Best SACD/CD player I can get for $5k new or used

Buy Sony 9000es for maybe $600 then send it to Modwright
get the signature reference mod, with tube oustage,and
dac upgrades, with volume control,For $1700 fee. And
use the extra $2700 buy good quality disc,SACD disc,
excellent player after the mod, even in redbook,
TRUST ME YOU WILL NEVER LOOK BACK.I HAVE ONE.

I have just posted under the Denon2900 thread. I got a Denon 2900 with a tube parafeed analog stage. They retail for $2995 and beat nearly everything I have heard. The Meitner is the exception, at least at this point in my comparisons. The Denon is not yet on their webpage exemplaraudio.com.

One of the pro modders likes the Phillips 963sa better than the Marantz sa14 when both are modded.

Now that is saying something imho.

Eldartford has good advice. The transports in the newer players, such as the Denon 2900 and the Philips 963 are much better than the older ones. These have two lasers and with mods, can offer world-class performance.

Spend $1000 on a Denon 2900. Spend the other $4000 on top quality discs.

A used Audio Aero capitole MKII with the latest P3 chip will be the most musical component you'll ever buy.
Trust me, I have one and am very glad I spent the money on a soon-to-be classic.
There are no more reliability problems and it plays MUSIC!
It is so ahead of the pack that it reminds me of the Marantz 10B tuner and Marantz 9 amplifiers of yore. They were excellent then and still sound better than most current stuff after 40 years.

Why don't you just buy the Kern modified SCD-1?

As far as build quality goes, they don't get any better than the SCD-1(inside or out).Gary

Since I upgraded to a Superclock II in my Marantz SA-1, I am thrilled with the improvements! Far better build quality inside compared to my previous Sony SCD-1.
See them on sale here for around $2800-3000, a steal!
I have the SA-1 plugged into an Audio Magic Digital Stealth which great results. Power cords are the Virtual Dynamics NITE and the BMC SHARK.