Neil. I competely understand. That’s exactly why I went with the 9000CDT too and I am very pleased I did. You are also correct that the price difference is actually less than the $1k I quoted. In the US it is about $700 at MSRP although the 6000CDT seems to be on sale at the moment here at $479.
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Or there is the 7000CDT to bridge the gap ofcourse.
Just had a look at the Paul Rigby review on the Heed where he does compare it with the AudioLab 6000 CDT and he appears a little underwhelmed by the perceived improvements in the first instance which is a little concerning when you consider the price difference about £400 for the AudioLab and nearly 3K for the Heed.
But then he has a light switch moment and realises he has been listening to the Heed with the optional Dac card in place so a fully fledged CDP not a transport.
The Dac card removed results in the expected uplift in sound quality from the Heed over the AudioLab and a lot more positive recommendation overall.
So the Heed will still be at the top of my list should the inevitable failure occur to my CD5 XS but as you queried earlier would it or any other transport match or better the CD5 XS when used as a transport is something we will only be able to ascertain once we are forced to take the plunge.
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I have a Cyrus cd transport feeding my Dave and have not had a single reliability issue with it nor have I had it refuse to accept any cd. Sounds damned good too holding its own against my Innuos pretty well
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… More thinking and reading …
Found another review. Adds something to this topic and discussion
Try search terms : Paul Rigby - 9000CDT Transport from AudioLab - The Audiophile Man - Review.
Hopefully, that should find it. It was written 10th Feb 2023.
Mr Rigby reviews the 9000, making some sideways references to both 6000 and Heed transports too.
Maybe another interesting read.
Store it in the memory bank for later 
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If you read the comments he was not listening through the Dac at all. He was listening to the transport all along. He claims that the sound was significantly worse even with the Dac installed but not in use.
That rings alarm bells for me, either regarding the kit or the reviewer🤣
The sound of the Rega runs pretty close to the NDX2 so delighted however my box count is getting ridiculous compared to my Uniti 2 days!
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I disagree with the statement regarding persistent problems with the loader on CDT-XR players. I have owned a cdi-XR player for 2 years now and had no problems with it loading cds at all. I recently returned it to cyrus to have it upgraded to transport only CDt- Xr.
This player still uses the same loader again no issues
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Well said dayjay cyrus used a new loader when they developed the XR series. It was a ground up project for them, building on their years of experience.
They also sound sublime holographic 3d stage very detailed
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