What Sonically is the Difference between a $1,500 CD Player and a $10K-$25K One?

Glubson, and I mean no disrespect, you don’t seem to know anything. Am I being too harsh? 

geoffkait,

As usual, you are being incorrect. "Too harsh" would be too harsh of a description.

Look y’all I heard the solutions 540 after I heard the luxman d06 and the Luxman was no slouch but the soulution player is the best I have heard in my life. I think it’s 35k. It sounds analog, natural, open with big images. Lots of air ,space, timbre. However you have to have great equipment as well in the rest of your system. I suspect some commenters may have not experienced the mid to high end systems.  You can’t out this player in a 10k system and reap its real benefits. I have owned a 10k system and it was good but as I grew in the hobby I was able to get a 40k system that now allows me to hear more detail, space, air and dimensionality. Your gear has to be able to assist in reproducing the great sound benefits. 

Nobody mentions that a person MUST know how to listen and to be ABLE to hear.  I am fortunate that I still can do both.

What no one seems to be talking about & is essential to realizing huge qualitative gains by spending a lot more money on digital - is if that money is put to excellent use in designing a truly outstanding analog stage. It’s far rarer then everyone likes to assume. I always was bored silly by the very detailed Berkely ref until they did a thorough redesign of it. If its a really well-designed tube one then you have something really special. Zanden did an excellent job here (although the digital section was slightly compromised by their choice of chip). Their new DAC & chip could very well be fabulous though. Micromega’s best tube Dac is also supposed to be wondrous. Some others too.

Just don’t listen to a quality record playing system of the same money as expensive digital. You'll become one of the many you see selling expensive digital gear because (as they say in their ads) they’re going back to vinyl. What you don’t know won’t (perceptibly) hurt you here.