Well, no need to visit you Carl, as I've had the Res CD50 here for an extended listen compared to my Sony SCD-1. Did the CD50 as an integrated player into a preamp and CD-direct into my amps balanced (Atma-Sphere M60 MkIIs). The CD50 is a very nice CD player. Rich sound, non-fatiguing. The integral volume control is a nice bonus and it worked smoothly into the amps direct. Bass a little soft, but the midband is excellent. However, the CD50 was not as refined as my fully-broken-in SCD-1 on redbook CDs, and for SACDs, the comparison is of course pointless. People tend to exaggerate differences, if something is a little better compared to something else, then the first is "crap" and the latter "blows it away." Hardly. The CD50 is a very nice player I could easily live with. But the SCD-1 is better. Noticeably better, not a huge amount better. Is the improvement worth the extra $$? Only you can answer that.
Does it still pay to buy a $3k CD player
? I see many people still interested in spending a fair amount for CD only players. I am particularly speaking of the link regarding the Wadia/Resolution Audio. I know they are great pieces. But, how far off are the Sony's (SACD players) in CD only replay? After spending 3K on hardware,a lot of us would be more comfortable with the investment if we were also able to buy new software, SACD. Which way to go?