All the Players mentioned weren't avialable but my local Richer Sounds had the best range. They close until 1200 noon so that listening appoinments can be made in the morning with the shop closed. Neat I think. The much praised Marantz 6005 I thought a bit ordinary, the Cambridge 651 also a bit safe. The Audilab 8200 was so detailed I was tempted but I had been down this road some years ago when I demoed a Musical Fidelity. They make you sit up at once but would become wearing over longer listening (my opinion). I then listened to an Arcam CD17 which I did not have on my list. This was, I think the best all rounder and I bought it with a modest discount. I would have liked to have auditioned a NAD and possibly an Exposure 1010 but there were none around here. It just shows that advise on items and awards can only give you a starting point and you have to go and listen. As I have said on another thread, I don't listen to loads of tracks as I'd get confused. I use the same part of the same track over and over. About 30 sec worth. I choose a piece which I think as the sound range and instrument/voice range I am interested in. Even though I have been moaning about the fussyness of the 7SE I have realised that I bought it in 2000. 14 years old.
As I had my Mission 77 speakers with me at the demo I thought I'd try yet again (4 times over 30 years) to compare them with the latest speakers. The manager at Richer sounds said he had heard that old Missions were good. He said he had nothing to touch them at the under £200 range and to get as good I would need to spend £350 at least to go home with the same quality. So I took the 77's home again. Thanks for all the help and your opinions which are appreciated