How much to spend on a cd changer as a transport

I have both the Aiwa (which I had modified by Stan Warren) and a Sony SCD-555ES. The Sony is a much better transport. The Sony is or was available discounted for $600.

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.