Q Given your recent column regarding CDs, why not write a column with recommended CD players for home stereo systems?

— B.Z., Milwaukee

A That is a great idea! I received quite a few emails about the column concerning physical media. Everyone writing in agreed with me, some of them very passionately and emphatically. Many of the emails were about CDs in particular and how hard it is to play them in new cars. I will address that separately in a future column, and today highlight three home CD players ranging from $45 to $3,000.

I think the absolute best buy CD player today, receiving top marks for performance and value, is the $349 TEAC PD-301-X. As a CD player alone it excels and comes from TEAC, a brand with a singular focus on making top-quality audio components. This compact, half-sized component is beautifully and solidly made of metal, and the sound quality is top shelf. A friend picked one up on my recommendation and was surprised that the PD-301-X sounded better than the high-end digital circuitry in his integrated amplifier. That kind of performance for $349 is enough reason to sings its praises, but the PD-301-X is much more than a CD player. It also has an FM tuner for listening to the radio and can play music from USB drives. Given there are few stereo receivers currently on the market and most people are buying integrated amplifiers, adding a PD-301-X brings both CDs and FM radio to your system. I loved the PD-301-X when it was $549.99, and seeing it at $349 makes me happy because I know many more people will be buying and enjoying one given it is more affordable than ever. teacusa.com

At the low end of the price scale is the Panasonic DVD-S700. All DVD players can play CDs (it is part of the DVD format specification), so if your DVD player has the right connections for your home stereo, it can be employed for CD player duty. I recommend the Panasonic here because not only does it have the audio outputs to connect to a receiver or amplifier, it is actually a pretty good CD player, too. Panasonic recognized that with fewer and fewer CD players being produced, a fair number of people would buy a DVD-S700 to play their CDs. Accordingly, the engineers made sure they put good-sounding CD playback circuitry in the DVD-S700. The $44.99 DVD-S700 is an excellent way to add CD playback to your system for under $50. shop.panasonic.com

At the extreme high end we have the mighty Magnetar UDP900 at $2,999.99. You could say the Magnetar is the current equivalent of the lost and very lamented Oppo universal disc players. The last generation of Oppo players (discontinued in April 2018) could play CDs, Super Audio CDs, DVD-Audio Discs, DVDs, Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and USB media. Outside of Magnetar players, this multi-format capability is practically nonexistent today. Weighing in at over 30 pounds, the hefty UDP900 performs at the cutting edge of audio and video reproduction with this same universal playback capability. If you do not have Super Audio CDs or DVD-Audio discs, the $999.99 Panasonic DP-UB9000 would make more sense for a home theater, but if you want a Rolls-Royce of a disc player that can absolutely do it all in any system, the Magnetar is it, if you can afford it. Not to mention, if you you missed out on an Oppo back in the day or are sad they are no longer available, buying a Magnetar will make that itch go away! magnetar-audio.com.

Contact Don Lindich at www.soundadvicenews.com and use the “submit question” link on that site.