Short answer, components first.
Were it me, I'd buy the right CD player for myself, then work with an entity such as The Cable Company ala their "Lending Library" or by trial and error "buying and trying" here on Audiogon to find the cabling that forms a synergistic match with your system.
That being said, I go along with John's effort to steer us towards balance and looking at things in a more holistic manner.
In my opinion, the ultimate answer lies in how you see the future. Are you going to be in a continual flux of upgrade, or do you tend more to buy and keep a component. If it's the former, to be quite honest, it really doesn't matter which you buy first, as folks in this camp never come to a state of equilibrium with their systems in the first place.
Were it me, I'd buy the right CD player for myself, then work with an entity such as The Cable Company ala their "Lending Library" or by trial and error "buying and trying" here on Audiogon to find the cabling that forms a synergistic match with your system.
That being said, I go along with John's effort to steer us towards balance and looking at things in a more holistic manner.
In my opinion, the ultimate answer lies in how you see the future. Are you going to be in a continual flux of upgrade, or do you tend more to buy and keep a component. If it's the former, to be quite honest, it really doesn't matter which you buy first, as folks in this camp never come to a state of equilibrium with their systems in the first place.