What makes certain cd players better than others?

Saw this thread last night, before anybody had posted on it. I was thinking about all the kinds of responses it was likely to draw, and wrote out a fairly long, fairly philosophical response in anticipation of the onslaught, which in the end I thought better of and decided not to post after all.

Looking at the above, it's partly what I had expected, with the exception that no one seems to have taken the tack of telling the questioner what to listen for. Either way, I don't think this approach is necessarily going to help him buy his CDP - not that I know for sure what will.

Krazeeyk, from your other posts it looks as though you're just getting started, and trying to assemble a system on a $5K budget. It appears you may have already gotten some Sonus Faber speakers and Musical Fidelity amplification. I can appreciate the intent of your question, but it's really so broad that it can't be satisfactorily answered. In other words, no one can draw you up a laundry list of things to look for in a CDP which will help to choose one to buy used online without prior auditioning. It just doesn't work that way. Although there's no substitute for actual listening experience, if you must choose sound-unheard, why not post a short list of your leading contenders, so respondents can make specific comments about your possible choices?

Krazeeyk, you are pretty much correct about the process you're about to be going through. But don't feel badly - trial and error is a continual experience for audiophiles with a lot more years and gear under their belts than you. I'm not going to try to tell you what to listen for; that wasn't my intent in bringing that up - rather merely to say that even if respondents made a laundry list of sonic attributes, that wouldn't be any more helpful than a list of design features, or paper specs as you put it. You've just got to start somewhere, and keep listening. Besides, you really can't start right from the beginning with your ultimate system, or even one for a price, without experiencing some different stuff in between through an upgrading process, especially if you're not auditioning beforehand. And I admire you for not wanting to waste the time of dealers if you have no intention of buying from them. You're correct about using Audiogon to minimize your financial risk in trying stuff out in your home.

Anyway, to get back to your questions, I don't know about digital being simplicity (that more describes analog), but I can say that specs and chips and design features aren't necessarily going to tell you much about what a player will sound like. I can also tell you that digital differences can be pretty subtle, compared to speakers or amplifiers (though they don't have to be), and that you probably can't go way far wrong in choosing from among the various moderately-priced options in your range - none will sound like the best, but none should ruin your sound either My best advice would be to try and stick with well-known makers and pretty up-to-date models, just as a hedge if you decide to sell again. I'm sorry I can't comment on the specific model you're talking about getting, but maybe others can. Best of luck and happy listening!