Chinese CD players vs. Arcam

I heard the Eastern Electric MiniMax in the Audio Zone Amp at CES and I have to say I was stunned at how good the sound was; excellent resolution and focus. The build was solid, the finish up to the standard of other made-in-Asia-western players. My bet is some this could be attributable to the Audio Zone Amp. I did not ask whether Audio Zone had put NOS tubes in the MiniMax or not, since it has a slot in the back panel for 2 6DJ8/ECC88/6922 type tubes.