After yet another 3 years (this thread does seem endless), I finally found a single player that would do both CDs and SACDs and sound better on CDs than my wonderful Raysonic 128. The Oppo 105 does that stunt.
So, on faith, I sent the Oppo to Dan Wright for his mod. Yeah, the mod costs twice what the stock Oppo does. Then I spent another $150 buying the modded unit some NOS tubes. I'm very happy with the result, but ask me again in another 3 years :-)