What makes a Cd player a Great cd player

Both of you have very good points of view. Which is why I feel( key word I) no need to dish out anything over $1k on a cd player. I think a great cdp, will only make a poorly recorded cd sound worst, and a good cdp makes it tolorable. and vice versa with a audiophile recorded cd. Back when I owned my Marantz cdp, I thought it had a more warmer sound than my current cd player,which I found to be very detailed, and open, but lacked the more laid back sound of the Marantz. However when I switched speakers, and went to my Apogees, the smoothness that was lacking appeared. I think any extra money spent should go towards speakers and quality mastered cds. my two cents

WOW....I keep forgetting where I'm at. I simply ASKED a question, because I am open minded,and wanted other opinions about a cdp in the 2 to 3k range. I also only shared MY personal experience, which is NOT much, being the reason I ASKED in the first place. I was hoping someone would enlighten me, considering I never purchased a cdp over $500. was that to say I wont, NO, I would if i could get what I would justify as worth the purchase . Now, let me ask the question again, and see if I can get the answer, I was looking for. I love the sound of Vinyl over cds,. If I was to spend 2 to 3k on a cd player, will it even come close to the sound of Vinyl, or will I get the realism that I get from vinyl. And by the way my current cdp, is a Emotiva ERC1, AMP NAD2600, SPEAKERS APOGEE CENTAURUS, SONY 601ES 6 DISC CHANGER , EMOTIVA USP1 PREAMP AND A KENWOOD KD 5077 TT....ALL BUDGET PRICED GEAR

Sorry....Maybe I didn't asked the question correctly.

I think thats a matter of opinion. I find that some cdp tend the color the music. In other words an inferior recording will sound better on a average player than some high end players

I appreciate all the responses, I really do. and from what I've gathered, it is possible to find a very pleasing sounding cd player. I wont even go as far as to put a price tag as to how much one would have to spend. I think its more of a trial and error and a little bit of luck, to find the perfect synergy that mates well with your speakers and amp. I also think there are so many other factors that can come into to play such as the acoustics of your room, some such as myself my never find what I may consider that perfect sound because of the vaulted ceilings in my home, the very open area in which my system is placed, the wood flooring just to name a few of the drawbacks. Also just to clear up the misconception of vinyl sounding better than cd, I dont think its a case where vinyl sound better, its just more natural sounding and less fatiguing, than some cd players, maybe not all, just the ones thats within my budget, that I've had experience with. Maybe oneday, I'll buy another house, with a dedicated listening room, and fork out a couple grand on a great cdp, but until then, I'm pretty pleased with what I have and can afford for now. In other words my system still puts a smile on my face when I listen to certain cds....:)

What I actually meant by the falling asleep part was that I find that with some of the same music that at one time I could not enjoy enough to fall asleep to because of the forwardness, I can now enjoy. not sure if its the speakers or the cd player, I'm sure a little of both. I have however noticed that on better recorded cds, the sax is not as forward and less fatiguing. I too can listen to Miles Davis allday without any fatigue. I happen to be in the local Goodwill store yesterday, and picked up a Chesky Demo. for .50 cents, needless to say I have orderd about 5 Chesky recordings since listening to it. They just sound right.

If I had an option, and I had to sell either my turntable or my cdp, I would do the turntable, no questions asked. With that said,maybe that will make you understand what I mean when I say I prefer the sound of vinyl over cd. I dont expect to be able to get the sound nor do I want all the pop and click associated with vinyl. I have however learned to tune them out. I consider it to be a tradeoff for the naturalism of the instruments. Thats the only thing I miss from a cd player, and would love to have. My original post was asked wondering if I was to spend the type money mentioned if I could possibly get close to it. Some said No, some said yes. so its still undebateable. I personally think speakers play a bigger part than mentioned. I have noticed with my ribbons vs the wharfedales that are now sold, there was a very big difference. From past conversations on this topic, the suggestion that tubed equipemnt also seem to mellow down the sound. I listen to a lot of Jazz. Certain sax pieces I cant stand because of the forwardness. Would that be with any cdp? I have noticed however since switching to my Emotiva, or maybe since switching speakers, I actually find myself falling asleep listening, which I could not always do because of the forwardness. Now do I make any sense in my question?

I ACTUALLY HAVE ONE THAT I USE TO USE. I would prefer not to use it for the fear of keeping the signal as pure as possible. My preamp actually has no tone controls for the same purpose. Is that to say it would be a noticable difference? I doubt it. But they have been known to.