I'm in the process of putting together a second system for CDs and headphones only. At this point I've pretty much settled on the Schiit Asgard headphone amp.
For the CD player, I was going to go with a JVC XLZ1050tn. For the old folks out there, this big, heavy player was all the rage back in the 1990s. Think I paid around $700 for it all those years ago, and my dad still has it. :) Called him today and the ancient old JVC is dead. So much for what could have been a fun pairing of new tech and old tech.
So here I sit in 2012 looking for a nice CD player. The Onkyo C-7030 for $199 has caught my attention.
Wolfson 192/24 DACs, massive transformer, heavy duty chassis. Sounds like this could be lots of good sound for not too much money.
For what it's worth, I've also been looking at the Cambridge Audio 550 and the NAD 515. Both of those players are $300.
Edited by Penarin - 5/4/12 at 1:19pm