Budget single disc player-under $600


NAD 515 ? NAD 545? Marantz 5003 ? Cambridge 340 and 540?, Music Hall 25.2? Best sound? Best transport? Best at format versatility?
I want to keep to these choices since these are the ones I can
see at local two channel retailers. Thanks
garn509
The Marantz is pretty well built and sound very decent. I sent one to a friend and he loves it. Now it's mated with a Scott Nixon Chibi DAC and really sings, so it works well as a transport too.
There is a JD-100 on Audiogon for $560. Tube rolling yields excellent results with this player.
The advantage of buying used equipment on Audiogon is you get more for your money and if you don't like it you can usually sell it for what you paid for it.
Or you can buy one of the inferior CD players you mentioned above.
The Music Hall is better than the Jolida IMHO. I own both. The Jolida does respond well to tube rolling should you decide to go that way. The best tube I found were original NOS CV military type issue 12AX7 Mullards. Before the tube roll it sounded dreadfully sluggish and muddy believe it or not.