A smaller-format player, this Musical Fidelity X-Ray sold for about $1000 USD in 2004, when CD was still the primary listening source. It would be about $1700 today, assuming you could find a CD drive manufacturer - Philips supplied this one.
And Stereophile seemed to like it:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/musical-fidelity-x-rayv3-cd-player
Interestingly, Verdi's Requiem Mass is referenced in Arthur C. Clarke's novelization of 2001: A Space Odyssey, while Stanley Kubrick chose Ligeti's Requiem for the soundtrack of the film.
Clarke described Bowman's solo journey in Discovery as beyond loneliness:
But what finally ended this cycle was Verdi’s Requiem Mass, which he had never heard performed on Earth. The Dies Irae, roaring with ominous appropriateness through the empty ship, left him completely shattered;.” and when the trumpets of Doomsday echoed from the heavens, he could endure no more. Thereafter, he played only instrumental music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6cogix3cwQ
And György Ligeti's Requiem For Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, 2 Mixed Choirs And Orchestra -
BB, season 13, episode 10 - under tremendous pressure, and against all odds, the 6th Grade performers minimalize their instruments, and produce Philip Glass' Mishima.
One of the best animated holiday episodes, ever:
Contemplating a Y2K-themed ad, Apple received clearance from Stanley Kubrick to proceed with a HAL parody; Douglas Rain turned down the invitation to re-visit his character, so the Apple advertising agency chose actor Tom Kane, who voiced a nearly perfect HAL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwUQ1YtUpzw
The following day, Kubrick called Steve Jobs directly, offering his congratulations.
