On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 20:24:23 +0100, (Martin
Schöön) wrote:

Gentlemen,

I replaced the driving belt of my trusted old Thorens TD166
this week and today I find the CD-player has become so
upset by this it refuses to play or even acknowledge the
existence of the CDs I feed it.

The CD player is a Cambridge Audio thing (everything
important inside is labeled Sony) about five years
old (the Thorens is 25 years old).

So, even though the Thorens 166 works just fine and
I have a number of LPs to play I am in the market
for a CD-player.

I don't care much for fancy brand names and exotic
design but I want good sound reproduction. (and
reliability).

Any recommendations?
Second hand? (New models are not always better)
DVD-players?

Buy the cheapest Sony that has the features you want and tell us
honestly if it sounds any different to any other cd player. CD
playback is pretty much a utility job these days. I suppose you MIGHT
get unlucky and stumble upon one with a seriously crappy audio output
stage, but they're pretty easy to make too.