How much to spend on a cd changer as a transport

Those CAL Audio Delta transports are good and cheap. Get a dac with multiple inputs and 3 or 4 Deltas then you got a "dedicated CD changer".

If you want a changer as a transport, you will be hard pressed to find anything better than the Sony SCD-C555ES. I have owned or tried a bunch of transports, including the aforementioned Aiwa, Cal Delta, Rotel, Audio Alchemy, Marantz, etc and the Sony is a better transport than all of them. The Sony isn't as good as single disc transport like a Theta Data or CEC, but it is better than a lot of budget gear. I have not heard the Bel Canto 2, but I have owned the Bel Canto 1. You may want to listen to the Sony as a stand alone player before buying the Bel Canto dac. While I use the Sony as a transport, it isn't a bad sounding cd player either.

I WILL NEVER for go the convenience of a changer and for that reason bought a Sony SCD-C555ES. I can attest that it is a very well built machine and if you can find one, I would highly recommend one.

There are, as of this writing, 3 want adds for them here on AG and none listed for sale. A more realistic alternative would be to grab an SCD-C222ES (or even SCD-C333ES, if you don't care about SACD-Multi), as they are also changers. There are a couple SCD-C222ES players listed on AG now for $300 or a little more. Even more adds for SCD-C333ES players are listed. All but one are asking quite a bit more than the $300 range, though.

Again an SCD-C555ES would be an excellent choice, I think. Good luck finding one, however. If I were you (but of course, I am not) I would try to grab an SCD-C222ES off AG for the fact that it is a decent quality changer and also happens to have both flavors of SACD (as does the SCD-C555ES).

Just my 2 cents. Happy listening with what ever you choose.