My suggestion is go with a one box player. In your price range there are tons of great players used and new. I would suggest the following: Cary 308 or 308T, Quad CDP99, Sony XA777ES, or even the Marantz 8260.
The XA777ES and 8260 have great Redbook playback and SACD would just be a bonus. I have used CD players as transports before and they DO NOT stack up when compared to a dedicated transport and DAC combo.
Good Luck!
Chris
The XA777ES and 8260 have great Redbook playback and SACD would just be a bonus. I have used CD players as transports before and they DO NOT stack up when compared to a dedicated transport and DAC combo.
Good Luck!
Chris