Universal disc players as CD players.

I use a McIntosh MVP881. It's a convenient one-box solution. The audio is excellent and the video is more than good enough for my use.

I use an Ayre DX-5 DSD with balanced analog to a KX-5 Twenty for stereo, HDMI audio to a Bryston SP3 processor that sends balanced analog front LR to a by-pass input of the KX-5 and surround to a pair of NAD C288 amps.  HDMI video from the DX-5 DSD goes directly to the projector.  The sound is superb as is the Anchor Bay video the DX-5 uses.

I might catch some slack here but here goes. Any decent disc player will sound pretty good. The high end players are better but the disc player usually isn't the weak link in a system. If your system tune and cabling is adjusted to get the best out of a player it will sound damn good. 

Universals are most all I buy. Sony ES, Pioneer Elite, Denon, Marantz, and ARCAM. Some of us contributed to a thread a while ago listing modest tweaks that pay great dividends for exceptional sound and video.

Another +vote for AYRE DX-5 / DX-5 DSD universal players.
Superb.

Happy Listening!