cdp vs. dac

Go DAC, or CDP with digital in's.. At least you can hook other media souce into it not just a CD, especially now with the Redbook storage on computers and things getting pretty good. Just my opinion but a DAC will hold far better re-sale value too if you decide to change up down the road or still use it and its not obsolete.

You can find many more DACs in your price range new or used that will provide more value to you soundwise than a CDP. Check out the non-os DACs which typically can be found for $500 - $1000, new.

And if you add a jitter-reduction device at some point, it will diminish to some extent the importance of the player (used as transport). I think most bang for the buck is with a dac. Plus, they never wear out, which the mechanical players all eventually do. Good luck!