Wow. 10 years of different answers which all in their own way are correct. I maintain that the best CD Player for the money is the best one you can personally afford. There is no one single answer because not all of us listen to the same music or have the same setup.
My current vote goes to getting excellent condition Demo items from a dealer. The dealer has been using the CD Player in a clean environment and has run it hopefully long enough to burn it in. This way you can instantly jump into the best the CD Player will be capable of rather than waiting for a hundred hours to burn it in. Demo gear is often a spectacular deal.
