Budget single disc player-under $600

While have I not listened to the specific Cambridge Audio models you have listed, I did own the original 640 and the version 2 and for the money they were excellent single disc players. In fact I preferred them to the comparable NAD models at that time with the exception that I have a fairly large collection of HDCDs and certain NAD models provided HDCD decoding. But head to head on a regular CD I liked the Cambridge Audio.

I had the Cambridge 540 and it was sonically lean.

The Esound CD-E5 is better than the Jolida. I had a Jolida with upgraded tubes. I am considering selling mine not because I don't love it, but I am going the HTPC route and need a dac. Not sure what would better or equal the Esound for the money.

Jeff - Seems not to be in the list. Seems not to be in the price range. F

There is no single "best" new player in your price range. They're all going to have certain strong points and weak points. And, they're all going to sound slightly different, from one another, depending on who you ask. Unless you can demo and compare sound for yourself, you might as well just pick a number from a hat and go with it. Or, compare things like warranty duration, available service facilities, styling, ergonomics of remote, so on and so forth.