Best CD player...for ME ;


Hi,
This is NOT a question of which player is better, but which one is the best for me.

For me, I would like to have one that is as acurate and unforgiving as possible. But at the same time, one that has characteristics of tubes - warm sounding, not harsh, brite or edgy. I am totally into acurate midrange reproduction. And totally against piercing highs (I have a "recruitment" hearing loss where music past 65 dbs hurts my ears).

My current system is a set of Martin Logan ReQuest, PrimaLuna ProLogue One tube amp...and... a 1999... Panasonic DVD player
:(

I can't afford the "best" out there, and my budget is only as high as the Music Hall CD-25 retails (~$550). NAD and Cambridge models are also in consideration, but not limited to just these. Can you recommend any others, as well as commenting on the ones I've mentioned?

I know the best thing to do is to "listen for yourself", but if you guys could kinda point me in the right direction so I don't waste too much time with auditioning players that don't even come close to what I'm looking for.

Thanks a whole bunch in advance!
peter_klim
Look for a used Jolida 100 at about $580. I compared the Jolida against the $900 Rega Planet and the $1800 Rega Jupiter. The Jolida was much better than the Planet and came about 90% close to the Jupiter. It has a tube output stage, which you can spend another $50 when you have the money to upgrade to the Electro Harmonix tubes to get more resolution and detail. At a used price of $580, the Jolida 100 is a great value.

Aaron