Marantz SA8001 or Music Hall CD25.2?

Compared stock Marantz 8260 vs heavily modded CD25 and the 2 players were extremely close.
Figure that the stock 25.2 will be half as good as the 8001....roughly speaking.

The difference between stock CD25 and 8260 was that the 8260 had smoother treble and better soundstage. 25 had a nice sound, but the treble gave it away. 8260's high frequencies were redered more naturally.
With the 25.2, I doubt they performed some kind of magic to make a huge improvement over the 25, but I haven't heard the 25.2 so can not say for sure.

Don't forget that the 8001 has SACD capabilities and the CD25.2 does not.

The 8260 is a nice unit, but in a shootout against my previous player, a Denon 2910, it was a wash. My new Denon 3910 would kill the 8260 - *and* it supports DVD-Audio in addition to SACD, CD, and HDCD. Denon 3910s are available all the time on Audiogon for $500 or less - the deal of the decade for digital sources.

-RW-

Lets not forget the 8001 has had great results on the mod circuit. After the right mod this player is hard to beat at any price.