DVD player playing CD's

I was going to say use a DAC, but you’re obviously already there.  Depending on the quality of the clock in the Bifrost you might benefit further from something like a W4S Reclocker and a better digital cable depending on what you’re using now.  Just some additional thoughts FWIW. 

I use an Oppo UDP205 as a CD transport to play exclusively CD and SACD. It sounds better than my previous Wadia CD player. 

iirc sony’s dvp 9100 es dvd/sacd player was one of the very best sounding ones back in the day playing 2 channel...

I used an Integra DPC 8.5 DVD/CD/SACD changer for many years and was very content with it. It had a Wolfson DAC and played CD’s & SACDs much better than the lower-end Yamaha and Sony players that preceded it. Notably absent was the motor noise that plagued the other decks when playing the higher RPM SACDs. It retailed for about $700 in 2007.
I had to replace it last year when it started glitching out whenever a gold disk was inserted.
Putting my limited number of SACDs on hold for a while. I took a chance on the CD-only, Marantz CD 6006. At only $599 at the time and having the option to use it with or without an external DAC, I was hoping that the sound would be "as good" as I had come to expect from the Integra.
Boy was I surprised. Using the internal DAC, Redbook CDs sounded much better than they ever did on the Integra... so much so, that it inspired one of those stupid-late listening marathons...playing many of my favorite and go to CDs, hearing more detail and musical sound than I knew they had.
I’ll be content with the 6006 for a while, but when my covid economy improves, I’ll be curious to take the next step with a better DAC and possibly a transport.
Anyway, it’s about the music and about the journey....it’s all good.
Cheers

I have a Meridian 800. I specifically asked Meridian this same question. Does their top of range dvd player play cds better than their top of range cd player? Answer yes - due to better components