Your question, of course, can only be answered very subjectively. Anyone who will consider spending $3K on a CD player has a very personal set of audio desires. For me, spending $3K on a CD never much sense, and it makes almost none now. In the next year or so, we are going to see another generation of players hit the market with 96/24 capability, that may also include HDCD. The old 44.1K CD's will be around a long time, but they will be certainly be eclipsed in sound quality by newer recording technologies. Over the past 3 months, I was pondering the same question you posed, and I opted to buy a used Rega Planet CD player for about $575. I'm very pleased with its sound quality, and it will be a fully acceptable unit for the next year or so. You may want to consider the same approach.
Does it still pay to buy a $3k CD player
? I see many people still interested in spending a fair amount for CD only players. I am particularly speaking of the link regarding the Wadia/Resolution Audio. I know they are great pieces. But, how far off are the Sony's (SACD players) in CD only replay? After spending 3K on hardware,a lot of us would be more comfortable with the investment if we were also able to buy new software, SACD. Which way to go?