Is this the END of DAYS for the high end CD player

Not necessarily.

I bought my first "high end" turntable back in the 80's when vinyl was on the way out and CDs in becasue I had a big investment in records that I needed to protect and preserve.

That Linn Axis has served me exceptionally well and is still doing its thing today, even though I do not play my records tehse days nearly as often as I used to. But when I do, that investment I made in teh Linn 25 years ago is still paying dividends.

Same true perhaps for CDs today. If you have a lot, you need to play them with something. A good CD player is the easy option, though those who are up to it may be better served going the computer audio/music server route.

if you believe that the cd player, dacs, and transports, are in an evanescent phase, buy them while you can, as well as the cds themselves.

you will thus generate a collection of cds and have enough hardware to listen to them.

of course if you believe that computers and other technologies are the preferable to cd players and the like, the demise of said cd players is academic.

by the way niacin, are you a proponent of b-vitamins as a panacea for certain unhealthful conditions of the humna body ? if so, i would be interested in your words on the subject.

For those who don't choose wisely YES.

Mrtennis - My advice - consume as much of the mighty B3 as possible :)

Mechans,

IMO, DAT killed the cassette.