Help! Upgrading CDP in the $1500-$3500 range!

You can't go wrong with any EAD, they are excellent units. However, for ease of use, longevity, and of course sonic excellence no one to date has yet equaled the specs of the Sony CDP-7xxES series (7, 77, 707, 777, etc). These units are sometimes available used, and would be a less expensive way to get into high-end CD players.

I have a EAD cd 1000, and love it. I've upgraded all other components, and it still impresses me. My neighbor even bought one. I have it hooked up to Sim Audio Moon equipment with Proac 1ses. My system blows most others away. I haven't heard better in any stores, and I have done a lot of listening. You can find one used for about $1000+ range. Bye the way, it is a HDCD and one of the Canadian magazines (Inner Ear or UHF) gave it a best component rating back when it was new. I have not seen a better jitter rating on any other player, and EAD has a fantastic reputation for building the best DAC's. Stereophile has listed their DACs,s many times in their awards class.

The Naim CD players are the best in my opinion... the Naim CD 3.5 for about $2150 and the CDX for $4200 are the best in their class and both can be upgraded by adding an external power supply.