Which cd player would I get best bang for the buck

Meridian 508.24 can be had for 1500 and is a steal. At a lower end the Planet/Jupiter is awesome for the money and the original Planet can be had for $300
-Vik

cal cl 15. can be found for 650-750 used. great sound great build quaility.

When I purchased my Theta Miles (bal. version) I auditioned it along with the Arcam FMJ, a Linn (forget the model but it retailed for around $3000)and the new ARC CD3. To my ears the ARC sounded best, it had a more refined presentation with good weight and detail, but it cost $2000 more than the other units. The Linn was had no weight, body, or depth to it's presentation; It almost sounded like a transistor radio compared to the others. The Arcam sounded O.K. but still didn't have the demensionality, and color of the ARC or the Theta. The Theta was right behind the ARC in almost every regard, it has the weight, slam, soundstaging, and timbral accuracy ,but lacks a little of the ARC's refinement(mostly on top). In the end I wanted the ARC, of course, but the Theta bought as a dealer demo was $1,700 compered to $5000 for the ARC (and the differences were not that big). I have heard the balanced version is a much better sounding player than the unbalanced version(you have to run it bal. too). Another cool thing about the Miles is you can run it straight into your power amp, thus negating the need for a pre.

The Roksan might be a good choice for a bright speaker. It is forgiving, a bit to laid back for my tastes. Seems to make everything too sweet even when things shouldn't be sweet. I didn't think it had the best detail either. I thought the Cary was hard to fault for the money. Of the three that I have listened to were on my Moms Joseph RM-25si MK11 and the Coincident Total Eclipse speakers. I have no idea what they may sound like on your speakers. All three that i have listened to had the same characteristics on both speakers. I felt the FMJ to be the most accurate of the three. I also felt it to be the best, but this is only my opinion. May not be to your likeing if you feel you have speakers that are a little bright. I think you could tame this with a good rack, PC, or ICs. Otherwise I would go for the Cary. Can't help you with the others you mentioned. Have not had them in a system that was familiar to me. Have heard good things about them. Not to familiar with others in this price range.