Best sounding CD player for under $500?

No, I'm not joking! :-) I'm about to have to lay out a fair amount of money to have my SOTA Sapphire turntable refurbished by SOTA, and I also need to plunk down some money for a new pair of loudspeakers to replace the Vandersteen's that are now much too big for my new, downsized listening room, which also has the double for a guest bedroom.

So I am looking for a CD player, even a mass-market one, that sounds as good as possible for the price. I am setting an absolute, upper limit for this of $500, maximum, and if it comes in at well under $500, so much the better. Since I have, or will have, a very nice analog front end with "miles" of vinyl to listen to once the system comes together, I don't see the CD player choice as being life-and-death at this point. It's just that I have a growing collection of CDs to play, of necessity. So, I don't care what the brand name is... for that matter, it can be a mass-market player that I can pick up at a big-box electronics store. So here's a different kind of challenge for you experts: what's the best sounding, currently available "cheapie" CD player you've heard? :-)