Absolute Best CD Players Out There Under $12k ?

No1willfan, the way you phrased your question makes it almost impossible to answer. Yes, you put in your budget and the desire for great bass, however many of the CDPS you mentioned are wonderful pieces, but your leaving out the subjective factors of personnal taste and synergy with the rest of your gear. I have heard many of the players on your list and would pick the Reimyo CDP-777, however one not on your list, the Ensemble CDP, still is a favorite of mine but sounds very different than the Reimyo and matches up better in systems that are a little dull/lack dynamics. I own Accustic Arts new DAC that upsamples up to 32/384 and I found to be the best sounding DAC on redbook I have heard in my system. I didn't say its the "absolute best" in the world, but the best in my system so far and another great digital piece among some of the gear that you mentioned in your thread. So, there is no "BEST" but many fine pieces, so have fun audtioning untill you find what you like the best. With your budget range you should have lots of fun because you could afford some of the best digital front ends in the world.

Trust me, I know all about the subjective side to audio. I'm not *new* per say to this hobby, I just more or less wanted some opinions and suggestions of players to try out. I'm not going to buy on outside opinions alone (I'm not crazy) but it helps. And yeah, I know there's no *best*, just *best for me*, which is what I'll be looking for. But it doesn't hurt to get some opinions/suggestions/reviews first.

Thanks.

I would consider the Musical Fidelity KW SACD/CD Player.
I believe you will not be dissapointed.

I'm sorry if you took my post personnally, No1willfan, I was not trying to be nasty towards your question at all but be helpful. I gave you some suggestions, the Reimyo and Ensemble CDPS, and would also suggest/ask if your open to transports/dacs instead of one piece cdps? I believe you can get great performance for less money at times by matching different transports/dacs at different price breaks such as: 1) North Star transport with a Bel Canto 11 Dac- low end price wise 2) Either Accustic Arts Dac or Reimyo Dac with Ensemble/Cec/Accustic Arts transports for the higher end price wise. I have heard all of these different combinations and could easly live with any of them. I believe they sound as good on redbook as many of the CDPS on your least for less money. Hope this helps and sorry if their was any bad blood regarding my first response.

The only machine listed that I have actually heard using phones is the Naim CDS3, coupled with Stax Omega II phones (a combination I own). This can be a quite analytical and dry sounding combination with some recordings. I think a lot of other players would also be brutally exposed by phones like the Stax.

The best I heard my phones sound was with audionote DACs (DAC 5 signature and DAC 4). The Audionote stuff is absolutely grainless, natural and harmonically rich and colorful. It is quite different from the more present Naim gear; my guess is that is an advantage with phone listening.

My guess is that the Linn would sound good too, because it is very smooth and relaxed sounding. I would also bet that the DV-50 would be to your liking as well. It has bass/mid-bass that is a touch warm, and, it too, is quite relaxed in its presentation.

My bet is that the detailed and analytical quality of the EMM Labs gear could be a bit much with some phones, particularly Stax electrostatics.