I haven't used the Wax speaker cables, but I have many of their interconnects. In my experience, their cables take 150-200 hours for full break-in. The guys at Zu Cable have a tremendous pedigree and make great products. No insults intended, but they aren't DIY upstarts in the cable business.
Buying new or used is really a matter of comfort level. Some manufacturers warrantees are transferable, but most are not. If you're worried about ease of repair and no cost warantee repairs, buy new. If you're not, buy used and save.
As for the CD player, you can definitely get something wonderful in that price range. The best $3040 I ever spent on digital was for the Chord DAC 64, but you'll have to use something else as a transport. DAC 64s occasionally show up used around here. If you have to have a one box player, The Linn Ikemi is very nice at $3595 new, and I like the Ayre CX-7 at around $2700 new. You could also get a used Sony SCD-1 for $3000 and get SACD playback as a bonus.
Buying new or used is really a matter of comfort level. Some manufacturers warrantees are transferable, but most are not. If you're worried about ease of repair and no cost warantee repairs, buy new. If you're not, buy used and save.
As for the CD player, you can definitely get something wonderful in that price range. The best $3040 I ever spent on digital was for the Chord DAC 64, but you'll have to use something else as a transport. DAC 64s occasionally show up used around here. If you have to have a one box player, The Linn Ikemi is very nice at $3595 new, and I like the Ayre CX-7 at around $2700 new. You could also get a used Sony SCD-1 for $3000 and get SACD playback as a bonus.