CD player recs under $2000 to replace Jolida

I recently upgraded from an Ah Tjoeb '99 to a Cary 308 (my budget was less than $1000). I would highly recommend a Cary CD player. I listen to wide array of music (Rock, R&B, Jazz, etc...) and this player performs well with all. And the 303/200 is supposedly a step-up in all regards over the 308.

Bass performance was a big step up over the Ah!. Tighter, deeper and with more slam.

The 308 was also more detailed than the Ah! and a Marantz DV4200(DVD player) that I did the A/B testing with. The DVD player was also stronger in the bass department compared to the Ah!... But the bass did not sound as natural as it does through the Cary.

I have found a couple poorly recorded discs in my collection that the Cary is less forgiving with than the Ah!, but turning off the upsampling helps with these discs...

Also of note is the superb build quality of the Cary! I found it to have the best build quality of any of the players I auditioned (Classe, Arcam CD72T, Nad -- These players I auditioned new in stores so I did not A/B... I found the Arcam too forward, and the Nad too dull sounding. The Classe was good... but I felt I could do better for the money, it didn't seem as involving as the Ah!).

You are in a diferent price point than me so you will certainly have more quality options, but definatly try the Cary if you have the opportunity (it also decoded HDCD which is a nice feature).

Look into Electronic Visionary Systems offerings.

Thanks for the thoughtful responses.

Beavis- Have considered the mod for the Jolida, but it is hard to know how much improvement they will make in the areas that are important for me (timing and dynamics- rock or complex music are not its strengh). Also, there are few posts from individuals who have heard both modded and unmodded.

Jh2os- The cairn fog (odd product name) looks interesting- especially for the price. Sounds like it is a sweet, musical player- might be a good match with the bel canto amp.

Scd112- Thanks for the description of the 308- anyone compared the 308 to the 303- is the 303 worth the extra money?

Hereis one recommendation for the McIntosh MCD 205. It is a changer and has very nice playback of redbooks CD's. Well recorded music sounds awesome and poorly recorded discs are eminently listenable. I also own Sony's XA777ES which I use for SACD. It is a very nice sounding player on both redbook and SACD. Both can be found here on the GON for under 2K. Good luck, and if at all possible try to listen to the players you are seriously considering on your system. Its the only way to know with any certainty.

Nzera, you will likely get a lot of advice here, all not necessarily experienced with the Jolida. Just a suggestion...it would be great to ask if anyone has experiecnce with their offerings vs. the Jolida and what their experience is in the difference. For the record, I have no problem with people making recommendations, I'm sure the CDPs mentioned here so far are great units, just would like to know how they compare to the Jolida, make sense?