Need help finding a CDP


I made the mistake of having a listen to the new Classe CDP-202 the other day, now my older Rotel RDC955AX sounds less than stellar. So, now I find myself looking for a used CD player in the under the $1000 range. Any suggestions on what player would fit my bill here that has charcteristics like the newer Classe line? How are the older Classe units like the CDP 1.5 for reliabilty,and how do they compare to the newer Classe units? I have also had a few people suggest a Rega unit, but I do not know if the Rega would be along the same lines sound-wise with the Classe.
I know that I may be asking too much with my budget, but I would like to strecth my dollar as much as I can.
soundgravy
If I get this right, you bought a player that needed service so Classe threw in a free upgrade and the seller wanted to profit off that? That doesnt seem to be a fair idea.
"Soundgravy: If you wouldn't mind, could you share with us what the Classe does that the Rega and the Rotel did not (or vice versa)? Also, how would you characterize your sonic taste and the rest of your system? TIA"

Well the Rega had a wonderful midrange quality about it, heavy weighted bottom end, and slighty dark upper frequency range. But it all lacked a focus in my setup, the soudnsatge was narrow and was not too deep it was pleasant to listen to, but my taste tend to run towards a detailed presentation.
The Rotel on the other hand was more detailed, but lacked the tonal qaulitys of the Rega. The Rotel had a much wider soundstage but was missing that lifelike presentation, instruments and performers were well placed but the space that tied them together was missing. Kind of flat in a way.

Now the Classe seemed to do everything right, it had a wide,deep soundstage,had plenty of detail and was able to recreate the ambiance of where the recording took place. I guess you could say that it put you in the room with the perfomance, whereas the other two always felt like you were listening to a recording.

Do keep in mind that this was how I perceived these players in my setup, and they may act differently in another configuration.
"If I get this right, you bought a player that needed service so Classe threw in a free upgrade and the seller wanted to profit off that? That doesnt seem to be a fair idea."

Yes, I was unaware when I purchased it that it needed service, I was happy to hear that the seller was going to get it fixed for me, but that feeling was turned around when the seller wanted an extra $150 for the free upgrade that Classe was going to perform on the unit. He said that it would have made the player have a slighty higher value, so I should pay more for it. I really thought it was a dirty deed by the seller.
To top all of this off, he said that he had to send the player in to Classe since he was the original owner, and if I wanted to keep it, I had to pay the shipping cost back to him, the shipping cost from him to Classe, the shipping cost from Classe back to him and then the shipping cost back to me again. What a jerk i thought, so I told him just to keep it and he could refund my money.
He agreed then said that he would cover the shipping cost back to him and that he would just send me the refund in the mail, I have yet to see that, plus the guy tried filing a claim with UPS saying that he never received it, the unit was tracked and UPS left it on the front porch, this guy made up so many stories about how he had to check to see if his neighbors had it, he then said that none of them had it, but when the UPS driver went back out to investigate it suddenly appeared. This guy was a real ass.
WOW! That seller was a real ass! I would contact AudiogoN and make them aware of the situation. You should have your full refund by now at the very least. As it is, he has stolen your money.

For future reference, I usually use a credit card through Paypal when purchasing big ticket items for this reason.
I've found my bank to be the best resource, better than Paypal, and even better than AudiogoN. FWIW, AudiogoN is some help, they can kick a member out, but they cannot get you your money back. Paypal is worthless in dispute cases. The credit card bank has saved me though, by cancelling the charge. They then have me ship the item to Paypal, and let Paypal and the seller fight it out. Leaving me (the buyer) and the bank (credit card) out of the loop.

If you use cash (MO, check, etc), you are totally at the mercy of the seller.

John
I used paypal for the purchase and got my refund on the player, but he still owes me for the cost of the return shipping to him. Its only $15 but.............with this guy, Im going to push it.