i'm hoping i can avoid charges of hijacking, since it looks like the OP's initial questions have been answered.
my situation was very similar so i thought it would be redundant to start a new thread.
due to various living situations, my system has been in mothballs for around 25 years
currently it consists of:
adcom gfa555 amp
adcom gtp500 pre
vandersteen 2ci speakers (2)
the source used to be a denon dcd-1520 but it eventually had problems reading/loading disks so i donated it
which i completely regret now, of course, but it's done
i immensely enjoyed listening to it, and i liked that it had a variable out so i could hook it right to the amp
the sound was great, especially the imaging.
so now i'm in a place where i can set it up the hi-fi again and really enjoy it--but i'm having trouble deciding which way i should go for my source
my media is all digital--CD,DVD,Blu Ray,mp3,etc.
the setup will be (obviously) 2 channel and there won't be a tv with it (that is and will remain in another room) at least for now
so the most obvious solution is to replace denon 1520 with another. i read people raving about them still and i wonder if they somehow have something in the sound quality that new units will lack. there is also the variable out feature which i found really made a huge difference for me. i understand there are other cdp's that have this feature, like adcom and sonys of the same era. but it seems limiting to just have a CD player with no access to streaming or downloaded songs. i'm on a budget (200-400) so i'm looking to possibly get a newer player from 2008-2012 era, or newer.
so the bottom line question is, should i try to replace that denon or should i feel very confident that newer era players will have 99.5% of everything it did, plus a whole lot more?
any recommendations people have that weren't mentioned previously in this thread i would appreciate.
some of the more "modern" players on my watchlist right now:
oppo bdp93/95
Marantz 6X cdp's as well as the 500X or 800X blu ray all-in ones (will i be able to access all features if there is no TV hooked up?)
various sony audiophile grade players
hoping folks who take the time can recommend or perhaps steer me away from something that may prove problematic. my approach isn't to audition a lot of players. i just want to make a choice from among a few great options and be done. there's so much i don't know in this realm, so i'm asking for help. appreciate all who read and respond.
i would like to revise and extend my remarks. i am eager to get this system up and running, and my thinking has been evolving quickly.
i was close to getting the teac p-650 and then oppo 981hd
decided this should be basically a dedicated disc player with no video outputs
and also cut the outlay to 100-250 up to 300 max
i would like it to play hdcd and sacd if possible and recognize burned cd's
usb like the teac is nice but not necessary.
having variable audio out is a huge plus
bottom line: the best cd only player at $300 or less that has the most bonus features.
just hoping you guys understand my attachment to my old system and give me confidence my new choice captures most of what the old one offered and then some.
sorry for the long post. it's been 25 years in the desert.....