Cambridge Audio CD Player Has Died


I have a Cambridge Audio Azur 840C CD player that is roughly 15 years old. A year ago the left channel went dead & was subsequently repaired. However, yesterday the audio output completely died (no sound whatsoever). Although the unit has served me well, I am reluctant to continue to put more money into repairs of an older unit.

That being said, I have a question for those of you who have more expertise than I. Is there a discernible difference in sound quality between high-end CD players & those more moderately priced? Although I do have a high-quality audio system, I would prefer not to spend a lot of money on a new CD player unnecessarily.
Thank you so much.
Kit
kitjv
Before getting a Bryston BCD-3, I used a CXC with a BDA-2 DAC. More than satisfied  with the SQ of my classical RedBook CD collection. 

IMO, the CXC output is excellent, and the SQ is determined by the DAC you use. 

Just a thought.
My CXC just died - plug it in, turn it on, gives "Reading" then "Closed" then "Open" then "Error" and does nothing after that.  Open/Close does not work.  Guess I have to dig my CD out of this damned thing.