Good entry level cd?

In your shoes, I'd save a few more dollars and wait until a Rega Planet 2000 was available here. There's one for $650, which puzzles me a bit. Apollos are going for a few dollars more than that.

If you need something immediately, I agree with the players mentioned here. An original Planet would probably sound better, but they're a bit old and transport mechanisms only last for so long.

Used Teac vrds 9, 10, 20 cd player. Very dynamic and robust sound. That probably would make a difference compared to your current dvd player.

Used Audio Refinement CDP. Change the power cable and it sounds great after that.

I was recently blown away by the Playstation One with RCA outs.

I kicked the OPPPO 980h on its booty. I thought the OPPO was a good player, until a $12 ebay playstation came in the mail.

I really recommend to try that first.

db