The best CD Player for the money

I've heard an oppo once at an audio show. I had high expectations and was very disappointed. I was not familiar with any of the gear in the rig though, so a good chance it was not the Oppo's fault. The gear looked a lot better than it sounded (horns of some sort I think but can't recall exactly). Very flat and lifeless I thought which was not what I was expecting prior to hearing.

"Do you think you could find one that everyone agrees on and let me know?"

I'd recommend The Cambridge Audio 840c. I've heard it and it is very good. Many consider it a best value.

"however the very best server-based systems I have heard coincidentally were connected to some of the best dac's i've heard"

That was probably not a coincidence and a direct result of the DAC.

"What annoys me is audiophiles who claim high rez music and rips which, ok can sound great, anhililate cd's played on high end cdp's with exceptional dacs. That doesn't add up.
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I think it would be hard to practically tell the difference between a server source versus a recent even decent quality CD player through the same DAC in most cases (its hard for me in my rig), but technically the server technology no doubt has the advantage in general over optical read source devices alone.