do you have a DAC? If so, the Audiolab 6000CDT is pretty darn good!  It’s what I have and have been very happy with it.

All the best.

You could nab this Marantz CD-60 at $779. It's an open box item with the same guarantee as a brand new one.

All the best,
Nonoise

Just to play Devil's advocate and throw this out there...You might consider a Sony UBP-X800M2 Blu-ray Player for under $300 and use it's coaxial digital out to feed an external DAC. Many say since Oppo stopped making players, that these Sonys were among the "best" being made.  And I cannot confirm it, but one poster at Crutchfield at least claims it plays SACDs (but note that *probably* means connected to an AVR via HDMI, not through the coaxial digital output). 

I went with a used Primare CD32. Built really well. Sounds great! Simple.

Tweak1 you are right? Repair will be hard to find? Maybe Underwood  Wally can, though both units are in good shape.The price I got are so reasonable.

Audiolab 6000CDT Transport for $600 hands down an amazing performer, but as others have mentioned you need an external DAC. For me easily bested the Marantz CD6007 and Cambridge Audio CXC V2, outputting to a Denafrips Pontus II DAC

+ for Rotel, but the more upscale CD14MKII. I own two Rotel products and beyond the sound quality, they are built like tanks and they are reliable for many years.

See review at link 

+1 for AudioLab 6000 CDT. One of the best players I’ve owned at any price.

Find an Oppo 105. It does it all. 

I have mentioned I own and am blown away by the Audiolab 6000 CDT, BUT, the OP asked about PLAYERS. I am surprised that no one has mentioned the Project DS3 MSRP $899.00

I had a Oppo 105 which over time I replaced the crappy PS with a LPS, upgraded the IEC with Furutec which had a sliver tail to the PS board, bypassed the 110/220 switch, all to great affect, but it didn't hold a candle to my 6000 CDT using the built in dac in my Audio Alchemy DDP-1 with optional PS5 power supply

Hey @tweak1 

Did you put a LPS on your 6000CDT? If so, what was involved?

Thanks.

@peterpetre 

No. But an interesting idea. Do you know whether they come with appropriate IECs? I may be getting a Project to compare, first

Cambridge Audio CXU is strong contender in your price range, if you can find one. Plays lots of disc types including SACD, equipped with digital outputs in case you want to use it with outboard DAC and pure audio mode which disables all circuits other than audio path circuit for better SQ. 

Putting a $600 Audiolab CDT-6000 through a $2500 DAC is 5X the specified budget. Go with the Marantz CD-6007. Not often noted, Marantz has two digital filter options, something not often seen outside separate DACs. It is the first CD player I've owned that sounds noticeably better than the others.

Do you have a good DAC? If not, buy this first. All $800 CD players are going to have a very weak DAC.

Soley out of curiosity, I own one of the Emotiva CD3 players and unfortunately have little good to say about it. If I could, I would like to try yet another DAC with it, specifically the AudioQuest Dragon Red. Being as the AQ only allows for USB connection, is there an adapter to 'fix' this? 

 I mention it here because mechanically the Emotiva is good, but the rest of it, not so much. The OP could do something like this, maybe?

Audiolab 6000CDT Transport. $600 new, an amazing performer.

@peterpetre You have been given many suggestions for CD players within your budget. You have also been given other suggestions as to alternative approaches.

What are your thoughts?

The Sony UBP-X800M2 is a mediocre transport.  The sound is thin and lacks details.  The Emotiva ERC-4, as a transport - especially through optical output, blows the Sony out of the water.  Not sure why the Emotiva hate from some of the posters.  I had an Emotiva ERC-3 and it sounded quite good and also worked great as a transport.  It finally died on me (not recognize the CD’s) after 9 years.  I got the Emotiva ERC-4 as a replacement and the transport, especially via optical, is even better than the ERC-3, full of details.  I used to believe that all transports are the same since “bits is bits” but apparently that is not the case.  As a CD player, the ERC-4 also sounds great.

