I know there is no way you can get one for $500, but in my opinion the Sony SACD players are "overly" smooth. They more than compensate for that bright CD sound that we have tried to cure with warmer sounding components and never quite worked out. There may be models available soon at that price that can play DVD's too. Don't buy one yet. But keep it in mind.
CDP suggestions for bright system?
I'm in the process of upgrading with the cdp as the first priority. Presently, I have an Acurus DIA-100, old Denon DCD-620, old Energy 5.1e's, and DH-Labs cables. It sounds a little bright. I'm looking for a cdp that will smooth out the sound some in the sub~$500 used market. Any suggestions? I've thought about some of the cdp's with the tube output stages, but I'm not sure if that would help or not? Thanks in advance.