the best CD player under $1k?

The only one 2 I have heard that are worth it are the Rega Planet and the Rotel. However, the Rega was no better than a Micromega dac that I bought used for $300. As an alternative to spending $1000 on a 1 box player I would consider getting an Aiwa CD player for $90 and get it modified by Stan Warren for $130. Then add an AA DTI 2.0 used for around $200, an Apogee digital cable for around $50 and then get a used dac or even an MSB for around $500. This would give you good sound with upgrade capability. If the Aiwa turns you off, then you may want to subsitute a Pioneer 333 DVD player for $200 and a Monster Lightspeed toslink for around $50.

Creek 43. I own a Marantz 6000 OSE, and my dad has the Creek. Huge difference, now the Creek was a tad tizzy in the treble at first, but after an extensive (150 hour) break-in, it seems to have worked itself out. The addition of a JPS Digital power cord also helped immesely. The Marantz is a great player, believe me, but I think that it is a tad rolled off in the bass, and it definitely lacks the requisite bite with electric guitar. A little TOO laid back if you listen to much rock, but sounds great for my jazz. Also, you might consider the Marantz as a transport and getting an MSB Link DAC III as well for the D/A conversion.

I would think twice about spending $1000 for a CD player based on my recent experience. IMO, you should investigate some of the budget DVD players I'd probably look at the Pioneer DV-333) with the view to doing some very inexpensive tweaks relating to vibration and resonance control. I recently sold an Arcam Alpha 8SE because my RCA 5223P DVD player (definitely not much of a name in audiophile circles) was pretty much the equal of the Arcam at about 1/3 of the price (even less if it's still available on-line). I am not going to say that ALL the RCA players are great, because these large companies very often change their players significantly from year to year. What I can tell you is that the 5223P is a very fine sounding CD player. I've taken good care (as I did with the Arcam) to isolate the player properly (sandbags, proper shelving, vibrapods) and use decent interconnects from the player to my integrated (Silver Audio Silver Bullet 6.0's), and used a quality line conditioner with both the Arcam and the RCA. Since I sold the Arcam, I've further improved the performance of the RCA with a cheap $10 anti-resonance tweak and now use a Cardas Golden power cord (that I used on the Arcam) on the RCA through an adapter that Harmonic Tech has just come out with. In any event, I would be inclined to go cheaper on the player and spend the money on ancillaries which you can keep when you upgrade rather than blow $1000 on a player. I know from listening to the Arcam 9 and FMJ that I'd have to spend an outrageous amount of money to get a pretty marginal improvement. And if I was spending $1000 (I will never spend $2000 or $3000 on a CD player but that doesn't mean somebody else shouldn't), I'd probably investigate the higher end DVD players (maybe a Pioneer DV-37 which has a good reputation for sound) and do a power cord upgrade.

Brando, do yourself a favor and listen to a Rega Planet. I would say "hands down" this is the best player under a grand. Very musical and detailed without taxing your ears. The new model retails for $950, but you can find a demo or used one for around $500. In addition to the sound, it couldn't be easier to use. Flip the lid, toss on a disc. There is no mechanical transport or suspension (which introduce error in the playback or can break with use) in the traditional sense as the suspension is the feet of the player. The player also scans back and forth between tracks faster than any other player I have used. I used one for a while before upgrading to my current rig (over $3,000) and could very easily live with it again.

You may want to wait a little longer before making any purchase decision. Currently other than the $5500.00 Pioneer transport there is nothing available with both SACD and DVD-A. Therefore whatever you purchase is essentially already outdated. Check out the Perpetual Technologies P1A. It will upgrade all of your current CD's to 24/96 quality. It also will correct your speakers phase and frequency response and room distortions with future software upgrades. It has received two excellent reviews in the January 2001 editions of Stereophile and Home Theater magazine. In about a year there should be some multi-format players to choose from at reasonable prices and whatever format wins you will be ready to move forward.

Is there a policy about dealers selling in the threads?????????????????????????????

The Cambridge is the best one under $500 hands down IMHO. Sells for $399. List is $450.

Brando, be sure to look up past posts as there have been many good ones on this very question recently. I vote for an outboard dac with a transport.

spend a little more and try the Soney 9000es. It has good cd playback plus dvd/SACD. I paid about 1350 but have seen others claim to have only spent around 1100.

check out the Grnite audio #650 cd player -- "amazing" check out our dealer showroom on audiogon -- $795.00 also we ahve a inhome trail program thanks goodlistening stephen