Which CD\SACD?

A used Marantz SA-11S2 or SA-7S1 would fit your criteria pretty nicely, IMO. They would likely be at the upper end of your budget, though--especially the SA-7S1.

The Esoterics I've owned, while good performers overall (especially the X-01, which was highly modded), just did not engage me over the long haul. My Marantz, on the other hand, has. 

When I've listened to the two manufacturers back to back, it sounds like two companies with two totally different conceptions of what live music sounds like. Neither conception is wrong, per se, but IN MY OPINION, Marantz's idea of live sound, as engineered into their Reference-line products, is closer to what I hear when I go to a concert.