Marantz 8260 vs Musical Fidelity 3.5 vs cary 308

It will be hard to beat the sound of the Rotel with any of those. I have listened to all of them in my system and I thought that the Rotel sounded at least as good as any of those mentioned and sounded much better than the Marantz. Just my opinion.

That's interesting. I've read great things about the Marantz. Basically, it is hard for me to audition gear as I live off the beaten path in upstate, ny. Therefore, I rely on reviews and input from fellow 'Goners. Thank you.

Ill tell you what, be kind of careful with absolute sounds reccommends, They are somwhat biased, Ive found out the hard way.

This is from a "Rotel guy", I've owned three of their players, including the 1072 and there was no comparison, the Marantz was FAR better in my system. More detail, more extension at both ends, much more musical overall. I sold the 1072 and bought the 8260.

BTW-this was only comparing CD's, not SACD's.

E-

Thanks Guys- I do tend to follow TAS a bit. They were right on about the Quad speakers. I know the Marantz is highly rated, I had 2 of their universal player and wasn't overwhelmed by either. Interesting points.