what to choose?

It may be more than you want to spend, but there's a Wadia S7i that just listed for $8K.

Chuck

Possibly not the Naim (for dynamics maybe, but the Naim sound has always been more about PRAT and tonality than soundstaging in particular). Dunno about the Densen. I know some people like the Audiolab, but I've not heard it. The Oppo would be a good choice, but only if modified IMHO. Ric Schultz (EVS) would likely not only be the best available mod, but also the cheapest - a big bang for the buck. Probably one of the best players going these days - at any price.

I was considering the Naim you mention above. Very overrated. The price very high for what they give you. I highly recommend the Ayre 7 for CD only, and the 5 if you need to play other formats. For just Redbook, I like the 7 better than the 5.