California Audio Labs Delta, maybe? May seem like a dated and not very exciting choice, but a lot of people have them and keep them, or sell them and later regret doing so when they realize what they 'upgraded' to didn't really increase their enjoyment all that much. $300-400 used, typically. With your budget, you could add a Monarchy DIP to reduce/eliminate any residual jitter (~$150). I've had my Delta for going on 13 years (!), BTW. Had to have the laser assembly replaced in '04 (cost ~$175) and no reliability issues since. Sound -wise, it has always sounded 'just right' to me running straight into a CAL Alpha DAC via the balanced 110ohm connection.
Or, maybe one of the Pioneer Elite CD players with the Stable Platter transport? I know you don't want to use a CD player as a transport, but that might be worth making an exception because of the quality of the transport alone in those units.
One more idea - an Audio Research CDT1 - a very nice transport, though your $700 budget might not *quite* get you there unless you get a little lucky and find a real deal.
Good luck!
Or, maybe one of the Pioneer Elite CD players with the Stable Platter transport? I know you don't want to use a CD player as a transport, but that might be worth making an exception because of the quality of the transport alone in those units.
One more idea - an Audio Research CDT1 - a very nice transport, though your $700 budget might not *quite* get you there unless you get a little lucky and find a real deal.
Good luck!