Wow - searching for the proverbial "white whale" of a high dollar, one box redbook CD solution - now you are a hard core audiophile
imgoodwithtools! In my experience, I have not been overwhelmed with the most recent "advances" in digital, and with a few exceptions, and there is no question that the quality of redbook cd drives has been declining over the years. Thus, I think you may be better off with some of the more recent CD players that have experienced significant price depreciation; the best of these I have heard in your price range are the EMM Labs CDSA-SE, the Esoteric X-01 (or if you are lucky you can find a K-01 in the ballpark of your price range), and the DCS Puccini. I would definitely prefer these over the CD8 from my limited experience, but have no context to comment on the Simaudio.
New or Old CD Player?
Let's say I have $5K, tops, to buy a CD player. I don't need digital inputs, outputs, etc. I don't need to spin SACD's. I only intend to play Redbook CD's and want a one-box solution. Would my money be better spent on a new unit, like maybe a Hegel Mohican? Or should I buy a component that was close to state of the art a decade ago? Like maybe a Simaudio 750D, or an Audio Research Reference CD8? Thoughts?