Transport with XLR digital out for 1500 new/used

I've used the Parasound C/DB-2000 for the past few years and it's a great sounding transport compared to everything else I tried. I never tried the Meridian 500, but depending on what digital cable you use, transports can sound very different -- and what works best for one may not be the best for others...

One of my friends also bought a used Parasound and couldn't believe the improvement it made in his system. I'm not selling my Parasound. :)

The Theta DaViD has an AES/EBU output which you desire. It also plays DVD's and can be had in your price range.

CEC or Wadia CD transports

The discontinued Theta Pearl and Jade transports both offer AES/EBU output on XLR's, and employ the Pioneer Stable Platter mechanism. I own the Pearl and think it sounds great, but I have only compared it against lower-priced one-box players used as transports. The higher-line Jade featured a digital buffer circuit to reduce jitter which the Pearl lacks. Pearls seem to go for about $600-$700 used, Jades a few hundred more, but both are well under your budget max. (Theta dropped these models a couple of years ago to focus on transports based around DVD drives exclusively.)