Budget single disc player-under $600

I had the Cambridge 540 and it was sonically lean.

The Esound CD-E5 is better than the Jolida. I had a Jolida with upgraded tubes. I am considering selling mine not because I don't love it, but I am going the HTPC route and need a dac. Not sure what would better or equal the Esound for the money.

Jeff - Seems not to be in the list. Seems not to be in the price range. F

There is no single "best" new player in your price range. They're all going to have certain strong points and weak points. And, they're all going to sound slightly different, from one another, depending on who you ask. Unless you can demo and compare sound for yourself, you might as well just pick a number from a hat and go with it. Or, compare things like warranty duration, available service facilities, styling, ergonomics of remote, so on and so forth.

I just demoed the NAD C545BEE and Marantz 5003. Both are nice. I thought the NAD sounded fuller and more dynamic. The Marantz seems sturdier, but not as fun to listen to.

I owned the Music Hall cd25.2 and Cambridge 540C (ver. 2). The MH is very nice: super quiet transport, nice build, transparent sound. I liked the sound of the Cambridge 540, too, but at low volume I could hear the disk spinning from across the room.

Haven't heard the NAD 515 or Cambridge 340.