The archives are not so much of a help actually as most everything mentioned has been out of production for a long time.
I haven't heard the anthem or mac but they are very well reviewed. Other ptions to concider are a used Sony sacd SCD-222/333/555, or an IPOD. I have the 333 and have been very impressed with its cd playback, its a little slow in random mode though. The Ipod quality if you rip to full wav files or lossless compression its really very good, plus you would have a portable player as well. The background playback options of mp3 players makes changers look like victrolas. Being able to play back random by genere or make quick palylists for cleaning the house is quite nice. Actually, I see that your pre has digital input...why not a new dvd player and digital out to the krell or even some mp3 type player with a digital output.
good luck.