friend is looking for good $800-$1200 cd player

In response to Sugarbrie opinion: does it worth to mod NAD c541i to accept IEC powercords? Its cost may be comparable to the NAD's price...

Dmitrydr,

Upgrading to accept IEC cords more-likely will be pointless unless you wish to use longer cord. This general rule of thumb can be applied to any NAD electronics since the wall AC influence problems are taken care of inside their boxes.

The Resolution CD-50 is also a terrific cd player it also has a built in analog volume control. I upgraded from the Theta Miles Balanced to this CD-50 and it is definately better in all regards. There is more air, music is smoother. Many people comment that this cd player sounds like analog and I would have to agree. The sound is very vivid 3d and lifelike, and its smooth without warmth, I would say this is as close to neutral as you could come. It truly is like everyone says one of the best values in Audio. They can be found used for around $1000. I've also heard many people comment that the CD-50 sounds better then the newer upsampling CD-55 because that tends to sound a bit more digital like versus the smooth CD-50

If the cd 50 breaks you're screwed, however....

I will second the recommendation for the Muse Model Nine. Mine replaced an AudioLab transport and a Theta DS Pro Prime II DAC.