I have had the Arcam 73T which lists for $699 for about 9 months now.It's an exceptional player and did require about 100 hours to settle in.It's upgradable to the 192T upsampling player with DAC swap-out through Arcam which I'm in the process of doing.(already ordered the kit).My decision to upgrade is no reflection on the 73T as I would put it up against any player under $1000 in it's stock form.Arcam isn't available online so of course you're not going to get big discounts on their products.If they were a lot more people would own them as they have a reputation for making superb CD and DVD players along with some other nice components.I realize reviews aren't the bottom line but if you do a google search on the 73T I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the audio communities opinion on this unit.A little over your price range but I thought it worth mentioning.Good luck with your decision.