The best CD Player for the money

I love my Meridian G08 for the money. It really depends on how much you can spend. If your budget is 4k I recommend the Meridian. Ultimately, you should go listen for yourself and see if you like it compared to other players.

Another consideration is HDCD. For me it wasn't an issue since I bought a Denon DVD-5910 to do my SACD, DVD-A, HDAD, and HDCD decoding. So I bought a machine from a company that put that much more effort into producing a CD player that is dedicated to one thing only, normal CDs...

Oh, if you are good with bartering you should be able to get at least a 12% discount as well. I didn't pay 4k which is the MSRP, I got it at 12% less.

Musical Fidelity A5 CDP has been voted the 2005 award winner by HiFi Audio. I would also have to agree it has stellar sound for the money.

I'll just chime in and add my recommendation for the Rega Planet 2000 for the sub-$1000 category. Fantastic player that performs well above its price point. The Jupiter is even better (though perhaps not as good of a bargain) and it's quite possible to find one under $1000 used.

The best CD Player for the money is easily the Linn Classik for $1550.00 retail price. This may seem like it would make a dent in most people's pockets, but consider this: The Classik spits out excellent sound, and most importantly, it is a Linn system in one! It is not just a CD Player, it is a integrated amp and tuner in one! If you wanted to get an entire Linn system, you would have to pay several thousand dollars(at least). And the cheapest(only CD)CD Player is the Genki, for $1900.00 retail price. $350.00 more than the Classik!
And without an integrated amp or tuner! The Classik is truly excellent and a great value for the price. I hope some people agree with me. But if you want to get the absolute cheapest high-end player that spits out great sound, I'd say the NAD C521BEE for $299.00.(I own one of these, it is awesome)