I have a yamaha s657, looking for a player to make difference in my system. axiom m80 q8's vp150, yamaha 6180 nad c272 2channel amp for fronts.

I have a Yamaha CD-S700. I love it. It is expensive. The cd tray is sexy sexy sexy.

An Oppo player(even the older ones) is probably one of the best Cd players out there. You will get SACD playability with them as well.

I'd say just pick one with the features you're looking for, brand name doesn't really matter.

GW, welcome. You haven't described what sort of "difference" you'd be looking for, but if it's better sound quality from CDs, there's no realistic prospect of getting it from a different player. Optical disc readers have been a mature technology, achieving an audibly flawless performance at low cost, for many years. If you've read stuff elsewhere that players such as your S657, which also play DVDs, aren't "optimized" for playing CDs and a "dedicated" CD player is needed, this is pure hogwash. These players have dual lasers which operate at the 780nm wavelength which is optimal for reading CDs and the 650nm wavelength optimal for reading DVDs, DVD-As and SACDs.

If your player is still in good operating condition no audible "upgrade" is available. If it isn't, or you want some new feature which you haven't specifically described, I'd suggest one of the megachangers such as I use or at least a five or six disc player for greater convenience.

Then I would probably get one of these...

http://www.adorama.com/HKT2037.html?utm_...m_source=nextag

You will need a RCA (female) adapter and batteries.

thanks,well I guess I'll keep my old cd player, its easy to spend money at this hobby and not hear any audiable difference.
its nice to be able to get honest advice about products and audio in general as things can get confusing for someone that does not have a background in audio equippment.
thanks again,

In recent years, and I am sure many would confirm this, quality of CDs and how they are mixed in the recording studio, can vary significantly from one to another, especially depending on the type of music you like to listen to. This makes much more of a difference in what you are hearing then changing players.

Generally speaking, from my listening experience, Jazz and Classical recordings tend to be better and more consistent in their mixes than other forms of music.

very good reading on the subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war