I find it confusing that a person with a system consisting of Threshold and Audio Research now wants to skimp on the CD player. As far as the Chinese players go, nobody knows the ultimate longevity of these players, as they have not been on the market long enough to establish a track record. Sonically, I've owned a Doge6 and I thought it was fabulous - how long is it going to last? Can't say. If you are truly concerned with reliability, I believe Esoteric has a great reputation for that. Personally, if you want reliability and HDCD, I would recommend a Naim CD5x with a flatcap PS. About 5K new and probably about half that used. An excellent, reliable player at a very good SH price.