Love my 2009 7.3. It's a light, fast bike with a riding position that is very comfortable for me. I bought mine used, so I don't know how much they actually go for in shops, I think the msrp was $639 last year, but I'm not sure. With that in mind, you probably could get a 7.5 for your budget. I don't know exactly how they differ.
I think the Specialized Sirrus looks nice, though I've never ridden one. It looks like you have to go to the Elite model to get Deore though, and msrp on that one is $910 on the website. Seems a bit much to me, but I'm sure they're nice.