best cd player for 300-500 bux

One more thing to check before making hearing or any kind of failure conclusions:
CDs tend to degrade with the age. Re-recording CD onto the CDR might solve the issue. You will also need to increase the recording level by few db if the software allowes you to do so. I use Sound Forge to edit my recorded CDs and that helps alot.

well i found the imaging problem. i had swapped out my power cord to my tube preamp because it seemed loose. i just used another junk stock one. well i put the one in that came with the preamp and it was like i took a blanket off the system. needless to say im upgrading my cords to the other equipment.

Or just get an Oppo and save $100-300 for something else.