$500-$1000 to spend on a used CD player

If what you really want is a dedicated player, the Naim CD5x is superb, and you can find amazing deals used (there's one listed now for $950; I have no relation to the seller). I had a Music Hall cd25.2, which is excellent -- very transparent and clear. In my system, the Naim is better than the MH in every respect (as one would hope given that it listed for 4-5 times the price), especially on recordings with mediocre sound quality. If resale is a concern, though, you'd likely be better off with the Oppo (which I haven't heard). Used prices on cd players seem to be plummeting (for obvious reasons).

I'm not necessarily concerned about resale. I just don't want to buy something I haven't heard and then be stuck with it.

They don't come up for sale that often, but an Exposure 2010s or 2010s2 would make a fine player. I upgraded from a 2010s2 to a 35th Anniversary Rega Apollo recently. While I prefer the Apollo's sound, the Exposure more than held it's own and in fact was a more energetic player. My Apollo, like many Apollos, has glitches. It won't always do what you tell it to. The Exposure never stumbled in that regard, or had trouble playing a disc.

I am so tired of having people plug in the Oppo. It's not a bloody giant-killer. It's fine for what it is but for a decent dedicated player there are much better choices: Exposure, Naim, Talk, MF

Hi Yates,
If you want to stretch your budget a bit, Sony SCD-XA5400ES is wonderful machine.
If you want a legacy Stereophile Class A, my Sony SCD-777ES top loading is up 4 sale soon (within your budget range) We can talk off line
Good luck
Thuan