Upgrade my CD player or futile effort?

@holmz,what I do in the car is either stream from my server using Plex, or I use the Qobuz app on my iPhone.  No need for CD's!

Using my personal experience as a description to assist with the OP's inquiry.
I am new to using CD in my System, it has been a Source for a few years only, to be accurate since 2016/2017.
I am quite familiar with CD and have heard it as a source in many systems and have had a fair share of CD vs Vinyl Demonstrations.
Until my commencement of using CD as a Source, I was convinced that a Vinyl Chain as a Source was the only stimulus I required.

What changed was not such that an experience with CD was responsible for the change, but more motivated by how I was perceiving the use of CD in relation to it being a Second Source to the carefully created Vinyl Source. I was forming the view Cartridge Life could be extended if CD's of the same owned Albums was to be used to create an alternate listening experience with new hard media for already owned Albums that are Vinyl. 
My entrance into the use of CD was quite blunt, I put a CDP from a sons bedroom set up into my System and kicked of with my Sons CD's to get going.
Nothing special going on, but music was seemingly more convenient as I was not feeling the need to be adhered to the listening seat, I could crank up the Volume leave a few doors open and get on with a few tasks.

This evolved into a want to create the CDP experiences with better known music and hence the Journey began.

At a later period in 2017  a friend loaned me a Heavily Modified and much improved CDP and this was to show the used CDP to be very wanting.
I was impressed with the loaned CDP and began to carry out Vinyl vs CD replay comparisons, and the separation in SQ between the two sources was not too distant. It was definitely not in the same separation that was noticeable between the two CDP's.

Then came dilemma time, must return loaned CDP, must decide how to replace CDP ?  CDP or CDT > DAC was now the new thought process.
During this period I also went and had demonstrations form HiFI Dealers who presented streaming sources with a value of up to £6000 and one was in a System that retails at £100 000+, I felt the streaming system presentations was not impacting on myself, or making an impression I could attach myself to and want to pursue.

I did not use my well tried and test methods of getting out and trialling devices on a shortlist.
An opportunity came along to purchase a DAC, that was a early Prototype Production from a designer who has a range of DAC's.
I took the punt and purchased the DAC.
The DAC was first auditioned at another home on a system I am very familiar with and know the CDP qualities that are available within this system. Both myself and the system owner was quite impressed with how the DAC had created very noticeable and impressive changes to the CD replay in this system.

Cutting to the chase the DAC after a period of trials with CDP's and CDT's the DAC has now found a place where it has been coupled to a Perfect Wave Memory Player Transport for the past few years.
I don't see a need to make a change as I have heard the DAC in quite a few systems with other CD Drives.
I have not spent any energy pursuing any further changes, even though I have been through a selection of COAX Cables and feel I now have a ideal Cable in use.

As a comparison to the Vinyl Source, I have chose to a selection of these with HiFi minded friends in attendance. I feel confident to claim all assessments will evaluate that the outcome of these are a close run race. I have noted that  during a 'same Album' Vinyl vs CD comparison,            there are differences to be detected, but let one Album play on in CD for a short extended period and there will not be any want to return to the other Source, the listening experience is totally satisfying. 

For less than the outlay of a Cartridge that would be classed as quality Cartridge but not High End Spec', I have a CDT > DAC and a good selection of CD's to be replayed.  I don't have to concern myself too much about a loss of SQ, as there isn't much to be detected.
I can have music sit down in the listening chair sessions and be totally content, or heard all throughout the house levels of music, through not feeling the need of being in the Listening Room, just increasing the Volume and I am free to vacate as I do not feel the need to monitor the replay extensively. My discipline developed with Vinyl will not allow me to have this attitude towards a Vinyl Replay.

My hierarchy of music replays are Vinyl
( Too Long a relationship with the care of the Vinyl Media, the reverence of the Total Luxury Cartridge Purchases, and the pursuing of knowledge for extending my understanding of the critical mechanics and geometric interfaces are a underlying obsession) 
CD follows, but now with a conviction for the Source, Listening Freedom and a SQ that I did not foresee being produced.
(Thankfully the CD Media does not cause me an obsessional pursuit of furthering my knowledge)
'Amazon Alexa' an Ancillary used for convenience and gaining Speedy reminders of music I am depriving myself of listening to on the system, as well as reminding myself of forgotten past musical encounters, this is a wonderful device as a Low Tech streaming method with a SQ that has room for many improvements. 
(My most extended periods of hearing music being replayed over the past 18 Months is through Alexa, the total convenience is quite unavoidable it is seemingly always turning out tunes)
Serious attempts at streaming are not seeming to become a priority, but I am optimistic that a method will be discovered to get my interest going.   
       
