CDP at $1200- 2000 for this system

NORTH STAR DESIGN is going for 2500$ for transport plus 2500
for decoder.His budget is 1200-2000.I wanted to buy that combo myself ,especially the top loader transport (Philips CD-PRO 2)but it exceeds my budget also.It is a great combo though.
George

Keep your 2900 and have it modded by either Alex Paychev, Dan Wright, or John Tucker...IMHO, and those of many others, these players will BLOW away all suggested player withe ease.

I'd compare Ayre, Gamut, or SimAudio Nova, which I liked best.
I remember side-by-side comparison between Nova and Primare, well... Primare should have been priced at least two times less.

Consonance cd2.2 needs to be added to list. I have one for sale as I am going to move to multichannel and will get a 2900 that is heavily modified as that is the only way it will be competive. I have owned many esoteric cdp's- All very good including: Electro EMC1mk2, Audiomecca Mephisto 2, Norhtstar m192 dac and transport and Res cd55 along with cd2.2. The cd2.2 at 2k is very competitive with others and at its used prices around $1300 it is a steal. 24/192,tube output via rca outputs with volume control. Tube and volume can be bypassed by using xlr ouputs. I was a rega dealer as well and all players above better the Jupiter-thoough a fine player-and the Jupiter betters the Arcam's and Jolida players in comparisons that I did in my store...Have not heard the naim but would say it is going to be in a higher league as well...E mail me in interested in a deal on my player...Scott

I'd do a 595 Sony SACD/CD player for $130 at Best Buy and send it to Tube Research Labs for $550 plus shipping both ways. For less than $800 you'll have a player that will surprise you.