Great to hear form you klif. I am honestly interested in your hunt, as I have just gone through a digital pursuit myself. The Alpha 5 is worth the wait and hassle. The Cambridge D300 is an excellent unit, and one of the last transports they made if I'm not mistaken. I almost owned one myself.

If I may suggest some Marantz for you. The CD 80 and 94 / 94MKII contain the TDA1541S1. This is a 1541, single crown. They also made S2, double crown. Both are highly revered as they are no longer in production. So sought after, there is actually a fake market that has plagued places like Ebay.

As I'm sure you will read, these Marantz models are also great for upgrading and tweaking. DIY guys love them, so you will read good reviews from that crowd.

Since acquiring my orphaned, $6 Magnavox, I have been listening to much more CD's. CD was almost lost to me, using viinyl and computer FLAC files instead. It's been nice to get reaquainted.

BTW, are you a footy fan? AS Roma over here...