My audiophile friend of 30 years in the biz, both in audio and studio recording, summed that what you heard from your stereo was comprised of 70% speakers, 20% room and 10% components. This is probably pretty close. I might take a few % points from the speakers and give a little more to room and maybe a couple ticks more to components, but speakers by themselves certainly are at 50% or more.
Cambridge digital in general is pretty good. You may have to spend quite a bit to get better, or maybe even just different, but not necessarily better.
