I think you are spot on with your assessment and inherent limitations of the CD situation. Another HUGE benefit of subscribing to a streaming service (I use Qobuz at $15/month that includes their hi-res recordings and am thrilled — best 15 bucks I spend every month) is that you’ll have unlimited access to that huge music library and you’ll discover new worlds of awesome music you might’ve never heard otherwise.
My recommendation would be to buy an Innuos Zen Mklll for $2699 as it’s very high quality and does everything from streamer to DAC to CD drive for easy ripping and storage to good software interface. All you need to do is connect it to your internet and switch the interconnects from your CD player to the Zen and you’re in business (of course you need to subscribe to a streaming service, and most offer a free trial period so you can compare). Read Darko’s reviews as he describes the sound and also explains a lot about streaming that you may find interesting and informative as you’re getting started. Best of luck.
My recommendation would be to buy an Innuos Zen Mklll for $2699 as it’s very high quality and does everything from streamer to DAC to CD drive for easy ripping and storage to good software interface. All you need to do is connect it to your internet and switch the interconnects from your CD player to the Zen and you’re in business (of course you need to subscribe to a streaming service, and most offer a free trial period so you can compare). Read Darko’s reviews as he describes the sound and also explains a lot about streaming that you may find interesting and informative as you’re getting started. Best of luck.