A reasonably priced CD player with volume control

I really loved my EAR Acute cdp. I haven't noticed what they are fetching on the used market in a while though. Excpect around $3,000...maybe cheaper? Also, I THINK the output voltage was 2V. I don't know what the input sensitivity of your Carver amps is.

Thank you again for the advice. With 30,000+ cd's I really need a good player. By the way, how would you play a cd on Linn DS? Audiolab 8200CDQ, Linn Genki, and Quad CDP seem promising, with 8200 perhaps the best candidate for me. Where I am (KY) it will be very unlikely or even impossible to audition any of them. Any additional information on how these units compare would be welcome, also I cannot go over $1500.00.

30,000 CDs?!?! Wow!!! I cannot even think of an additional 29,000 CDs i would buy! you're like 10 radio stations in one! ;) I cannot speak to any but the Quad which is nice, but i did not walk away thinking it was an exceptional steal relative to others. You could get second-hand ARC CD7, or CD5 which are both excellent.

You do not play CD's on a DS, it is a DAC - just a box (no moving parts), which is part of why it sounds so good. You would rip your entire collection into hard drives via a program called dbPoweramp (free I think, or maybe like $10, cannot remember) as a FLAC file most likely, either 24/96k or 24/192k. Then access your entire collection via an iPad. A DS setup is meant for someone like you (with that many CD's). Trust me... it sounds better hands down, than ANY CD player under $10k.... I have done the demos. My dealer here in AZ has two used units avail. of the Akurate DS for around $4,000. Even the Majik DS would be a better choice than a CD player. And you will have access to your entire CD library at your fingertips. You can check their website for more info. And, no, I am not a dealer, just a really big fan of this particular product from them.

BTW... a pre-owned LINN Genki would be a nice choice - however... you cannot ever get service from LINN on it, even if you offer to pay... they are not supporting any of their CD players any more (even the Ikemi, which I also owned). They stopped manufacturing CD players when they launched the DS line.