I'd think about a Sony SCD 9000es, or XA777es, or SCD 1. The SCD 1 offers balanced & single ended outs. New, I've seen the 9000s online for less than $1800.
Sony has great bottom end, and is quite dynamic or punchy. I've ran mine (SCD xa777) RCA out, into a balanced preamp & amp with no issues previous to going all RCA now.
There's tons of options available for any of the top sony CDPs, with loads of quality mods as well. Still, even without mods, their build is super, and the sound is very, very good.
Sony has great bottom end, and is quite dynamic or punchy. I've ran mine (SCD xa777) RCA out, into a balanced preamp & amp with no issues previous to going all RCA now.
There's tons of options available for any of the top sony CDPs, with loads of quality mods as well. Still, even without mods, their build is super, and the sound is very, very good.