A used Lehmann Black Cube SE. ~$400.

Or a Slee unit.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preaphon&1218490790

Or a Jolida unit. They can be had for such a price.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preaphon&1214882829

All three are a good catch. But you must park by the river and wait for that particular fish to swim by..and spear it when the chance presents itself. Ie, park yourself and utilize a given search pattern on Audiogon every day - until the right fish swims by.

It should be the SE model, not the stock one. The SE has the newer op-amps, IIRC..and the larger power supply. A stock unit goes for about $300-325, IIRC. Only the SE model goes for the ~$400-450.

It's quite good. I've heard it a few times. All depends on what your expectations are.....

I mean, a good technican and modketeer can make your old unit sound quite good as well. But that's a big can of worms to open up.

For example, I JUST modded the living be-jebus out of a Bluenote MM-MC box that someone lent me to fool around with. I'd estimate the work alone on this unit to be at about $200, besides the parts, which would clock in at about $100..but the 'sonic upgrade' Puts it squarely in the $2k+ category, if it was compared to a new item.