New or Old CD Player?

Disk drives and laser heads wear out.  Some can be replaced, some not.  It makes absolute sense to get a newer or a new unit.  Used Sim 750 and 650, plus Mohican, Bryston BCD-3 and now Primare CD35 would all be on my radar.

I cannot recommend the Hegel Mohican...

Like the rest of their players, it simply comes off as a rebadged Opera Audio Consonance CDP, typical of that outfit's efforts in the first 5 years of this millennium.   At $5000, you're spending 2X - 5X for machines that proved historically unreliable and more than decade old technology.

Reading the Herb Reichert Stereophile review, I see two errors:
1.  CLEARLY a Sony (source of most of the problems with the Consonance players) transport / laser, not a Sanyo
2.  Opera Audio Consonance, who OEMs Hegel components, manufactures in China.  The review states in black and white the machine is made in Norway.   As usual, the rear panel does not have a "Made In" statement, but only Hegel - Oslo, Norway, etc.   Personally, I have a real problem with the way Hegel handles this

The EAR Yoshino Acute Classic is the best I've heard for REDBOOK cd's.  The most analog sounding I've come across.   Finding one used would be within your budget most likely.   The Acute Classic is the most recent version from EAR, having done Acute 1, 2 and 3 over the past decade or so.  The ACUTE CLASSIC does sound improved over the prior versions, so there are some advancements in sound that would be best to get latest versions of cd players if funds allow.  Digital has improved quite a bit over the last decade, even in strictly redbook cd players.

If a quality and statement piece CD is what you want, you can't go past a Yamaha CD-S3000. Look at the specifications! This is not a bit of this and a bit of that OPPO or the like. This is an out and out top end CD/SACD player.

I would opt for a CEC TL-5. This is an analog sounding transport that is belt driven and gets absolutely rave reviews for under $3K. Go through a dealer. Don't buy off Ebay.