I agree with those who have recommended Oppo. I started with a humble DV-980 and discovered the advantages of not just SACD; but DVDA, which was a really great format and there are still some available on ImportCDs.com; but also HDCD. Quit a few CDs in my collection had HDCD layers I never even know about until I put them in the Oppo. I am now up to an Oppo BDP-105 with EVS mods that cosr me about $1,300, if I recall. Besides the superior sound quality, it has the ability to stream (which I never use) and to play DSD and FLAC files which I download onto a USB thumb drive. That was a real revolution for an old vinyl guy like me.
I also have an Ayre universal player that cost about $1,000 more. It sounds slightly better on CDs and SACDs; but has no USB input. Now, it may be that my ancient auditory faculties are no longer able to appreciate the full difference in SQ; but for my money I should have been satisfied with the Oppo. I also had a BDP-95, and with the exception of not supporting DSD downloads, was quite the deal.