On my $8K system, the CDP is 25% of the system cost (list price). Lower costs players are just not good enough.
On my $40K system (list price), the CDP is about 5% of the cost, and the analog rig is almost 20% of the cost. If you concentrate on CDs, then the CDP becomes a more important part and could easily go to 10% to 15% of the cost.
In a lot of ways, this is another way to get at the source first versus speaker first discussion. For me, I find I need a good source, but get more payback in sound quality from the speakers and the electronics. My digital upgrades are going to PC audio, rather into a new CD player.
On my $40K system (list price), the CDP is about 5% of the cost, and the analog rig is almost 20% of the cost. If you concentrate on CDs, then the CDP becomes a more important part and could easily go to 10% to 15% of the cost.
In a lot of ways, this is another way to get at the source first versus speaker first discussion. For me, I find I need a good source, but get more payback in sound quality from the speakers and the electronics. My digital upgrades are going to PC audio, rather into a new CD player.