What seperates "hi-fi" from "mid-fi" in cdp's?

Your ears matter. Everything else should be treated as marketing. That's not to say that a 24 bit DAC is better or worse than an 18bit DAC, but who the hell cares what DAC chip a player uses if it sounds terrible to your ears in your system.
I'd short list 4-5 players that receive good reviews then listen to them and see if one stands out.

Trying to select based on specs would be like selecting a sports car based on the number of cylinders, or whether its a pushrod or an overhead cam. In the end you have to drive it to find out.

Probably brand name and country of origin. Ofcourse, I am serious.

I was hoping for names. I've been out of this market for many moons and am looking for a decent player. There are budget contraints. $1,500-$2000. Like most folks I can't audition all of the players in the system this is going into. It is easy to say listen to your ears but it is often difficult to get the chance to do so.

I remain,

This would be my short list in that price range:

Audio Aero
Naim
Muse
Cary
Sony

You can listen to what you can, either at a friends house (ask on this thread/in this forum if there is someone local to you to you who has what you are wanting to listen to and would be willing to have you pay a visit just to hear - there are plenty of Audiophiles who'd like to show off their system and share conversation with a fellow crazy), or at a dealer. Do research here, through reviews, and other real-world sites like AudioAsylum. Buy used at a fair price. Live with your choice for a while. If it doesn't click with you/your system just sell it here for a fair price and move onto something else. I've gone through many components that way to arrive at the systems that work best for my ears. I haven't really lost any money, and have had a lot of fun along the way and have met some really remarkable people, some of whom have become good friends.

Marco


PS If you are in Seattle during the time of your quest you can certainly look me up and listen to either a Naim CD5 or my Muse rig.

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