Finally have the CD player I've wanted
I'm sure it's not "audiophile", but I have wanted one of these Sony CD players (CMT-EX1) for a long time as I find them very aesthetically pleasing and pairs up with my record player nicely. But they go for ridiculous prices on eBay or anywhere I've seen them, more than I could justify spending on one. This one popped up on Marketplace for $50 about 15mins from where I live, but was listed as 'not working'. I messaged the guy and he said it was 'probably fixable, but didn't know anything about it'. So, I bought it regardless before someone else could snag it up, just hoping it was actually fixable.
I get it home and the load mechanism didn't work as is what I expected, since I've read this is what fails the most on them. Open it up and the belt is stretched out and not good for anything, so I replace it with a hair elastic to try it. The load mechanism works perfectly now, but it doesn't read any CD. In hindsight, I should have cleaned the laser when I had it open, but I was anxious to try the elastic replacement.....so anyway, I reopen it and give the laser a cleaning, reassemble it all and it works flawlessly now.
$50, one hair elastic and an hour spent opening it up and I have the CD player I've wanted for a very long time. Added bonus the remote came with working batteries :)