I own a highly modified SA-11S1 (Apprx $4K in mods). It was already modded when I bought it, so I can't speak about the stock unit. However, I would agree with much of what Krisjan has written. I would charaterize the soundstaging as mid-hall, which is a plus to me. I actually sold a couple of more expensive CDP's too after I bought this one. I'm a vinyl fan first, and this CDP comes the closest to my $30K analog front end w/o investing a whole lot of money on digital. I don't think you could beat it for $1000. However, I have not heard the new $1500 Sony 5400ES that evryone is raving about.
Marantz SA-11S1
From what I am reading for around $1000 this player is excellent on Redbook and SACD. Can current and previous owners let me know your thoughts and recommendations. Do you still have it, or if not, what did you replace it with, etc....