What should be on my short list...

From the preferences and gear you listed I think you would want to look into the Audio Aero Capitole Mark II SE, or their new Capitole Reference (includes the SE upgrade as well as other changes). The Reimyo is also a very nice red book cd player. However, I am not certain of the margins built in to the Reimyo's price. The AA gear can be found new with a decent discount, and the player is still found in many of the great sounding rooms at CES. That speaks volumes...

You should look at the Cary 306 sacd. I have compared it against my Wadia 861se and I prefer the mids from the Cary.

If you are considering solid state CD players, then you should audition the Ayre CD player. Very smooth and musical, nearly tube-like in its presentation. And it will cost you about 65% less than $10K. If you want to go for state-of-the-art, look at Meitner players.

Bbro, I would also suggest putting the following on your audition list: 1) Ensemble- It's a terrific sounding player, retails for $9000.00, but can be bought used/demo for around $4600.00 and the build quality is first rate Swiss. 2) Accustic Arts' new redbook CDP- Another wonderful sounding player,retails for around $7000.00, and is built in Germany to a very high standard. I have heard the Reimyo, Meitner gear, DCS, and many more and still think these players are rank right up with the best. It really boils down to personnal taste and system synergy, but if you could purchase the Ensemble CDP for around $4000.00 it would be an amazing player for you, in my opinion, and to best its overall performance on redbook would cost you many more thousands of dollars. Hope this helps.

i second the CARY 306 SACD.

I would look into the Denon APL modded (with tubes). It's a universal player (SACD - DVD-A), but my dealer says it's up with the best redbook he's ever heard - never mind the SACD, DVD-A capabilities.

Consonance CD-120 Linear. This is well under your limit but not to be overlooked. True 16 bit, non-oversampling/upsampling, no op-amps or digital filters, etc. I've had mine for a week now and am quite impressed.

Looking at the fact that you like tube gear, I'd recommend the Audio Aero Capitole Mark II SE or a BAT VK-D5SE w/ Super-Pak.