Sim Moon Eclipse does it really sound cold &hard

Cool is to Cold+sterile as warm is to dead. On the thin side of neutral.

That Sim CDP is excellent, not on the cool side. Very neutral and easy to listen to. You'd like it if you're going for neutral.

Sim preamps on the other hand, I find cold sounding. Amps and CDPs are a go, though.

read my review of the sim audio equinox on audiophilia.com

solid state cd player a bit on the non-neutral side, not warm at all. my friend confirmed this on his stereo system.

I owned the Eclipse for a couple of years. It was my first "high end" player and I thought it was great. Then I heard the Bluenote Stibbert and realized that the clarity that I was hearing with the Eclipse just didn't hold a candle to the warmth (and clarity) of the Stibbert. The Eclipse is a very analytical player. It lets you hear everything a CD has to offer, but just not in a musical way. I know that a lot depends on your entire system, but for reference I am using Von Schweikert speakers with a Pass Labs amp and my CD's sound much closer to vinyl now.