Best CD player now made.

I've owned the Muse 8/296 for 4 months now and not that I've heard them all, but while shopping for the player and then later for speakers I did not hear anything better with CDs not to mention 24/96 discs or DVD video which are also great. The DVD capability is a bonus since in my opinion the combo plays CDs incredibly well and is at least right up there with the best that cost considerably more. Slaving the transport to the master clock seems to be an effective solution to the jitter issue. Somewhat as an aside, I've also heard people say DVD transports are not optimized for CD playback and "won't sound as good". Not so in this case in my experience. As it is now and also being upgrade-able, my need for investment protection is also satisfied. Definitely a "must listen to" setup if you are in the market.

Accuphase DP-75

Look at the Meridian 508.24, EAD 2000 is stunning at that price, Anthem CD1 is also an excellent choice with the tube output stage.

have any of you heard the Linn Sondek CD-12? I know it is double the $10k limit but would like to know if it is all it is cracked up to be.

I see some of you mentioned the Meridian 508.24 & Naim CDS2. These are definitely great CD players. However, I think there needs to be an addition to that list. This may surprize some of you but the Adcom GCD-750 is remarkable player. And at an affordable price, by audiophile standards, I hardly think it can be beat. Alternatives: Musical Fidelity X-Ray; Alchemist Nexus; Naim CD3.