Hi, I have the CD-77 in my system since July 2007 and have never looked back.
As I have been raving a few times about this machine, perhaps Ill put one or the other thing in perspective first. I believe there is no absolute best cdp or any other gear for that matter since 1) any particular periphery of amps, cables, isolation etc. will influence its performance and may, alas, just constitute the catastrophic mismatch, and 2) we all have our musical tastes, sonic preferences and expectations (luckily). So, whatever I say, dont believe me before you heard it in your own system.
Having said that, I can now start raving again :^o
This is the best cdp I had the pleasure of hearing within the confines of my four walls. I had been auditioning a number of machines in a price range of up to EUR 10-12k. Comparable to you, I wasnt very much concerned with SACD or DVD-A, after the CD-77 even less. I tried to capture my impressions in the following thread, among others:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1194665965&openusid&zzKarelfd&4&5#Karelfd
On top, with regard to build quality, this machine is without much serious competitors.
When I read your wish for USB input, then, I thought this is just the little thing that will set it apart from other very good machines.
Karel