Why the difference?

Thanks for all the replys. This will be a keeper for as long as it lasts. May look into current mods if any. Stay tuned and good listening.

I have owned these players for years, very good value for a really good sounding CD player. I am surprised more people have not discovered them. They were Stereophile Class B Recommended component years ago but although they did sound good some units did by issues. I have had my Stage 2 for about 8 years and it has never had any issues. Also had a Stage 6 which now my son uses which had a noisy drawer because the lubricant kind of dries out, had it serviced and it too performs flawlessly. We also have a third stage 2 which does have some minor skipping issues which we are saving for parts. All of these players I believe have interchangable parts. If you find a good one hold on it to for a few hundred dollars its one great player.

I owned the Micromega when it was current. Wonderful performer. Horrible reliability. I had three of them and all had problems. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Newer doesn't always mean better.