Is OPPO worth the inflated price?

I own a 205 and I don't think it's that great.  It's worth the $1200 I paid, but it's no giant-killer.  At least not to me.  But, it does basically everything and sounds pretty good doing it.  But it does not sound like a 3k CD-only player.  If you're just looking to play CDs, I would go with a dedicated player like the Naim CD5x or something like that.  

You can either go for Pioneer  UDP-LX500 or wait for the  UDP-LX800. Paying anything over $1500 for a $1299 player is not worth it. I have the Oppo UDP205 and am plenty happy with it.

for playing CD not close to worth the current asking price

If going digital out, it performs no differently than any other quality player. It’s DAC however is one of the best on the market.

You can get the Pioneer LX500 for around $1000 and add in a Clones Audio power supply for another $450 and have one great performing unit.