Windows Media Player

Interesting. I'll check it out.

Thanks Nikki. I will get with some exceptionally computer savvy people I know and try out the cics Memory Player. I am sort of drawn to the minimalist philosophy, so this appeals to my biases.

If you like minimalist try hqplayer http://www.signalyst.com/consumer.html. For my set up it is the best but YMMV. BTW, yes, there are quite significant differences between players in my experience. I suspect how noticeable this is will depend a lot on your set up, both PC and DAC.

I would be more concerned with teh sound card I was using than the plybck softwr

I wouldn't under estimate the importance of the pc configuration and software. The final result is very cumulative IMO.