Experts promise that the Marantz CD6005 will wring more spectacular sound out of your CDs than any other player, making it worth the rather high price tag. This tray-loading player reads CDs and CD-R/RW, and it’ll also play music from (and charge) your iPod, iPhone or iPad through its USB port. Testers say its built-in headphone amp sounds great too.

A do-it-all dream machine, the Oppo BDP-105 plays almost any five-inch disc you can throw at it — at the pinnacle of sound and video quality. It’s so capable and loaded with features, it can do your AV receiver’s job too. If you’re serious about both video and sound, impressed testers say this is truly the only player you need.
Est. $1,200

Despite its cheap price, owners say the Sony CDP-CE500 is a surprisingly capable five-disc CD changer. Its USB jack lets you play music from — or record your CDs to — a USB drive. You can repeat, shuffle or program tracks to play in a certain order. Experts haven’t tested it, but hundreds of happy owners say it sounds great.