Big fan of the dreadnought here. I tried many dreads, including Martin, Santa Cruz and Taylor. Tried a Larrivee D40r but it was too much money new. Found a used one year old Larrivee D40re Legacy with rosewood and electronics for half the new cost and in your price range. It was on reverb.
Larrivee's are rather consistent in sound. Find a model you like new in a store and then buy a used one online for less $.
I have a LV-03, D40re and my wife has a D-04w. The D40re, for my ears, sound better than the Santa Cruz and Martins for twice the money. I did not audition a better sounding guitar. The Legacy D40 is made a bit different than the D-03 series, it's punchier sounding.
Here's my new dreadnought:
https://postimg.org/image/5e9ceauah/
https://www.larrivee.com/products/d-40r-legacy-series