Naim Cd Players

how does this compare to other famous ones- Wadia, levinson, meridian, accuphase?

Not in the same league as the players you mentioned above.
For starters, highly recommending Meridian and Marantz.

Have owned a number of high end players over the years and the Naim players especially the current models are very good when compared to other plyers like Meridian. I owned the Marantz 8260 recently and it was not even close to the Naim CD5.

I love Naim amps/hicap and CD players. However, honestly, I am against buying old Naim CD players (CD2/CD3/CD3.5/CDX etc.) for various reasons (e-mail me if you want to know). If you like Naim CD player, buy current/recent production of Naim CD player either new or used.

Also, please audition Arcam 73T and Jolida JD100 (non-modified but with highly regarded 5751 vacuum tubes from 1950s or 1960s), they are not as fast or dynamical as Naim CD5/CDX2 but does deliver music really well.

Keep in mind that NAIM players do not have digital outs, so you won't have the option of using an outboard DAC.