Lector CDP 7 Mk I, II or III ?

That was a strong statement, and my point was simply that IMO the MkIII for $2,100 is a great deal. I have been thinking about trying other players, but dispite months of looking at options, every time I listen to my system with the Lector I think to myself, "can it really sound much better than this?" Even considering the current market conditions, as Reb1208 points out, anything I have strongly considered as a potential replacement has been in the vicinity of $4K used, or above. While I have had no problems whatsoever with any of the 3 Lectors I have owned, my other self-imposed criteria for a new player is that it be made in the USA, or at least have easily obtainable service in the USA, like Esoteric or Meridian. Of course, Tgyeti is correct about the zero feedback liability. I sometimes offer those sellers the option of COD.

Once you get to a certain level of cd playback, a "better" sounding player becomes more difficult to find. One option is to consider modified players. And if your handy, do the mods yourself. Having look at the innards of many costly players in the 5K+ range, many if not most of them use atleast some "cheapo" parts.

My CD player exposure is somewhat limited, though I have heard some high end players like an Accustic Arts transport and DAC. In my own system, I've owned a Njoe Tjoeb (w/ upgrades and upsampler), the Musical Fidelity A5, and now the Lector 7T, I assume the MKI version. For my ear, taste, room and my current system, I think I'd half to spend a good deal of money to better the Lector. I can't speak to the later MKII or MKIII versions, but the Lector is everything I could ask for in a player. It has a wonderfully warm and engaging sound that just draws me into the music. It is quite tube sensitive, and the presentation can be dramatically altered by trying a variety of different 12AT7 tubes. I also liked the Musical Fidelity A5, but the seamless soundstage is closer to my experiences with vinyl than the more layered stage that was presented with the A5 and other players I've heard in my system. Hope this helps in some way.

I know of no cd player under $10k that is more natural sounding and involving , sure there are some players better in one area or another the Esoteric 03-SE comes to mind, or the new Cary pro, or Mcintosh. To buy the Lector MK-3 is a solid all around performer and at it's price under $5k a superb bargain ,with the upgrade from the BB-pcm63 dacs which are classic 20 bit to the 24 bit -BB pcm 1704 dac chipset it is just a little more accurate with better resolution. p.s whoever said there is no service for Lector products
does not know squat. there are over 6 repair facilitys in the U.S alone I have owned mine for a year with no problems at all , also Vintage tubes take this player to another level !

PS - I have owned a Lector CDP-0.6T since 2011 and it is great.  Nicest sounding player I've ever owned.  Warm and as analog sounding a digital source that I've heard - esp when played next to an Ayre Codex.   Probably should have saved an extra 6 mos. and purchased the CDP 7T but was told at the time that the less pricey model was 90% of the performance of the 7. I have upgraded power cords and bought NOS tubes and both those tweaks improved the performance.  I have owned Cary CD players  - was excellent for the time but could sound edgy and it's transport failed ultimately.  A REGA Apollo cd player was ok but didn't last long in my system. A little dull.  I thought i was having problems with the Lector player and i sent to their authorized service center in Connecticut and the issue was an NOS tube.  Cary on the other hand, did not want to service the older unit.  So much for their customer service.  Moral of the story, a Lector CD player is a good, safe purchase.