sony xa5400es or marantz sa15s2?

I have no experience with the Marantz but for a msrp of $1500 the Sony is an absolute steal imo. My most recent players have been Esoterix XO-3 se, bryston bcd-1, simaudio moon eclipse and MF A5.The Sony doesn't quite have the razor sharp imaging of some of these but is more holographic,more real sounding. Also, tonally it is better than any of these imo( atleast in my system).

A big plus to the SA-15S2 is that it has a digital input, so it can also be used as an external DAC for a music server, etc...

12-28-09: Fishing716
I am a musician over 35 years
My ears are very trained
I trust my assessment

While you may have been a musician for over 35 years and have very trained ears and trust your assessment,I ask again,have you heard every system that these players have been used in? Still curious.

I think the XA5400es is a great player especially for the price.I like it better than Marantz and offer no additional observation.

I will never stop being amused by the "experts" (self proclaimed and real) on every aspect of music. Mr. Fishing716 is a musician and this makes him a "specialist" on the sound of a component w/o taking into consideration the synergy of the rest of the system with this component. Anyway, this debate will never end become musical tastes and sound are so subjective. I have many friends that are musicians but when it comes to music of a system their opinions are as diverse (with one another) as among any of us NOT musically trained. I figure if they are all musicians how come they can not agree on the sound of a system? Go figure...