Absolute Best CD Players Out There Under $12k ?

Deb - Maybe I'm missing something here.

With regard to anyone who has stated his/her opinion about Meitner, it was precisely that... an opinion.

How is somone's opinion of Meitner gear self-promotion?

From your comments, you are referring to a specific individual, and the last I checked Ed Meitner hasn't posted in this thread.

If you have an axe to grind with whoever "him" is, I'd appreciate it if you'd take it somewhere else! I personally learn alot from valueable opinions of others, including the ones who prefer Meitner.

Gary

hey deb - you do realize that alex (aplhifi) is one of EMM's competitors, don't you?

ed meitner has never posted in this thread.

jtinn is an audiogon member who sells meitner stuff and he hasn't posted in this thread.

andreas koch has never posted in this thread.

in fact, it only seems that satisfied customers (myself included) have ever posted pro-meitner in this thread or anywhere else on audiogon.

do you have any proof before you throw out crazy accusations? or do you think he's paying a competitor to speak well of his products?

Deb, I sure don't understand your point, but this might explain it better:

Deb's TRL DV-50

How can you comment on the RAM player since you've never heard one? I see, since APL is the "enemy", anything else is REALLY good. :-)

I am sorry I can not provide the link to a TRL modded DV-50 (just like yours) which was for sale here on Audiogon not long ago. I hope you can figure out why it was sold.

Best!

RE: Teajay
Just wanted to let you know that I definitely didn't take your comment personally (I know you all know nothing about me) and as far as I'm concerned there's no bad blood. I'm certainly not opposed to transport/DAC combos; It's just that they tend to be a little more expensive and even though $12k is a lot of money I know it will be hard finding some of these players (even used) in that price range.

To everyone else I'm sincerely thankful for the the responses and suggestions. Keep them coming as much as possible! Every bit helps. I certainly plan to audition as many as possible. In case anyone's wondering the rest of my system is:

Sony MDR-R10 headphones

SinglePower Supra tuned specifically for R10s w/Ken-Rad VT231 input tube & Matching Sylvania VT231 output tubes

Virtual Dynamics Nite II Power Cords (for player and amp) and ICs

Thanks for all the responses and to Deb: I really don't want to start a fight. So everyone please try to keep it civil and please refrain from putting down other players or people's opinions.

Oh, and I also wanted to note that I phrased the title of the thread the way I did for a reason: "Absolute Best CD PlayerS", as in plural. I know there's no actual "best" as too much of it is personal preference. I just wanted to compile a list of some of the best players out there in my price range.