CD player for a warm system


I have the following set up
Belles 20A pre
Belles 150A Hot Rod amp
Coincident Triumph speakers with matching Coincident Mini Subs.

A very nice warm sounding rig that can be played loud and enjoyed.

I am thinking of upgrading my antique Phillips 880 and am looking for something in the 750 to 1000 range to add some sparkle or slam to my rig.
I have had an Arcam CD 72.Not that big of an improvement.
An Audio Note CD2.1X.Improvement,but for 2500.00 I was expecting more.It was too polite.I became dissilusioned with audio and sold it for what I got it for and plugged the Phillips back in.

Where to now???
Bry
bigbry
You need a Wadia. They excel at resolving detail and harmonics, and lending a strong, authoritative sound to the music. Their voicing highlights the upper midrange a bit, and tightens up the midbass a lot. Their bass slam and control is legendary. System synergy is the vital ingredient that often gets overlooked (how often do you read "component A blew away component B"without any context?), and you are wise to try to determine what will work in your system. Wadias are perfect for waking up a slightly sleepy system or leaning out the boom of an overly rich system. I bought an 830 when I was going to buy Audio Physic Virgo II speakers, which was an excellent match. I ended up not getting the Virgos, but Talon Hawks instead. I am trying to find a warmer CD player now!
Big, give the Myryad Z 120 a try, it is exactly what you are looking for to add some "zest" to your system..really a tremendous player, regardless of price..
What kind of interconnects and speaker cable to you have? I found that some cd players went from dull and lifeless to very good just depending on interconnects. Please post.
I also have an old 880. Really heavy-duty tranpsport. I love the ergonomics and looks. I do mods, so I modded it. It is a lot better as a transport now, but I would not use it as a player. Pretty bad by todays standards. Even modded transports such as the Sony DVP-S7700 are much much better. I realized that the 880 does not compete with newer modded units. It is relegated to my bedroom system.

If you want something that sounds good off-the-shelf and is not too expensive, I would recommend a used Sony DVP-S9000es. At least this one is a good one to mod. If you want SACD, then the choice is the Philips 963 at $400. If you want to spend more money and get universal player, the Denon 2900.
or also the new Music Hall units,,some are being upgraded with better op-amps and stuff...