Mrtennis, what specific Marantz players have you direct experience with. I find your comment that they have "nasties" completely baseless and wrong. I have an SA-11S2, and it has no nasties, is not overly forward and definitely not bright. It negotiates both definition and musicality without overdefining or adding any kind of sizzle to the sound. On top of this, I haven't but 40 hours on the machine.
break-in for Marantz SA-7S1
I just bought a new Marantz SA-7S1. It has 60 hours of break-in on it at this point. So far it's not bad, but it's not all that captivating either. I've heard it takes awhile to break in. I'd like to hear from other owners how long theirs took to break in, and more importantly what the difference was once is was broken in. Thanks!