I owned the Wadia 581-SE and auditioned the 781i and the Puccini. I currently also own the DCS classic Verdi Encore & Elgar plus which sound much better to the Puccini IMO. Funny thing is, I found the 781i to be a bit softer sounding than the 581-SE. It lost the scale and resolution to the 581-Se.
The Emm Labs CDSA-SE ( latest version ) even in stock form IMO out class all of the players mentioned but my unit has been upgraded and is now the best sounding player I have heard to date regardless of price.
Hope this helps.