Entry CD player question?

Back from my day in getting college money working at a shop that repaired video game consoles (lots of PlayStations) I learned to hate all CD transports made by Sony or (more so now) one of its suppliers.  They sadly dominate the industry.

Now it seems that TEAC makes the better transports (the actual mechanical disc reader).  They are just much more solidly built that the various Sony lines and suppliers.  They end up in some of the highest end — e.g., Esoteric.  While some supposed high end (e.g., Mark Levinson, which is normally excellent) has a literal PlayStation plastic-internals transport on a little foam pad as its high end solution.

Long way of saying, figure out what sub manufacturer built the transport in your chosen model and look for TEAC. 

if it wasn’t for advancements in DAC, I’d hunt down a mid 1990s CD player with a metal tray.  If you’re at all handy, I’d still do that and put the old transport into a new model or get one with a digital out and stick it into a new DAC.  With rare exception, they literally don’t make them like they used to make them.

You might also consider the Cambridge Audio line of players.

I looked at your system and agree that it was well assembled. But with that beautiful Thorens, why do you feel the need for a CD player? Or would it be something your wife would feel more comfortable using?

The Audiolab 6000CDT is a great transport for the money $450, but does require an outboard DAC as it is a transport only

I have a marantz cd6004 and it has served me well. My components are comparable to yours, I doubt you would see a decisive difference. 

The big one I noticed is resale value, Rotels go for about 50% than Marantz CD players. 

Obviously you have an itch, no decent 2 way system should have a multi-disc CD player in it!