I don't know if the Cambridge 540D falls within your budget on your side of the pond, but I bought it to be my dedicated CD player. I found it outperformed its brethren, the 540C in a head to head audition with two commercially made copies of the same CD. In fact, I think it outperforms my twice as costly universal player with CDs. I generally concur that dedicated CD players outperform DVD/CD players (even if the CD only player costs a lot less) but in this case, the 540D seems to be the exception that proves the rule. The sales rep where I bought the 540D was floored when I did the comparo (he had no way of knowing which player was which on playback). The players cost the same, so he had no particular agenda there. Since then, three other shops that carry the Cambridge gear that I've visited have told me (before I tell them I own one) they often sell a 540D as a stand-alone CD player. Is it in the same league as a 1000$ Arcam? No. But after my extensive auditions in and above my price range, I would submit that you have to spend at least 1000$ to get a noticeable improvement over my 540D (ymmv, of course).