Biggest soundstage in a CD Player ?

KRELL- bright in your face. Analytical
MERIDIAN- smooth & polite sounding loose bottom end
WADIA- excellent detail high volumes can get bright and analytical
ACCUPHASE- neutral sounding great detail,good base & good soundstage width & can sound a little compressed
LEVINSON 39- best depth and width I have heard yet. I draws you into performances. bass extension is great. Mids have a liquid like texture. And the unit is very natural grain free. STEREOPHILES Review states" the 39 produces music on the most exalted level" also "fine ability to place musicians in space surrounded by air" also " what was noticed most was being drawn into performances-hearing passion where it had not previously revealed itself to me... I just dont think cd standard can get much better than this"...

Just because stereophile loved it doesnt mean you will. It depends on the associated equipment your using. You have some good players to pick from and you will have the final word. All we can do is offer our opinions to you from our exsperiences with the above mentioned gear. I own the 39 and I love it but thats me and my taste. As you can see I have tried a few before buying the 39 just to make sure I wouldnt have any regrets. I have had the 39 for about a month and a half and I dont see myself buying anything else for many years to come. You can also use it as a preamp. I run mine direct to my amp.It has inputs for two additional peices of gear. Well I hope I was of help? Sorry I didnt know about all of the above mentioned.
associated equipment: levinson 335
levinson 39
martin logan ascents

Check out the Audiomeca unit or the EMC-1. List are
$7500 and $4000 respectively. You can buy demo units
for roughly $5000 and $2800. For less try Naim units
but cost is not straight forward as you need power
upgrades which adds to price. Hold out on buying new
until format is standardized.

With what you have listed you can do no wrong. Boy that sounds tacky. I have been serching also. What I have found is that digital is digital and analog is analog. The technology of the two are different. Stay away from products that use this as a selling tool, i.e. belt drive or tonearm style etc. Mark Levinson, Wadia, and Accuphase do digital best. Period. If you like to tweak go for the others it's your money. For me I take the tweak money and I buy the music. Mark Levinson engineers their gear to go from the box to the rack. Of the three I listed ML gives the same high-end digital for less money. Plus it looks great!!! When you go high-end the sound becomes personal. Speakers,amps, and front-ends. Trust your ears and go for what turns your head. For me, Mark Levinson just sounds right! Peace and good listening.

The Marantz SA-1 SACD/CD player. A clear cut winner over Wadia product and Levinson.

ps. Check my previous threads for reasons why the Marantz
SA-1 is possibly the world's best natural sounding player.