The best CD Player for the money

Just wondered whether anyone thought about how so many cd's actually have hdcd encoding on them even though only one company has a copyright to it. Don't ask me which one I don't know. I have too many cd's that aren't SACD that I am not about to go that route. So which tubed cd player has the capability to do the HDCD and regular cds (many of which aren't labeled as HDCD) well and doesn't cost the price of a car?

If memory serves me correct, I believe the Cary line of CD Players have tube units that also decode HDCD. Quite expensive when new, but usually can be purchased for about half on the resale market.

The best cd players IMO are hands down YBA. I own a YBA CD1 alpha blue laser and have heard some other models as well (CD3 and CD2). As a vinyl fanatic I wanted a player that would give me the emotion of the music in a way that a good analogue setup could. For me YBA was the only answer.

Kentb, did you try Emmlabs and/or Metronome?

Hello Mtkh1567! Unfortunately I haven't heard Emmlabs and/or Metronome. As you know its impossible to hear everything and there comes a time when you have to make a decision. I've heard many cd players over the years from cheap to ultra expensive and can honestly say YBA has been the one that really presents music in an emotional manner to me. Emmlabs and/or Metronome looks very interesting and I would love to hear what they can do. It would be neat to a/b the new YBA Passion 1000 Dual power supply player against Emmlabs and/or Metronome in my system! Hope to hear from you again!