I used to own a Metronome CD-1V which I bought as a demo. It is the tubed output version of Metronome's basic, one-box, 20 bit chip player. Get one for somewhere in the vicinity of $1100 (quite a bit more if you get a 24/96 version), and you will have a great buy. It doesn't beat anything in any specific sound reproduction category, but it is simply a wonderful, musical, non-fatiguing, easy to listen to player. Nice looking too, and I liked the remote, although it has been criticized for being cheesy.
Sold this player and bought a used Ayre D-1. The latter is significantly better, as it should be for something that costs 4 times as much.
Sold this player and bought a used Ayre D-1. The latter is significantly better, as it should be for something that costs 4 times as much.