CD player suggestions...

I would stay away from the Emotiva player. I would go with Marantz or Yamaha if a CD player is what you want.

The Audiolab and Cambridge transports are not CD players. They require a DAC. I believe this to be a good way to go, transport and DAC, just want to make sure you understand this. It can be done within your budget. More money will be spent on the transport. A budget DAC from Schiit Audio would likely be as good as those in players within budget. An inexpensive DAC could be replaced at a later date if you desired.

Mensch I do have the Marantz 8005 cd/ sacd and the Yamaha cd/sacd. S1000, both are amazing.

@jayctoy Yes I am sure that at their price points both the Yamaha and the Marantz sound wonderful. I recently purchased a Music Fidelity 2scd as an open box item for $900. It is a player that has coax, toslink, and USB inputs so serves as a stand alone DAC.  I find this player also to be wonderful at the same price point. CD only not SACD. The MF generally retains at a higher price point than the OP's budget.

Big shout out for Audiolab 6000CDT. I've wasted tons of $$ on 6 CD players ending at Yamaha S2000 which uses their state of the art transport. This beauty broke down again after a year back from the shop. In desperation I bought Audiolab 6000 CDT with Nuprime DAC 9SE expecting to be disappointed .....HOWEVER, this combo out performed everything I've ever heard before including several OPPO units which are excellent unless compared with Audiolab 6000. That DAC is the wild card. I expect to upgrade big time ASAP. Separates are unbeatable. Previously owned Cambridge Audio, NAD all up the line, various OPPOs...GO SEPARATES!

Gonna be hard to get SEPARATES for under $800 (which was the stated budget), @allears4u .