I am looking for the same, I want to remplace my NAD C525Bee. Nothing wrong with the player, very good for the money but wish to find something better out there, my main goal is to find a player that puts this analog touch to music, i know some might say, hey buy a turtable.
Not sure if is possible to get something good in the used market with such a low budget but i have read good reviews for Marantz, Sony and Rotel. But I will go for some japanese brand, i found them more realiable. I do not trust small boutique manufacturers (not so many in this price range though). They might sound good but they dont last. I like that sony and marantz are SACD wich is nice thing. There is also a nice New Onkyo for $ 300 something but I did not try it.