Whic CD player would you pick and why

For 4-5k you can pickup an esoteric x03se on the gon and with a good pwr cord great soundstage and dynamics -remember sound stage is part of the system you have cables -speakers amps pre amps can all affect soundstaging as well as you room and speaker placement ---the x03se is a great player for the money

Lysaker, I have no info or opinion on the Linn. There are so many DACs out there (and so many flavors that people like) that I would recommend spending a bit of time digging around in the archives here and over at Audioasylum.

For the budget you describe I suggest you consider a higher end Esoteric unit that you can buy on A'gon for less than your budget, with full warranty(often seen)& far superior build quality and service life, from a company that takes inordinate pride in allowing customers to maintain & upgrade their units, and that will play virtually all formats other than Blu Ray.

Psacanli,
The warrenty is a concern. Esoteric only has a two warranty extending one additional year once registered. Most folks don't sell new and to transfer thewarranty costs an additional $100.
Thanks for the insights,
Eric

Lysaker, sorry took so long to respond, been at CES/THEShow. I have not heard the Linn, but I had a Unidisc a few years back, and it was a great piece of equipment, I really loved it. That said, when I bought a modded Denon 5910 I thought it was better in every way, especially as a straight DVD player.

That said, I sold the Denon and ripped all of my CD's to a hard drive and bought an Oppo for the rare occasion I listen to an SACD. Though since I finally started spinning vinyl, I stopped listening to almost any other media.