CD/SACD player Under $4000

@audphile1 I did not try it with the Onyx (do not own it yet) however I did try it with the equivalent D.BOB + Oppo player. The Onyx is a cleaner solution since it is one box. The Meitner MA3i was excellent with the D.BOIB. In a few hours I will be able to test the same thing with my imersiv D-1 DAC. The SACD's sounded so good on the Meitner MA3i that I kept bugging the designer of the D-1 to get DoP on SPDIF working. 

The USA based sellers of the Onyx have return policies while the eBay sellers are lower cost.

xa5400: New laser assembly: won't read SACDs.

There is a very fine 'height' adjuster that controls the distance of the SACD beam to the bits in the SACD layer. I replaced the laser in a Marantz, I simply could not get it 'right' for SACDs (got CDs ok).

Perhaps someone else that works on them and has come proper tools can get it 'right'. If everything else works, I love the sound of mine.

Used Luxman D-06u

https://www.stereophile.com/content/luxman-d-06u-sacd-player

Let me chime in on the D.BOB and the Oppo transport I use. When I setup the Meitner MA3i with the D.BOB and a used $250 Oppo player (the older the better).

The sound quality I got from SACD’s with this very low-cost transport was the very best I have ever heard in my house. I usually stream using fibre optic. My takeaway is that I am not spending too much money on a transport. The Onyx is about the top end for me. 

I did recently hear the $10k Bricasti M19 transport

Bricasti M19 Audiophile SACD and CD Transport Reviewed

I heard it with the Briscati $5k DAC and the great ZMF Caldera Closed phones. The best part of that chain was the phones. I would have love to hear the same with the Meitner (not own) and the Oppo (own).

@audphile1 My friend offered me a home demo of the EMM DA2i DAC. It is the top of the line on the EMM lineup. I may do it at his shop in Sept and compare it to the MA3i. It will be a fun exercise. I am interested on how it compares with the imersiv D-1 and also how it sounds on SACD disks. I think my friend will be getting the Onyx.

EMM Labs DA2i: D/A Converter with Integrated Network Streaming – EMM Labs & Meitner Audio

@philgo01 what you are asking about is exactly what my experience is (my prior comment above).  The Onix transport sends pure DSD64 via I2S to cooperative DACs.  In my case, the Denafrips Pontus II 15th was a perfect match.  Plenty of other DACs with I2S inputs that work.  However, one may need to choose the correct pinout (Onix provides ten distinct settings to try from).

P.S. For a real budget alternative, the Onix also successfully sent pure DSD64 to a SMSL DO200 MK II DAC that I bought on Amazon.  SQ was pretty damn good for the price!