I know two people who have modded Sony SACD players. One was the SCD 777es and the other was XA 777es. The SCD was better to start and even though the guy with the XA had more done, I still think the SCD 777es sounds better.
You can buy a used SCD 777es for about $1200 (I've looked for myself but, just can't afford it) and depending on what level of mods, hopefully including the new transport, you can get away with ONLY spending $2500, but having a basically new (the only moving parts in it will have been replaced if you get the transport) and very good sounding CDP.
You can buy a used SCD 777es for about $1200 (I've looked for myself but, just can't afford it) and depending on what level of mods, hopefully including the new transport, you can get away with ONLY spending $2500, but having a basically new (the only moving parts in it will have been replaced if you get the transport) and very good sounding CDP.