Thanks for the all the suggestions.
Squeezebox first: I have had a SB3 in the past and currently have a SB Duet on long-term loan. I use this for internet radio (for which it is great and opens up lots of new music), but I don't have the patience for ripping/fixing the messed up tagging on a very large classical CD collection, especially as I'm 75% vinyl anyway.
I'm also underwhelmed by any interface I've seen to digital classical music collections (scrolling through spreadsheets of stuff is far more tedious than seeking inspiration from running fingers over some well-stocked shelves), as well as put off by the fiddling and tweaking with drivers, servers, networks, client software and backup devices that seems to be necessary to get consistent, good performance as well as ensuring you don't lose the lot in the inevitable hard disk crash. (Having worked in IT for 20 years I go along with the maxim that the question is not 'whether' a hard disk will crash, but 'when'). Meeting all these requirements costs a lot more than £500 in any case.
As for rudeness I was accused of, I have no intention to be rude, just funny ... and I do find it funny that some posters here insist on pushing a particular barrow even when it's clear the OP has little interest (I've experienced this before with 'wanted' requests). Surely it's also rude to go on the wind-up at right angles to the OP's clear question - unless this is also an attempt at being funny? Sorry I missed it then.
I had a stable platter Pioneer many years ago, it was OK back then, but for £500 today, I would expect to get something a little more exotic and, yes, higher performance. With the £60 Pioneer, there would be no joy of ownership in something I considered to be an old bit of (admittedly quite capable) cheap, mass-market flotsam from the past. Which is what it is.
In my budget I'm currently considering a Wadia 3200 (yes I know opinions are split on this since the Lampizator guy pronounced it 'just a Marantz' - I've since read opinions to the contrary, which doesn't surprise me as I've also heard some of his other pronouncements, on electronics, described by people I respect as 'nonsensical' and 'downright dangerous'); a Theta David II (ok this is a wee bit more than my budget but it's under consideration); and John's lovely Shigaclone - John is a great chap, I contacted him yesterday and I'm thinking hard about it, my only issue is paying quite a bit for DIY gear put together by other people, with which my experiences have been, shall we say, highly variable (no aspersions on John BTW this is purely my own issue based on past experiences).
Anyway what I was really asking was - does anyone on the board have an interesting transport going spare?
(Not - can someone help me use a search engine please?).
No offence intended to anyone.
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Originally Posted by campbell mac
Isaac Bashevis Singer