I got a Marantz SA10 last week, and I only have about 50 hours on it. While it is better in most respects than the Sony XA5400ES and XA9000ES that I also own, it exhibits a brightness that is quite annoying. Many female voices present a brightness/grain that was absent from Sony’s rendering (especially on SACDs). For example, Jacintha’s voice is super smooth, detailed, and beautiful on Sony, but gains a mild yet annoying shrill with the Marantz. Similar findings for Jacqui Naylor, Vanessa Fernandez, Julia Fordham and even Holly Cole. Do you experience anything similar with your player/system?
I do not have anything else bright in my system, from KEF Reference speakers to Luxman C900u and M900u amplification. The effect is a little less pronounced when switching interconnects from AQ Cheetah XLRs to Gabriel Gold Revelations RCAs, but not gone.