need DAC and Transport or good CD player

I like the Channel Islands Audio VDA*2 DAC. Couple that with an inexpensive Blu-Ray or DVD player. With your budget you can even get a nice SPDIF cable.

Museatex Bitstream DAC is the best DAC value period. I copmpared it to many DACs over 12 a few years back and have compared it to a bunch of new ones. It still holds it own especially for the used prices it goes for.

Thanks for the info guys. Any other ones I should look at?

Whatever you do, I'd make sure I got something that is implementable in a computer audio set up. Even if you don't now, you may very well eventually find that you want the convenience and the access to hi rez files. (I didn't follow my own advice: I bought a pretty expensive CDP [a heavily modded Musical Fidelity A5] that did not allow this implementation, and almost immediately decided that computer front end was the way to go for me. Fortunately, I got a decent trade in, and am now very happily computer based.)

On particular units, although you don't hear so much about them here, a friend gets pretty nice sound from a Lavry DAC (about 1k new). Might be one to consider, for a good price used.

John

At your pirce point, I would second using the Benchmark DAC as part of my digital front end. It also can be used as a preamp is virtually (relatively) future-proof.