Cary CD 306/200; what else?

You may want to consider the Electrocmpanient EMC-1. I am not sure, but I suspect, that you can find one (used) in your price range. Personnaly I liked it better than the Audio Aero because of its seemingly better build quality. Sound wise they sounded different but I can not say one was better than the other; just different. The Cary is very good as well and it's build quality appeared to be good.

As Jtinn suggested you can run it directly into your amp because of it's variable output capability; but I felt it sounded better running through my preamp.

In the end this is all just opinions and other peoples experiences, you really need to listen to them yourself. My experiences have born out that there are not huge differences between any of them sound wise. But out of all the one box players I have heard, I liked the Accupahse DP75V the best. Good Luck!

Chuck

Don't discount the Cary 308 players (tubed and non-tubed). Several folks have commented that they are not quite up to par with the 306/200, but for the price come very close. I second the EMC-1 recommendation.

I would check out a used BAT VK-D5SE.

I agree with all of the suggestions listed above. They are all excellent CD players. It is a matter of personal choice. I used to have a Cary 303/200 and I thought that it was very easy to listen to. I wound up purchasing a new Musical Fidelity A308cr CD player and I find that it is a much better match in my system. I would suggest that you find a Musical Fidelity dealer and listen for yourself.

Sim Nova $2350
Audio Aero Prima $1800-$2200
Granite Audio 657 $ 2350

All superb.