best used transport 400-700

EAD transports -- viz., the pioneer stable transport mech., like the thetas, no longer manufactured. Great products however. Also I wouldn't expect very large differences in sound based on upgrading the transport a step or two. Cheers.

Theta data II, EAD T1000, or EAD T7000(cd/ld), Monarchy DT40b universal CD/LD. I have Monarchy DT40b coupled with EAD DSP-700 MK2 this overall $700 combo blows away cd players like YBA, Muse, Krell which are way over $1k

Mejames is correct about the Data and Data II using discontinued mechanisms. This was confirmed for me by Ed Deitemeier with Theta Digital. He said they were looking for sources for the Phillips CDM-9 which the Data uses.

I bought a used Theta Pearl 5 months ago for $600 on Audiogon. I like this piece very much. It uses the Pioneer Stable Platter as do the Jade and Miles. At the time of my purchase, Pioneer was still manufacturing this mechanism. However, someone stated here in the forums recently that Pioneer had stopped production of the Stable Platter. I haven't confirmed this, so I'm not sure if it's true or not.

Either way, Theta makes a very good, affordably priced [used] transport. And the others mentioned here are definitely worth a look too.

Good luck and happy hunting!

Stay away from the Delta it's jitter is too high. Use
a jitter reduction box if you must use this transport.
You have to pay at least $1000 to get any good transports
these days. Get a used Wadia, Theta, PS Audio Lamda, Sonic
Frontiers or Resolution Audio Cesium transport. Look for
Class A rated, used transports through a dealer you trust.

I owned a Delta for awhile, but sold it and got a Parasound CBT-2000 which was much better. For less than $400, suggest you get an Aiwa XC37M changer for about $90 and get it modified by Stan Warren for $150. This will only output toslink so you may need a used Jitter reduction device to convert to rca or balanced. However, it will probably rival or beat any transport, new or used selling for under $700. It is awfully close in performance to my Parasound.