     

@holmz,what I do in the car is either stream from my server using Plex, or I use the Qobuz app on my iPhone.  No need for CD's!

Yeah, but that assume one is not in the middle of nowhere, with no phone towers within hours.

I mean, I understand when you say your digital knowledge is limited, but you’ve spent 20x more on your vinyl rig yet ask if trying to upgrade your $500 CD player is “futile?” Just how bad do you think digital sound is??? What the hell do you expect from a total investment of 500 bucks? How would a $500 vinyl rig including cartridge and phono pre compare to your current setup? Where does simple common sense kick in here man? C’mon. 

It is just pulling the 1s and 0s off of the disk. When they pushed these in the 80s it was spruicked as God’s gift to audio.
But I can see the DAC and the jitter are important.

I realized you've already committed to a specific upgrade but I'll add my 2 cents anyway. As important as a DAC may be, the transport is at least equally significant. The elimination of vibration and an accurate reading of the disc is where all the sound originates. If that part of the system is inferior, everything which follows will suffer.

Again, it either pulls the bits off, or it has bit errors.

Don't forget that you can still service your CD player.
(1) Clean the contacts with a contact cleaner.
(2) Check to see that it is level.
(3) Aftermarket Feet to assist with vibration control.
(4) Open up the unit and use dynamat - again for vibration control.  
https://youtu.be/VoxC3st7WQw

Do these transports all give dodgy numbers out?


I am in a similar boat with a daggy old CD player. I would like to come into something like a Topping D70, but then does the transport matter at all?
And then, there are also 10 MHz clock, and other rates that once can use to sync the DAC.

e,g. https://nadac.merging.com/product/merging-player

@pindac, I really appreciate your detailed journey regarding CDs.
It does point to me that digital can be a plus to anyone if done correctly, even to those who's systems are strictly analog vinyl. Way to keep an opened mind!

The Denafrips Ares II came in early! Got it yesterday noon. Spent a few hours testing it out with my Marantz CD6005. Here are my impressions:
First off, the CD6005 needs to have the audio EX setting OFF. I had it on audio EX 2 and no sound came out. Rechecked all the connections and perplexing sat in front of it thinking what the hell? Then it downed on me that maybe the audio EX 2 being there to turn the digital signal into something more analog wasn't sending the full digital signal the DAC needed. Sure enough, once on audio EX OFF, the sound came on.
The Dac supposedly has a 100 hrs burn-in at factory before shipping. However I also read they recommend to leave the unit on fully powered for 10 days before setting it on the standby mode when not in use.
Meaning what I heard for a few hours yesterday will change, probably in a positive way.
The first and most important thing to me is to find out which of the OS or the NOS setting is best for you. It can be adjusted on the front of the unit. OS has the option of a slow or fast filter, NOS is not affected by the filters. As I found out NOS is 100% the way to go for my analog ears. A lot of folks online swear by the OS slow setting. I would bet that these folks have digital ears because that setting is basically as close to full digital sound you could get. Analytical, super clear sound, so much that it can be strident and tiring. Not my cup of tea at all. The NOS setting is musical, enveloping, makes most music sound live, without exaggerated coloration. In short it sounds as close to analog as you can get. I honestly don't understand why anyone would buy an r2r DAC and set it on OS to make it sound digital. Get a chip DAC instead. This r2r is meant to sound analog and NOS does just that. I also set the phase to positive instead of negative because I gather the majority of recordings would sound better that way. So far the sound is very big, very wide with a very clear definition between all the instruments while maintaining a solid togetherness. It's hard to understand how the sound can be that clear and well defined while having no hint of harshness but present a smooth, well rounded analog sound. It is like live music, the way I like it, not colored, or at least not overly colored. I am impressed so far and may find out a CD transport may not be necessary. I am not at analog level yet, but getting closer. Will know more in a couple weeks.