Sony, I am currently looking at a Wadia 861se(I'm also looking at the Musical Fidelities Tri-Vista player.) I sold a Meridian 508-24 to purchase the Sony for SACD purposes. The xa777es pretty much holds its own with that player. Its not better, just different. The Meridian has a warmer, more relaxed sound where the 777es isn't analytical, it's just more in that direction. I also owned a Sony SCD-1 and really didn't care for it(for the price.) I sold it to buy the Meridian. I know a lot of people like the SCD-1 but it just wasn't MY cup of tea. On CD's, I much prefered the Meridian sound although I did feel the Sony had a little more soundstage width(it also added a slight edge to the beginning edge of voices in my system.)
In your particular case, I would opt for the SCD-1 or the xa777es. Which one would depend on the system it would be used in.