Why not second-hand records? Because I want to be the first owner. New is new.
Such a question for experts. What affects the sound of the CD player the most?
A user from the Polish audio forum wrote to me that the quality of the CD itself. I guess not silly, huh?
If you're removing speakers and everything, then the recording (CD) itself is at least 90% of overall sound quality.
If you're just talking about the CD player:
1) any kind of signal processing the unit might be doing. these "modes" always make it sound like crap. sometimes you have to find some obscure menu to defeat them.
2) the DAC, but this is only applicable if you are using analog outputs
3) the actual laser/reading mechanism. quality here can vary quite a bit actually. DVD and Bluray players tend to have more tightly calibrated lasers due to increased data density in those formats vs CD. But there is no subtle "nuance" here. If it seems like your player can read everything you throw at it without clearly audible problems, then this is likely not an issue at all for your player.
everything else is woooo. any money you spend in this area is likely to be wasted, as far as sound quality. If something looks nice with the rest of your system or your furniture, or you like the display or the remote, then whatever floats your boat.