There are more high end CD players on the market now than in any other time in history. The sweet spot for ultra high-end seems to be $15-25k, but there are well over a dozen state-of-the-art systems in the $50-100k realm. Right now, Vekian is getting much attention from end users.
How does a state-of-the-art system sound? Simply sublime.
How does a state-of-the-art system sound? Simply sublime.