... And is there a good reason to shell out $80 or more for this when a DVD player will play CDs just the same?
I am in my twenties, but I too have been disappointed by the user experience of DVD players as CD players. Now my frustration is that I could buy a
crappy CD player for $16, or otherwise I'd have to spend
five times that amount for a more-attractive and less-clunky user experience. Where's the middle ground?
You have answered your own question about why one might wish to spend extra on a CD player.
You are obviously a young audiophile, as $80, in today's money, is very cheap for an audio component. Years ago, getting tolerable equipment was far more expensive than it is today. CD players used to cost over a thousand dollars, and that was back when money was generally far more valuable than it is today.
Factoring in inflation, it would be more than twice as much in today's dollars.
I will, however, give you a tip on how to get a CD player really inexpensively. Very often, thrift stores have CD players for very cheap, that were originally more expensive than $80. You can probably also pick up one cheap on Craigslist, or off of eBay.
As for new, your choice is quite simple. Either pay about $80 or more for a CD player, or do without it and play your CDs on something else.
The reason CD players cost more than DVD players now was given by you in your opening post:
...there's the economics of batch quantities. ...
Most people don't buy CD players anymore, so the cost to make them is higher than it is for similar things that people do still buy.