best cd player to get??

When someone says a cd player or dac of the same or close to same price range slaughters others you should take that with a grain of salt. My experience is there is a difference but not that great of similar priced players. It comes down to the options available that you want and personal preference. A basic guide $1K better than $3-5 hundred, $2K somewhat better than that. $3K and up, usually another level of enhancement and then smaller improvement as you increase in price. Once you reach a certain price (over $5K)you are paying more for build quality and looks than sound improvement. IMO

There's an ARC CD-7 for sale here on the Gon right now, asking $4,295. That's an awesome value.

For regular redbook get a Raysonic CD 128. Or as someone suggested a blow out Rega Apollo. For $1500 get the Rega and a 500-700 dollar DAC. The Rega's make a good transport and you will be set for computer audio.

Esoteric DV 50 is a good one. Sometimes they are had for under $1800. I agree the NAIM is always a good player.

I have used all and much more mentioned here.