everything sounded great until the upgrade

@grislybutter as you learn about DACs, you’ll find a subset of folks in search of DAC units trying to make regular 16-bit CDs sound closer to vinyl. And other camps who are into hi-res, oversampling. Different roads to take. Take your time learning. In your case, learning through members like @rar1 who’ve heard and matched up your A3.2 with specific MF CD players is a good approach if choose to stay with CD only. As others have pointed out, some older CD players can be a gem too.

DAC: For any reason you decide to buy a streamer later on down the road, buying a good DAC would allow you to run a CD player -AND- a streamer through the same DAC, thus benefiting both sources. Many of us here use external DACs. You’ll literally find hundreds of other threads here on A’gon about "which DAC".

@grislybutter - 

hell of a waste of a good player, when a baseball bat or brick could have done the same thing.    

If it helps any, I use a Decware phono preamp with my CD Pre24 and Technics 1210 TT.

Rich 

@rar1  yes, but that's 2 birds with 1 stone :)

Toe in might soften some top end depending on off axis response.
Older CD players can definitely benefit from an external DAC  

I have an MF A300 with a pair of Dynaudio Audience 82 that I bought new and used everyday for about 20 years. I thought it was a great match, but it’s hard to hold off the itch indefinitely. (20 years is pretty good though) I recently upgraded “everything”, but I haven’t been able to make myself sell any old equipment yet. There’s a fantasy of a 2nd system (that I doubt I will ever use).

@grislybutter ....sounds like what my gear sounds like to me after I've been away for an extended period, exposed to all manner of audio trivia....*G*

Hang tough, get through a reasonable break-in, and then decide what and where to go with it.  New equipment can startle with the differences they exhibit.

Remember: Change is a b*tch. ;)