Looking for a CD / SACD player. Also, tell me about Esoteric

OP, take a look at Marantz. The SACD30n sounds amazing, has excellent DACs and a butt-load of options. $3,500 or so.

if you can find a Denon DCD-A110, it’s amazing as well.

As a fan of BluRay audio discs I'm perplexed as to why that isn't an automatic feature of the Esoteric line-up, or every high-end disc player.

I have only a stereo so the ATMOS and 5.1 audio options on the discs aren't of interest  to me.

My (discontinued) oppo UDP 205, Modwright version, is something to be experienced.

I have the McIntosh MCD12000.  Love it.  Check w/Reference Analog, they have a slightly used one for under 9k.  It has a built in DAC as well. 

@gthirteen

Several Oppo successors have emerged over the last couple of years, but despite sounding promising on paper, they haven’t had much of a profile in the stereo-audiophile press. They’re more often reviewed in home-theater magazines.

Most promising is Magnetar’s UDP800 universal player, which received a rave review in the current (June-July 2024) issue of Sound & Vision. It boasts an Oppo-like interface & form factor, excellent build quality, similar CD/DVD/BD/SACD/whatever disc compatibility, & 2024-class format support (including 4K UHD video). Downside is no phone app & a lack of multi-channel analog outputs. But, as you suggest, the latter may not be a dealbreaker in this age of HDMI & reasonably priced external DACs.

And the pricing is pretty reasonable, similar to that of the higher-end Oppo models back in the day. When one of my Oppos finally dies, this may be the first replacement option I consider.