@shutupuface; Like your handle! Had an aunt who used to say that all the time.
I haven't been in the market for a "basic" CD player in 10 years or so. Back then, as I always do before buying anything of substance, especially HiFi, I did an awful lot of reading, research and, ultimately. serious seat-time with the (new) products available that intrigued me, within my budget range. I ended up buying a Marantz CD6005. I'm currently using it as a transport with a basic McIntosh DAC (DA1). Frankly, the DAC in the CD6005 sounds about the same, to my ears, (Pangea coaxial hook-up) as the MAC's DA1. My wife actually likes the Marantz's DAC a tiny bit more. Be that as it may, they sound remarkably similar, if not exactly the same.
During my serious seat-time ruminations, back then, I liked that Marantz a hell of a lot more than an NAD machine that was over a hundred bucks more. Like you, I have a rather large CD collection. Haven't counted them but I'm sure it's on the order of 5 or 6 hundred or so. I tend not to recommend things that I haven't heard, owned or spent serious seat-time with. I certainly haven't heard them all or, for that matter, a good many of them. As such, I'm sure there are other very fine machines out there, new and gently used, but of those I've spent serious seat-time with recently, as well as in the past, Marantz and Rega are those that consistently stand out, to my ears. My good friend recently purchased a used Marantz CD6006 and loves it. Sounds about the same, to my ears, as the CD6005.
About 3 years ago, I spent around 3 to 4 hours with a Rega Apollo A/B'ing 2 pairs of speakers I was interested in. That Apollo was around twice the cost, if not more, than my Marantz and I didn't think it sounded any better. To my ears, sounded about the same. There's only so much you can do with digital. When my Marantz craps the bed, I will likely go with a dedicated transport and, possibly, a better external DAC. If you want to squeeze the budget a bit, that's the direction I would go in. Regardless, no matter what I or anybody else thinks, as always, let YOUR ears decide what sounds best TO YOU!
Good luck!
