Best CD player under $2000

Best CD player under $2000 is NO player at all. Just rip all the CDs to FLAC files.
I have an old Adcom CD player which luckily has digital (coax) output, I let the external DAC (RME ADI-2 DAC) do the job of converting digital. But I hardly use the CD player at all.

I agree with what @alymere said before, except that I'd recommend Qobuz instead of Tidal for true lossless and Hi-Res. Tidal uses lossy MQA a lot.

Get a cd transport if you like your dac.  All the cd player does is read 0's and 1's and feeds that signal to the dac of your choice or the internal dac of the player.  Just find the transport or player that has parts for repair for the years to come, running a NAD from the 90's.  I've had it for years, best ebay find for me.  Cost 150.00.  Feeding whatever dac I choose.  Good luck on your journey.

Very happy with the Yamaha CD-S 1000.
plays SACD. Already own 2 Uber expensive transports and DAC's
The Yamaha was an extra CD player for my auxiliary system.
Smooth and open sounding. I find myself using this one 90 % of the time.
Also would take a look at riley804 recommendation. Great player for the money

The Denon DCD 1600 is available new for $1200. Build quality is excellent ( made in Japan ) .after about 50 hrs. break in it really sounds sweet. Got one for a friend and he really loves it. Music Direct sells it with a return policy.https://www.musicdirect.com/disc-player/Denon-DCD-1600NE-SACDCD-Player

Marantz HD-cd1 is a great compact cd player used with it’s own dac or as a transport. Another great cd/sacd player is the Marantz sa8005.