Marantz CD60

ampus,

 I did like how robust that my ERC3 was, but then the troubles started. One of the RCA outputs Wasn't reliable, so I used the balanced outs with an adapter. Later on, I decided to try one of the digital outs. The RCA digital out did not work at all, but it was too late in the game for warranty. Then I tried the optical out to a DAC and it works.

 The sound in my system is a bit dull with the ERC3 compared to an older Cayin CD22 that I used. The Cayin pretty much died and that was when I bought the Emotiva. The Cayin had its own set of glitches and finally was more trouble than it is worth at some point.

 Along the way, I did try out the Rega Apollo R and mostly liked it but didn't have room in my rack for a top loader. It better than the Emotiva, but not as good as the Cayin.

Transport? 

Bel Canto CD3t Built like a tank and built in the USA. 

Used you get them in the $700.00 to $500,00 range. 

I recently purchased the Rotel cd11 Tribute player.  It sounded ok but nothing special, that is until I swapped out the supplied 18 gauge power cord for another generic 14 gauge cord.  I’ve not experienced any component that was so completely improved in every sonic measure by simply changing the power cord.

If you own a cd11, I recommend replacing the power cord.  At some point in the future I may try an aftermarket cord but for now I’m pleased with the results.

A 18ga. PC is rediculous. Most any decent PC of larger guage would make an improvement. Given the cost differential between generic 18 vs 14 guage PCs I always wonder why manufactures of even budget components wuold ship with a 18 ga one.  I have seen it even with integrated amplifiers.

peterpetre

Good advice and nice choices as above.  Keep me posted on which Player purchased.

Happy Listening!

@peterpetre hey pete, so what did you end up with? 

Haven't made my decision yet. I appreciate the suggestions. Top three choices, so far, are the Audiolab cd transport, the Emotiva 4, and thecambridge Audio transport...

@ampus ,

"Not sure why the Emotiva hate from some of the posters."

Well, since you asked, I will tell you my experience with the ERC-4.

Purchased new/direct from Emotiva. Unit arrived with the metal faceplate for the drive tray bouncing around in the box. No big deal, as you could easily tell that it was just super-glued onto the drive tray to begin with. Easy fix, but it did make me wonder why it wasn’t at least screwed down, other than the actual drive (and tray) are plastic.

Gapless playback. The fact that this exists in any player being offered as a "new product" is simply unacceptable.

The CD drive itself. I opened the case and removed the shroud, which exposes the CD drive. It’s a plastic Chinese OEM CD-Rom drive for a PC. I looked it up on the internet and they cost $10 a piece.

RCA vs XLR. The specs in the manual state that it is a fully balanced CD player. This is NOT the case. The manual states a gain of +3db using XLR vs RCA. Again, NOT the case.

Overall Sound. Nothing special. Sounded similar to an old Sony ES CD changer I still use which was manufactured in the mid-90’s. Emotiva claims this as a Reference Grade, Audiophile Grade CD player. Clearly (and I do mean clearly), this is not the case.

Now, the ERC-4 LOOKED nice. Great display, and nice remote. Unfortunately, that’s about where the enjoyment ended for me. I returned it to Emotiva and ate the restocking fee. To be fair, the return was easy, and their support staff didn’t seem too surprised by my request to return the product for a refund.

I have had a lot of CD players over the years (and still do), and in my honest opinion, the Emotiva is a $99 CD player in a stamped metal chassis that should cost under $200 (and that’s being generous), but they are selling it as a "Reference Grade/Audiophile Grade" player for $600. No Gapless Playback? Not sure how that made it past the pre-production stage, but that is simply unacceptable in a player being offered in 2022.

I returned mine within the 30 day period, ate the restocking fee and moved on.

And there you go.

I would stay away from the Emotiva player. I would go with Marantz or Yamaha if a CD player is what you want.

The Audiolab and Cambridge transports are not CD players. They require a DAC. I believe this to be a good way to go, transport and DAC, just want to make sure you understand this. It can be done within your budget. More money will be spent on the transport. A budget DAC from Schiit Audio would likely be as good as those in players within budget. An inexpensive DAC could be replaced at a later date if you desired.