Slot, tray, or top load?

I have a top loader. Love it. Love the simplicity. However, it does require extra space, so it may not work on your audio shelf, unless you have a tall opening or sit it on the top. If you have the room, top loaders are great.

The Sony SCD-1 is a top loader using a sliding top door.

I like it because the disc is not moved -- I place it on the spindle by hand and the door closes over it.  No need for any extra mechanism to move the disc into position.  I think it is more reliable and less risky of disc damage.


However, the top loading architecture requires upper clearance, and I have always had to locate the player on a top shelf.

None of the above. As someone whose CD transport is aged and limping along but also as someone who has recently entered the wonderful world of streaming I’d never buy another dedicated CD transport/player, and my next move is to buy something like one of the Innuos Zen streamers. They have onboard CD drives and internal storage to make it a breeze to rip all my CDs and can stream from my Qobuz service so I have access to all my music in any way/order I want to play it along with thousands of titles I don’t own. After experiencing streaming, being limited to playing individual CDs seems fairly absurd — kind of like having to reach into my pocket for change to throw into a toll basket. Ain’t no going back for me. Sorry I didn’t answer your question directly, but FWIW.

I like the top load concept, but all of mine have been trays.

I owned the top-loading McCormack Digital Drive SST-1 for quite awhile and while I have no idea if there’s any sonic advantage, the act of setting the CD into place, putting the magnetic puck on top and sliding the cover shut was a much more satisfying experience than pushing a button, dropping a CD onto the tray and pushing the button again.