what cd player ?

Mainstream companies like Marantz, Denon, Rotel, and Yamaha all make very fine all-in-one players in your price range.

I have an Emotiva ERC3 that is a great transport to an external DAC; I second the comments here about upgrading the power cable and getting good isolation. The Audiolab CDT-6000 is another great way to get your toes in the water. I have a Gustard X16 DAC that like the the Emo and the Audiolab.

I 2nd the Audiolab CDT6000. Amazing sound for $600 and it reads discs well. I haven't had a skip.

Onkyo C-7030.  GREAT SOUND.  Long life.  Inexpensive.  Good transport if an external DAC is added later.

Hi,

I have tried different cd players. Naim cd5xs, Marantz cd 6005, Cambridge cxc, and Roksan caspian m2 cd. Naim and Roksan are better, very close. If your amplifier has balanced input, Roksan caspian has got balanced output and the sound is really better with it compared with the Naim and its rca connections. The Roksan matchs very good with my Luxman 590 axII.