What makes a Cd player a Great cd player

1. you can try to audition brands that are famous for making turntable, these brands tune their cdp based on vinyl sound, u could look around linn, roksan, rega etc. u could get them used under a grand.
2. think about what it is about vinyl sound you like, you want natural, cdp can do natural, you want laid back, warm, dynamic, etc i think cdp thesedays can do pretty good job on those things, but you can't expect microwave food to taste the same as can food, both are processed but done differently.
My take on this is, the sound is dependable on the type of disc, some certainly sound better with vinyl(recorded back in the early days before digital was introduced), now with sacd/cd format, when matched carefully, u can have a top notch system with cdp, like others suggested, it might be harder to get the sound u want upgrading/changing cdp with that budget, than the rest of your system.

I agree with Grannyring,

"A great CD player does not attack you with music, or hyper detail. Rather, it fills the room with pleasing music that is never hard on the ears and always draws you into the music."

There is too much emphasis on resolution and transparency. Resolution and transparency mean nothing without magic, the magic that sucks you into the music and holds you there. This is what a high end component should do.

Whether you prefer vinyl or digital is a matter of taste. I have heard both sound good. A lot of it has to do with which source you based your system on.

My goal is getting the front end to sound neither digital or analog.

I spend a lot of time listening to my buddies Walker and he comes by to listen to my modded CEC and custom Dac, comparing the same LPs and CDs (yes, I know about crappy mixdowns in the studios, it happens on both sides of the fence)

IMHO, good CD can equal/beat LP up to a certain level.

Once you get into an upper turntable/cart setup and a great LP recording, we hear bigger dynamics and contrasts within the same music my digital can't reach.

Pretty much all else being equal, we have the same musical tastes, but our sources are from different planets, getting closer to each other in many ways, FWIW, YMMV.

Rx8man,

I have never heard a tip-top end, high dollar turntable, phono, cart and arm combo. One costing over $20,000, so you may be 100% correct. I just have not tried one in my system. The vinyl systems I have tried retailed for $7000 tops.

Still hear those clicks and pops on a mega-buck rig? I bet you do....:-(

Perhaps over time I would not notice that surface noise. That seems possible.

It's well designed and built.

That doesn't necessarily mean it has to cost a fortune these days because the basic technology needed to do it well is fairly commonplace and also fairly widely understood these days.

How different units are tuned to sound from there is a different story, more one of personal tastes and how well the player integrates with the rest of the system (amp, speakers, room), which can make a huge difference in regards to the final results

Personally, I would assess the player's and systems results using live music performances as a reference standard, not a different format of recorded media, vinyl or otherwise.

If things are going well, either format will do a good job of getting most things mostly right in their own way.