Is it worth spending $10k on CD-only player today?

I don't think so. If and when the price of SACD's come down regular CDs may be replaced rapidly. Of course no one knows when this will happen or even if the regular CD will be replaced.

Personally I would look at the Linn Unidisk 1.1 reviewed in the last issue or UHF. Plays CD/SACD/DVD-A and DVD.

Apparantly it is close to state of the art in all areas of reproduction and runs near your 10k budget.

This above would be correct if you can just stop listening CDs at all, and concentrate on SACD and DVD-A. But it isn't likely the case. Most of us have CD collections and substantially less hi-rez music. How are you going to enjoy all those all good CDs without nearly-perfect-to-your-taste CD player? Take Linn Unidisk for example. Nice, well built universal player. Now, just as among CDPs, its sound may be not exactly as what you are looking for. Unlike CDPs, where on healthy $3K level there are plenty, plenty of wonderful CDPs, how many alternatives to that Linn you have among Universals? I mean - real alternatives, too many modern Universals around $5K don't play Redbook CDs as $2K CDPs do. There is no enough choice - not for players, nor music. Well, one could keep good CDP AND good hi-rez separately, which would solve anything mentioned above. But to trade good CDP to the same price range SACD/CD player - not now. I listen to music, not technology.

This above would be correct if you can just stop listening CDs at all, and concentrate on SACD and DVD-A. But it isn't likely the case. Most of us have CD collections and substantionally less hi-rez music. How are you going to enjoy all those all good CDs without nearly-perfect-to-your-taste CD player? Take Linn Unidisk for example. Nice, well built universal player. Now, just as among CDPs, its sound may be not exactly as what you are looking for. Unlike CDPs, where on healthy $3K level there are plenty, plenty of wonderful CDPs, how many alternatives to that Linn you have among Universals? I mean - real alternatives, too many modern Universals around $5K don't play redbook CDs as $2K CDPs do. There is no enough choice - not for players, nor music. Well, one could keep good CDP AND good hi-rez separately, which would solve anything mentioned above. But to trade good CDP to the same price range SACD/CD player - not now. I listen to music, not technology.

IME Fbhifi hits the nail directly on the head regarding one element of this debate with his assessment that

"Until someone has heard the latest generation of bleeding edge CD players, the question cannot be answered accurately. After they've been carefully auditioned, then all the discussion about how much to spend, how much is too much, etc. can take place- not before. Putting the cart before the horse didn't work 100 years ago and still doesn't work today."

I'll say it again, it is worth it to me. That said, I wouldn't want to impose my own priorities or sensibilities upon someone else.

I would agree with some of the respondents, get a moderately priced CD player and get it moded in due course. If you're interested in sound not appearence then this is the better route, the more any unit costs, the more seems to be spent on cosmetics. I bought a Shanling CDT 100, because it was the only unit I had heard to make classical music bearable on CD. I spent half the origonal purchase price on a Trichord clock 4, never connected power supply and numerous upgraded components. To me the result more than doubled the value of the unit. No aspect of reproduction was'nt enhanced, particularly the Shanling's weak base and soundstage depth. Colin the upgrader, recently put his heavily modded universal Pioneer player, a $300 unit against a Naim CDS, the owner thought the pioneer was his unit. He immediately had his Naim upgraded of course