I hear you. I have made do with an Oppo 105 to which I upgraded the OEM power supply, the IEC, and a jumper to bypass the 110/220 switch. My intent was to simplify my digital playback, it CAN sound pretty good with SACDs, but many of them just aren't ALL THAT. I've been binge listening over the last 2 weeks , the recordings are sonically, all over the place
I do/did have a Marantz HD CD-1 that I use as a transport for redbook into my Audio Alchemy DDP-1 + PS 5, a significant upgrade to the 105, but the magnetic clamp started scratching, and likely beyond repair: a new drive system is $150 + shipping. I decided it was time to get a dedicated transport: a slightly used Audiolab 6000 CDT should be here tomorrow. But, if $3000 was spending money I would get the Technics SL C 700: HTH