Where do I go from here?

Thanks.. I will. I found Nelson Pass's little forum as well.. might get some help repairing my Threshold 400a. :)

As a followup.. I completed the Op Amp mod to my Onix XCD 88. My intitial interpretation is as follows:

1. WOW!
2. Highs are much more precise.. cymbals now sound like cymbals.. you can hear hihats as they vibrate on eachother.. there is a more airy sound to them as well; they dont sound as compressed.
3. The mids used to be too pronounced on my Vandensteen's.. now they may be a bit too far back.. but I don't know for sure.
4. The bass is just plain more in your face.. my room will need adjustment.

For approx $130 and 15 minutes to solder and install I would do it again without hesitation.

Details here:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=122187&highlight=xcd-88+mod

Quite frankly; I still hear some saw buzz.. this is not a $5000 player.. but for what I have into it now (Approx $380) its pretty amazing. I'd highly recommend anyone owning this unit or someone looking in this price range to modify or buy the Onix used and do the mod.

all this messing with the CD player with results got me to thinking.. why did no one recommend I use a DAC?

I am suprised that nobody above said turntable. This would be the best upgrade that I can think of. 800 would buy a decent table & phono pre that would and many sonic benefits that cannot be attained with better cables, better CD player etc. Not only that our friend on a budget benefit from going to a garage sale and picking up vinyl for very little cost,what would be included is superior sound.

Surfgod-

I actually figured this out on my own. I found out my phone stage in my old Eico tube preamp was complete CRAP.. and now I have a HK Preamp with a B&O turntable and it has changed my sound drastically.. I have been frequenting the vinyl resale shop.. been sampling them digitally with excellent results!