CD players that make for a great transport

It's a little over your budget but after trying several CD transports with my BDA-1 DAC, I found the Simaudio Neo 260D sounded far better than my Oppo, Cambridge or Emotiva CD player transports. 
All were compared using SPDIF cables with the Bryston DAC. 

do you know if the Neo 260D uses the same transport as the 230D and 260D ?

No, the Neo 260 has the same transport as the 650D and 750D but uses a scaled down less expensive DAC that sounds pretty good but my Bryston BDA-1 sounds more dynamic. The Neo260 can be ordered without the DAC as a transport only for $2000 or $3000 with the DAC.  Check out the review in TAS and other publications. 

If were in my budget I would audition a Neo 260 transport version. I read the review in TAS and like the build quality of those Simaudio products i have seen and listened to. 

Hard to beat a HHB with the proprietary upside-down transport and digital (RCA) out. They were Pioneer's answer to the upscale market, retailed for more than a grand, get one off Feebay for about $300 if you're sharp.