What's happened to the used high end market recently?? Sales are tough....:0(

I don't know.  I've been watching Gon ads for the past few months thinking I might pick up a nice used/new CDP but haven't seen much I'd be interested in or willing to pay the $$$ for some of the better players offered for sale.

Sales are tough?  Well, there ain't no app for that.

Looking at some of the ad listings (not just CDP's), I noticed that my jaw starts dropping.  I mean I realize people want to get some of their money back - but c'mon, who's buying used gear at some the atmospheric prices being asked?  It's as if sellers (private and merchant) are targeting a niche group of deep pocket buyer's.  Isn't HEA a niche enough market to begin with, why make it even more selective?

Back in the early 2000's when I first became aware of the Gon and I tried my hand at buying/selling, it was different back then.  Sure, there was plenty of mega-buck gear to be had but there didn't seem to be as many merchants involved as there are now and you could find some really good deals on used audio gear.   Nowadays the mantra seems to be  Damn the working poor - full speed ahead, whatever the deep-pocket guys are willing to pay.

Speaking of which, reminds me of this recent article in The Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/06/the-birth-of-a-new-american-aristocracy/559130

Maybe they're responsible for what's happening to ALL markets.

I dropped aprox. $17K on new audio equipment this year.  That was the budget and I pretty much stuck to it.  Got myself a very nice system for that price.  I'll probably spend another $7K but then, I'm done.  I can't see laying out ($17-24K or more) for a single "used" piece of audio gear. My pocket's ain't that deep. Makes no sense.  May as well buy new. 

Is it no wonder that a lot of forum topics have to do with digitizing, streaming and PC audio?   Gee - I wonder why?

As far as a great CDP, two EAR Acute sold on Gon a few months ago for about $1800 and $2000 each.  They are fabulous players.  I highly recommend them as a last player you'll need for CDs.  Get NOS 6922s and a high end power cord to get the most out of it.  I auditioned 30 CD players prior to 2006 and was dissatisfied with them compared to my analog gear until I bought the EAR Acute.  A new one called the EAR Classic, which I heard with stock tubes and an upgraded A/C cord sounded great as well but sells for close to $6K.  It has digital inputs for streaming.

Yesterday at THE show in Irvine, Calif, I had a very interesting conversation with one of the manufacturer’s who was displaying his wares. He is going to be bringing to market a great new product. We discussed his pricing strategy for this product, which I believe will be SOTA in its division. Essentially after I had asked him if he was going to price this piece at an even higher price than the current competing SOTA piece ( which is very well reviewed--but at a price that makes most people pale in shock) to meet his far east dealers requirement (higher is better...through the roof is best!); he replied...absolutely NOT! Why not, I asked him. To which he replied, because this would lead to the rest of the world having sticker shock and his market would severely suffer in those other areas. Smart guy, IMO.

@fleschler,  there is a EAR Acute mk2 currently being listed.
I must confess, I've never heard an EAR CDP.  Why the volume control?

EAR CDP can be run direct to amplifier(s) with the volume control.  Otherwise, the recommended setting for output is at 2 o'clock.  There really wasn't an EAR Acute 2, it skipped up to Acute 3 with digital input, then the two box version and now the one box EAR Classic.  The E.A.R. Acute l and  III begin life as an Arcam player. The transport mechanism and logic circuitry, including the latest Wolfson DAC, are retained, but everything else is replaced.  I heard the Classic with Prana speakers and a Class D amp with stock tubes and my CDs (Ramsey Lewis Down to Earth, Ellington & Basie Bands) and it sounded excellent.  The original Acute l sells for $1800 to $2000 used on GON.  Possibly more for the Acute lll.  They are analog-like sound with great dynamics and frequency response.  Truly amazing CDPs.