New Marantz SA11S2?

I have not had the opportunity to audition the Ayre. I would agree to the statement made by 4musica regarding the McIntosh and the Marantz. Very simalar and both are very good players.

did you change the fuses?

I must say that I had my doubts about the sa11. It does take a long time to break in. A very long time. Longer than 500 hours. Although after 500 hours, it does start to sound much better. After a thousand hours, it sounds even better. It actually sounded very close to my analog front end which I was shocked to hear. it is warm sounding, but not overly so. I had a audiophile friend come over to listen the other day to the Sa11 S2. He was a Doubting Thomas. He is not anymore. He could not believe what he was hearing or should I say not hearing on his system. He was very impressed with it. It just keeps getting better with each day. It's a great player and very versatile as well. If others did not like the way it sounded, so be it, It is what it is. I too do not like eveything I hear and many pieces I do not like are very highly touted to say the least. We all have our preferences. I will say that I am sold on it but it did take a while. I did not like it at first but wow does it get better, every day.

The JPS Labs digital power cord is also decent

That is one of the big reasons I bought the Marantz was for the transport mechanism. It still sounds great without a d/a converter and you can also use an outboard clock if you so wish. It is a great player that is very versatile. Some may not like it, so be it, we each have our own likes and dislikes.

I agree with your last comment wholeheartedly Jt3 They are amazing players for the money. I just tweeked my interconnects and wow, amazing. A friend made me a pair. they are amazing and sound great through the balanced connection. The music just hangs there if you know what I mean.

The Pearl and the SA11 S2 are very close, the Sa11 2 I think is at least as good, I could easily live with either player.

I liked the Sa11 better than the pearl but each to their own likes.