What cd player should I buy?

You are going to get a million different suggestions (if any at all ;-) which may not be all that helpful in the long run. They are just other peoples' subjective, and usually biased, opinions.
You have to do it the hard way - the best way - get out and listen to some players.
Find a good dealer and you may even get to bring a player(s) home to try. If you DO get a good dealer who is helpful, don't waste his time then turn around and buy something used on Audiogon just to save a few bucks.

Thanks for you response. I was looking to do that . Thanks

I did what Golden Ears says. It was a very enlightening experience. I am now the owner of a Jolida JD100 and it is awesome. I am also proud of the fact that I bought it at a locally-owned hifi shop where I got great service and a good price. Arthur

Wow, that was fast:)
Enjoy.
I heard one in a shop a few weeks ago.
Nice unit.

Second vote for the Jolida. I got mine with some mods from veraStarr and am ecstatic with this player.

My suggestion is to determine a price range, and then start reading everything you can about players in that range. You will eventually find a small handful of players that appeal to you (based on what you've read). If you're lucky, you'll be able to audition some of them. Or, it may come down to deciding between features, or maybe just a gut feeling about which one you should buy.

My approach is to buy used players that can be re-sold for the same price. If there's a little room on your credit card, you may want to buy more than one, so you can compare them in your home (and then sell the ones you don't want).

I've done this recently with transports. I now have 4 transports in my home; and will re-sell 3 of them as soon as I decide which one to keep. It takes a little bit of money up front, but I will re-coup nearly all my costs, and will know that I made a good decision.

AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 with upsampling. Best CDP under $3,000.

Golden ears and Aball are right. I sell Parasound and Jolida. I own Parasound gear. If you go to a small hi-fi shop and ask their advice they will give it to you and mean every word of it because they have to fight the internet and big box stores to stay in buisness.

Any store that sells mid-fi to hi-fi gear should let you take it home to audition.

The Jolida is one sweet CD player. Other options are NAD, Sony ES (great audio and video on the DVD players), and COnsonance.

Good luck.

Vecteur L 4.2

How about a Musical Fidelity A3.2 or XRAY V3 just reviewed in Stereophile? I bought an XRAY V3 for my headphone system and really enjoy it for under $1K.

I think all these players mentioned on this thread will be good. Certainly, I can attest to the Jolida JD-100 as I owned one in the past and enjoyed it immensely. Not perfect but a very listenable and rhythmical player. As with many tube players, it is that "immediate" midrange characteristic that can often be arresting.

I have had the Consonance in my home as well. It is also a very good player. A bit more even balanced than the Jolida, though perhaps a bit more constrained (or restrained) too. But imminently enjoyable. While both the Jolida and Consonace can be described as slightly warm, the Jolida is probably more so. You could not go wrong with either. I have not had the Shanling but, from all that I have read it too would provide the characteristics that you are seeking. It is a highly regarded player.

There have been some Trivisata 21 dacs floating around Audiogon lately and, here we take another definite step up. Fed by a lowly Pioneer DVD transport, the Trivista is a class act in the sonics department. It throws a deep and well defined soundstage - better than the Jolida and the Consonance. Frequency extremes are well covered and the sonic character is detailed, warm and musical. If I was in the market for a player or dac, I believe I would opt for the Trivista and a cheap Pioneer transport.

But it's all subjective, you must try listen to whatever you can get your hands on. In the end there are many good players on the market.