For what they may be worth, the statements in
the manual for the Gato DIA-250 about its DAC circuit and its analog input circuits seem confidence inspiring, as do the reviews of it that I've seen. And the PCM1794(A?) DAC chip it uses, while fairly inexpensive, is also used in the Modwright Elyse DAC, which is also confidence inspiring IMO.
Of course as I indicated earlier which interface approaches would turn out to be preferable will also depend on the designs of the particular players and cables, and on how well the technical and sonic characteristics of everything synergize.
My instinct would be to go with a 5 or 6 foot length of coaxial S/PDIF for one of the connections; and for the other (at least initially) I would suggest purchasing and trying both the fairly inexpensive Analysis Plus Toslink cable I linked to earlier, in whatever length is suitable; and a pair of fairly inexpensive 2 or 3 foot
Mogami Gold Studio analog XLR cables; and an inexpensive pair of 2 or 3 foot analog RCA cables as well.
Then try each of those possibilities on each of the players. Then, after doing that, if you see fit to do so consider upgrading to more expensive cables providing the functionalities that you settle on. Although I wouldn't be surprised if some of those choices turned out to provide excellent results in the long term.
Good luck. Regards,
-- Al