Best Option In A CD/SACD Player Under $1,500.00

I have a Sony ES5400 SACD. It sounds fantastic on SACD and very good on red book cd. I play it straight through my Acurus Rll preamp. I also have a Cambridge Audio 740 and have run the 5400 through that outboard dac capability. To my ears it was a little different, perhaps a bit brighter. I preferred the 5400 on its own. Some feel the sound is a bit polite and skewed to SACD. If you can get a listen to one you should. I have heard various OPPO players and liked them too but had historically always found the SONY product to be very durable and in HI easy to get repaired if necessary.

"I've read by owners or auditioners in various Audio forum threads seem less impressed by its cd playing ability than the reviewers do."

Maybe some are less impressed Nightfall but at your budget, even used it might be quite difficult to find an all in one unit that is going to really show it up, more preferable maybe. At this level you have to listen in your own system to know for sure. I doubt there will be any epiphany moments at this price point. At least that has been my experience. Used, if you can find one, a modwright Oppo 95 would be a good bet and a quite notable improvement over the stock unit and the 105 as well.

Tubegroover is spot on. If you can wait for a used ModWright, you will find one of the greatest bargins in all of audio. The stock sony is pretty good on redbook and very good on SACD for the price. I had mine for a year before I sent it to ModWright, so I am very familiar with the stock unit. It came back to me in a completly different league.

I think Lexicon RT-20 is very good for that price. If you can find used. As all these players it benefits from ac isolation/conditioning.

Don't get an oppo. Unless you want a DVD player. Get the best used player you can and spend the full 1500.