Upgrade Question

There are plenty of different chips and different implementations in the CD players, and more in others.  One certainly doesn't have to go outside the one-box solution to sample (no pun intended) a wide palette of sonic flavors (mixed metaphor intended). 

What continues to gripe me is how the hell does anyone know what I have tried?

Nobody cares what you have or haven’t tried — this is not about you.  The OP has had the same CD player for 17 years and just because he loves what he hears now doesn’t mean he can’t love something else even more, especially after 17 years!  How would he possibly know unless he at least tries newer things?  Telling the OP to to “stick with Delta Sigma DACs and avoid these 2R2 contraptions” is discouraging him from trying more recent technology.  After that amount of time, and particularly in the digital realm, that advice is closed minded and potentially counterproductive to the OP potentially finding something he may love even more than what he has now.  

Having lived with the Delta Sigma for such a long time, I am certainly open to trying R2R. I may go for a relatively inexpensive one, such as a Denafrips Ares II, just to give it a try and see what it’s all about. I wish I could borrow one, but that seems near impossible. So, given the amount of $$ I’ve spent already on my system, what’s a few more bucks in the continuing pursuit of audio satisfaction?

If you're confident in the Musical Fidelity sound and build quality, take a look at the Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 21 DAC available here on Audiogon. I have no connection to the seller (Skyfi), but I'm aware that that DAC is head and shoulders above similar-priced units. If you wonder why I'm not buying it, believe me I have all the equipment I need at this time. A good DAC is a revelation over a stand alone CD player. Good luck with your decision.

Yes, after trying a transport + DAC for a while, I had such a revelation that I went back to a Luxman one-box CD player.