Aqua 'La Diva' ($9k) or Gryphon 'Ethos' ($39k) versus. Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T ($3k)?

I do completely understand that individuals have their specific needs and programmability is a requirement for tommylion,  no problem.  I believe that Pro -Ject has probably concluded that it is a very low demand requested or utilized feature.

Charles 

@tommylion

Ignore the dismissive comment made above with respect to you settling for a midfi $1K player.

Aside from the options that Charles mentioned, I’ll offer another that has programmable functionality - Simaudio 260DT. I have this transport, it has Sim’s proprietary mechanism and software and to my ears it is a very nice compliment to my Mojo Audio EVO DAC. I use AES/XLR connection ; prefer it slightly to the SPDIF. Anyway, I have no idea how it sounds vis a vis the Project as I have not heard a Project in my system. Just offering it up as a possible consideration if you haven’t done so already as you explore your options. Good luck finding a transport that suits your overall requirements.

It is just frustrating from my perspective that Pro-Ject came so close to hitting a grand slam in terms of what I’m looking for in a CD transport, but then messed it up with an error or bad decision. Including track programming for those who want and appreciate it is a no-brainer, IMO. If it doesn’t impact sound quality, what's the downside?

Have a Look at Playback Design DACs,

I have owned the Aqua Formula and the La Diva, The Playback Designs Lower end model sounded better.

The Dream Series from Playback Design if your looking for forgetting about the Electronics and just listening to music.

@ facten

You’re right - I was dismissive toward tommylion when I suggested that he take his search for a CD player down the "mid-fi" road. I was reacting to the impression he gave me that having a programmable feature in a CD player was far more important to him than how good that player sounded.

Thank you for giving tommylion very possibly the opportunity to "have his cake and eat it, too." I don’t know how much your Simaudio transport cost you, nor how much that cost might deter him. He strikes me as being rather price-conscious - which is why I suggested he take the mid-fi route. I wasn’t being so much dismissive as practical.

Contributors like yourself, facten, are who make this Audiogon discussion forum so valuable - it gives everyone the chance to suggest alternatives that others, like myself, did not know about. I have learned a great deal from reading the many other comments here.

Finally, in the quote below, I must address a common grammatical error I see all the time: when we confuse "compliment" with "complEment," especially when the latter is the word we want to use:

I’ll offer another that has programmable functionality - Simaudio 260DT. I have this transport. it has Sim’s proprietary mechanism and software and to my ears it is a very nice compliment to my Mojo Audio EVO DAC.

We COMPLIMENT (praise) people for their good looks, fine wardrobe and thoughtful behavior.

On the other hand, when you have an excellent piece of audio equipment (like your Simaudio 260DT) in your sound system, its presence COMPLEMENTS (adds greatly to, fleshes out) your system’s overall performance and thus your enjoyment of it.

Amazing how substituting just one letter for another in a word (like that ’i’ for an ’e’) can so completely alter that word’s meaning!

It’s no wonder the English Language is so very difficult to learn for people not raised on it.