I'm personally of the opinion that there are so many good one box players out there right now that seperates aren't necessary. The newer Cary players, the Meridian players that you've mentioned, the various Naim players, the ARC players, etc. I love my own player, a Tube Technology Fusion CD64 but it doesn't pop up used very often. Sorry about the remote situation, and good luck!
Advice needed please.
My Cary 303/100 cdp remote control recently stopped working and I'm tired of having to get up from my listening position and manually switch tracks. I contacted Cary about my problem and they mentioned that they would search for another remote or remote code for my 303/100. Well, they couldn't find another remote, but they mentioned that they would post the remote control code on their website once they found it. 2 months later and no remote code for a 303/100 on their website. I've had upgraditis of my cdp to something like a Meridian 508.20,508.24, or 588. I'm looking for a smoother sound without sacrificing details. I tried the Audio Aero Prima cdp and liked the results with jazz, classical,and the like, but with rock and similar music, it just didn't cut it for me. Should I stick with another one box cdp or go with a cdp and dac? Recently, I've really been interested in hearing dacs such as Audio Mirror, Scott Nixon, and Ack! dac. The rest of my system consists of Rogue 99 mag pre, Innersound esl amp, and Magnepan 1.6. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.