Would a new cd player make a difference?

I have a totally different set up but I was using a Rotel from 1990 or 1992, so similiar vintage. In 2003 I upgraded to the Marantz SA-14 because I wanted SACD after hearing the difference on a Diana Krall set done in both formants. It was literally like getting a new collection to listen to. 10 to 15 years marks a big leap. I would encourage you to audition some and do some A?B testing and decide for yourself. Just some thoughts Michael

the biggest difference in the new players besides improving dacs ect,is the upsampling,gretter resolution through out,imo.wish kyocera would have stayed with the audio game,still have one of their tape players.

I used to own Kyocera products and thought they made quality gear back in the day. I was especially pleased with their top of the line tape deck that was literally a Dragon (Nak) slayer at about half the price. I was in a similar situation just a month ago. I owned a Quad 77 that was 10 years old. At the time I purchased it and for several years after it performed nicely and compared well to newer players. However, in the last few years it became increasingly outdated. I just purchased a TRL modded Alesis ML9600 and an Audio Mirror D1 DAC and the difference in sound is amazing compared to the Quad. I'm actually having fun listening to CDs again and I'm a hard core vinyl junkie. Even the Alesis used as a CDP sounded better than the Quad due to its ability to upsample (my DAC is non-upsampling which is the sound I prefer - more analogue in my opinion).

Look around and listen. It will be a lot of fun and a great way to learn.