if you had 2500,what player stands out????

electrocompaniet emc 1up 24/192 cdp. used. killer player..

Out of the ones I heard:
Musical Fidelity A5 new or used
Meredian 508.24 used(way cheaper than $2500)
Audio Research CD3
Audio Research CD2 cheaper than $2500
A used Cary 303/300 or 303/200

I would think twice before spending $2K on a "used" CD Player. A CD Player is an electro-mechanical device and is by design the most likely component in your system to a) arrive DOA or b) develop problems down the line.
I would strongly recommend buying this particular component new with a warranty. There are many good deals to be had on Demo. units with Full Warranty from the Dealers + you'll get to audition it before you buy or maybe even try it at Home in your system. Sound Advice/Tweeter for example offers Customers a 30-days at Home trail.
Yes, it is true that Digital Source components will depreciate faster and deeper over time than any other component in your system, but in the 20+ yrs that I have been in this hobby, I have never had a Pre-Amp., Amp. or Speaker failure, but have had quite a few problems with CD and DVD Players (some very expensive ones too). Check the Digital Forum on this site and you will see what I mean. Remember, the Source Component is "the music maker" in your system, everything else comes after it, so don't skimp on your Source and don't believe that "all Digital Sources sound the same" because they don't.

Great advice drlou.

Cheers

if you stick to a brand and model that is known to be reliable, you should be fine.

In my opinion, there is plenty of information on these forums to help you arrive at a conclusion about which players are reliable and which ones aren't. All you got to do is search