CD Player Recommendations…

A 2nd hand Meridian G08.2 is a wonderful player. I found mine for approx. €1150 in 2014.
Slightly matte (but hifi sounds often too bright compared to the concert), and laid-back => should match your needs.Very good D/A conversion, renders a full-bodied, natural sound. Rips the CD on-the-fly, stores the bits in a ROM, then converts them brilliantly.

The only snag: uses a slot-loader. That ugly thing had been introduced by Steve Jobs on the MAC, so all the hifi industry jumped in the bandwagon. The slot produced extremely tiny micro-abrasions on the poly-carbonate layer of my CDs (not "scratches", sthg ways lighter that could be seen only under the light of desk LED lamp, under a particular angle).

I recently purchased a Cambridge CXC-V2 transport. I hoped to wait for the fabled Schiit CD, but it seemed to constantly recede over the far horizon. I’ve read that the CXC-V2 uses the same drive as the 851C.

In any event, I’m quite happy with it. I'm using a Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ to complete the set-up. The CXC-V2 is also pretty inexpensive and customer service from Cambridge is supposedly quite good (a claim I hope I never need to test) and it's widely available.

I just ordered the Rega Apollo. Great reviews. 

AGON used listings today... Denon SACD-3910 Fully Upgraded Balanced out Tube CD/SACD/DVD  $875...... Parts Connection upgrades. These include single ended and balanced TUBE outputs. Plays SACD, CD and DVD region free discs.
or OPPO BDP-105  $1000....HDMI, single ended and balanced outputs. Plays SACD, CD and DVD and BluRay